Nashville bookstore cancels Jewish author’s book launch amid boycott

A newly opened Nashville bookstore canceled a launch event for a Jewish author’s forthcoming book after an online pressure campaign accused the store of promoting Zionism, according to statements from the author and the store’s owner.

Bell Bird Books, which opened in June in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, was scheduled to host Alyssa Rosenheck on Aug. 20 to launch “White. Blonde. Jew.: A Call to End Extremism, Speak Up, and Reclaim Center,” which examines antisemitism and her trips to Israel and communities near the Gaza border following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, the Algemeiner reported. Shortly after the event was announced, critics online accused the store and Ms. Rosenheck of promoting Zionism and called for a boycott.

Ms. Rosenheck said Bell Bird Books told her on July 26 it could no longer promote her or the launch, and the store formally scrapped the event two days later without an immediate public explanation, according to her account, as reported by the Tennessean. She said the episode raised broader questions about free speech.

Ms. Weprin had initially defended hosting the event, telling the Tennessean, “We believe independent bookstores play a vital role in their communities.” She later said in an Instagram statement that her decision stemmed from concerns over the added security the event would likely require, not from Ms. Rosenheck’s identity or the book’s subject matter, and said the store “will always carry” the title.

Ms. Rosenheck, a founding member of Artists Against Antisemitism, said all ticket holders for the canceled event will be refunded and that a new venue — and potentially a new date — would be announced.

The Anti-Defamation League weighed in on the social platform X, arguing that “antisemitism is increasingly being repackaged as anti-Zionism, with ’Zionist’ becoming the basis” for isolating Jewish authors. Actress Patricia Heaton also posted on X on Saturday in support of Ms. Rosenheck, writing, “This is not the Nashville way” and said she would buy the book elsewhere.

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