A library in Sydney has removed a book about media coverage of the Gaza war from its shelves for review after a survivor of the Bondi Beach attack reportedly expressed distress upon seeing the book on display.

The book, How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza, by American author Adam Johnson, was removed from Waverley Library, which serves Bondi and surrounding areas in eastern Sydney. The area is home to one of Australia’s largest Jewish communities and is near the site of the December attack in which 15 people were killed.

A Waverley Council spokesperson said the book had been removed from the shelves for review. The council said it would later consider measures to ensure closer oversight of book selection.

The council also said, like many public libraries, it relies on an external organization to select, order and purchase books, meaning the title was not selected directly by council officials.

The removal followed a report by Jewish news outlet J-Wire. According to the report, a survivor of the Bondi attack said on Facebook that she was distressed after seeing the book on a new-release shelf.

The council said it had received several complaints about the book. However, the title remains in the library’s catalogue and can still be reserved.

Johnson told The Guardian that the controversy appeared to center largely on the use of the word “genocide” in the book’s title. He argued that the term is widely used in discussions of the situation in Gaza and questioned whether authorities would also remove pro-Israel books if they offended members of other communities.

The decision has drawn mixed reactions. Alex Rivchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, welcomed the removal, saying such a book should not be displayed in a library so close to the site of the Bondi attack.

However, Bart Steinman, an executive member of the progressive Jewish Council of Australia, described the removal as deeply concerning. He said public libraries should serve everyone and carry books representing a wide range of views and subjects.

Published in April by London-based Pluto Press, the book argues that Israel’s war in Gaza could not have continued for so long without sustained support from the US media. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.

The incident comes two months after amendments to New South Wales’ Library Act aimed at protecting libraries’ freedom in selecting books. The changes were intended, according to the state’s Arts Minister John Graham, to protect local libraries from book-banning trends seen in the United States.

Data cited by the Australian Library and Information Association show that since 2023, there have been more than 300 attempts to remove over 180 books or titles from Australian library collections.