Gigi and Bella Hadid’s Sister Alana Pulls Children’s Book About Palestine After Dispute With Publisher

A book about Palestine penned for young readers was withdrawn by its authors prior to its release.

The book, written by Alana Hadid — activist and older sister of models Bella and Gigi Hadid — and author and online personality Jenan Matari, was set to be released in September via Penguin Random House, but disagreements over its content ultimately led the authors to withdraw it.

According to The Guardian, Random House Children’s Books signed the book deal with Alana, 41, and Matari, 35, back in November 2024. The book was set to detail the history of Palestine, the Israeli occupation and the diaspora, with the pair weaving the stories of their own families’ displacement into the text.

But after receiving edits from Random House, Alana and Matari said the book, which they believed had been finalized at the time, was censored, particularly when it came to their passage about the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.

A Random House spokesperson, however, told The Guardian that the editing process “followed our standard bookmaking procedures,” adding that the publisher ultimately supported the authors’ decision to pull the book.

Titled Displacement and the Palestinian American Story, the book was set to be the eighth installment in Random House’s “Race to the Truth” series, a collection of nonfiction books for children ages 10 to 13 that aims to tell the “true story of American history” through accounts from members of marginalized groups about their people’s histories.

“It became clear that Penguin was never actually going to allow us just to write the book we wanted to write,” Alana said while speaking to The Guardian. “It says a lot that they’re willing to tank an entire very powerful series that helps children learn history, just because of one book about Palestine.”

According to Alana and Matari, they went back and forth with the publisher for months over the language used in the book as it pertained to the October attacks and their aftermath, with the pair arguing that “people under ‘colonial domination’ have the ‘right to resist.'”

Per The Guardian, Random House urged them to incorporate arguments that the attacks that day violated international law. When they couldn’t agree on the language to use, the authors pulled their book from publishing in early September.

“I believe it was a revolutionary book, which is why it was under so much scrutiny,” Matari said of Displacement and the Palestinian American Story. “They continued to try to sanitize our history because they didn’t want to make certain communities uncomfortable. But decolonial history is supposed to make you uncomfortable.”

It’s not the first time Matari has faced resistance when it comes to one of her books, either, with the Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden author previously having several book-tour stops and author events canceled at the last minute over her strong stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

And while Publishers Weekly reports that she’s currently involved in litigation over those cancellations, for Matari, pulling the book was the only way to truly fight back and keep their message intact.

“It was no longer the book we wrote,” she told The Guardian.

The authors are still planning to release the book, however, through the Palestinian-owned U.S. publisher Interlink Books.