Algeria closes publishing house due to book on Judaism

In a new antisemitic move, the Algerian regime ordered the closure of a publishing house named after Franz Fanon in Boumerdes, after it published a book on Jews in Algeria.

Authorities gave the pretext of “threats to security and public order, attacks on national identity, and hate speech” for its censorship.

The book in question, dubbed “Jewish Algeria” by Heda Bensahli, delves into the two-thousand-year presence of Jews in Algeria, highlighting their cultural and historical contributions despite the challenges they faced, especially after the colonial period.

The Algerian regime has embraced a version of Arab authoritarian nationalism that occulted cultural, political, linguistic, and religious diversity. Jews, in particular, were forced to leave the country after independence and their belongings and real-estate were confiscated. Many cannot return to the country of their forefathers, as the Algerian regime surfs on antisemitism and populist discourse.

The closure of the publishing house is part of a larger crackdown on free speech. The Algerian regime has closed critical media outlets and imprisoned writers such as French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, who has been in jail in retaliation for challenging the state’s rhetoric on colonial borders.