Genocide Bad: Notes on Palestine, Jewish History, and Collective Liberation by Sim Kern

4.68 AVERAGE

snapplespice's review

4.0
I deeply appreciate the existence of this book! 

I have been educating myself on the ongoing genocide of Palestinians for the past several years, but admittedly it was not at the forefront of my thoughts prior to October 7th, 2023. Like many people in the US who are not Palestinian or Jewish, I did not have the background knowledge to back up my beliefs that what is happening in Palestine is immoral. I have always understood “genocide bad!” but I lacked context surrounding this particular genocide. I often found myself at a loss of words when speaking to Zionists who seem hellbent on trying to justify this genocide. This book has helped me understand many of the key talking points. 

Kern offers several recommended reading lists, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had already read some! I now have more books to add to my list, and reassurance that I’ve been on the right track. One of the most interesting points of Kern’s book is how common it is for children to be educated on the Holocaust, but no other genocide. I love that one of the recommended YA books is Linda Sue Park’s “A Long Walk to Water”. I have taught this book for several years, and not only does it highlight an important story, but it deeply engages my students and gets them talking about empathy. 

This book is getting four stars instead of five because I didn’t love the casual-conversation style of writing. It felt like I was reading an internet blog, which I worry will delegitimize the very important message being told. The argument can be made that this style might make the book more accessible and digestible, but choices like adding a dozen extra exclamation points made it feel a bit silly. 
heythereadair's profile picture

heythereadair's review

4.75
hopeful informative fast-paced
deburke116's profile picture

deburke116's review

4.0
informative reflective medium-paced

mandywala's review

4.5
informative inspiring reflective
readabookemman's profile picture

readabookemman's review

4.0
dark informative inspiring reflective fast-paced
Really accessible, really interesting. Very much a 101 on anti Zionism that is worth checking out and recommending to people new to the movement. 
read_by_ada's profile picture

read_by_ada's review

4.5
challenging emotional informative medium-paced

jcaulder73's review

4.25
An important read for this moment in history-- this is a practical guide to challenging Zionist hasbara against the existence of Palestine. There's a lot of Jewish history here that I as a non-Jewish person found helpful to frame confused perspectives about this topic.  Ultimately, I like the hopeful tones Sim brings to the narrative that a vision of collective liberation belongs to all of us. If the whole world believes in a free Palestine, all isn't lost yet, and Palestine will be free one day. And also GENOCIDE REALLY BAD. 

rosekantorczyk's review

5.0
challenging funny inspiring medium-paced
piecesofamber's profile picture

piecesofamber's review against another edition

5.0
hopeful informative reflective medium-paced
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reign322's profile picture

reign322's review

4.5
challenging dark funny hopeful informative medium-paced
Overall, Genocide Bad is definitely a worthwhile read, even though I found some parts to be repetitive or messy.  The debunking of the historical events in the Bible, the connections between the sexual humiliation of sex workers, Jews and Palestinians, and the personal experiences of anti-Jewish hate that Sim Kern recalls are the most memorable and engaging parts. The personal accounts given by Waseem, Nour, and Shahd are heartbreaking and I wish for their survival. And rest in peace lil baby Manal.
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