“Reading this book made me want to go to Palestine and kill Israelis,” commented a teenaged girl who “likes Jews” and has attended three Bat Mitzvahs. Her comments on the book she refers to The Shepherd’s Granddaughter by Anne Laurel Carter – can be found on the book-promoting goodreads.com web site.On the same site, another young student who read it compared the Israeli regime to Nazis. As a quick read of the book shows, The Shepherd’s Granddaughter is a work of fiction based on the political situation in the West Bank that demonizes the Jewish state, presenting a completely one-sided, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel view with absolutely no balance or background information. For example, in the novel, the Israelis poisoned the likeable Palestinian protagonist’s sheep for no reason, and the driver of a bulldozer tried to run her over. The Palestinians are portrayed as completely innocent and helpless victims, while the cruel Israelis pursue a goal of ethnic cleansing.
Recognized as a Book of the Year for children by the Canadian Library Association (CLA) and nominated for the prestigious Red Maple Award 2010 (geared to grades 7 and 8) of the Ontario Library Association (OLA), The Shepherd’s Granddaughter is highly recommended by Toronto District School Board (TDSB) teachers and librarians. The Jewish Tribune, after seeing Henry’s letter, picked up the book – which was in high demand – at a local library. There were 44 copies of the book in circulation in Toronto libraries and only one was available.
Read the rest Written by Atara Beck via docstalk.blogspot.com
