Anti-Israel colouring-in book blocked in France, Germany

Police searches of bookshops, removals from shelves, and an escalating European debate over children’s publishing have placed a controversial colouring-in book at the centre of renewed scrutiny. From the River to the Sea, published by South Africa-based Social Bandit Media, has been declared illegal for importation and distribution in France, months after it was removed by a major German bookstore chain. 

French authorities confirmed this month that the book couldn’t be sold or distributed, following a police search of the independent Paris bookstore Violette and Co. According to the publisher, five police officers accompanied by a prosecutor, entered the shop and conducted a search aimed at confiscating copies of the book. The book wasn’t found on the premises at the time. 

The move has followed earlier action in Germany, where the Hugendubel bookstore chain removed the title from its catalogue after it was brought to its attention. In a statement to the German newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine, Hugendubel said the book was “removed immediately upon learning of its existence”, adding that it regretted that the title had been stocked and that it distanced itself from the opinions expressed in it. 

The book, marketed as a children’s colouring-in and educational tool, has drawn sharp criticism from Jewish organisations which argue that it presents a one-sided narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and crosses the line into ideological indoctrination aimed at young children. 

The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) welcomed the French ban, describing the book as harmful. “What’s sold as innocent education is blatant propaganda targeting kids as young as six,” said SAZF National Spokesperson Rolene Marks. The book “libellously brands Israel an ‘apartheid’ state; strips Palestinians of any agency or accountability; glorifies ‘martyrs’ as heroes; and normalises violence at religious sites,” she said. 

Marks said France’s decision reflected the responsibility of democratic societies to protect children. “France drew the right line. Democracies must shield children from violence-glorifying radicalisation, no matter how cutely packaged.” 

Social Bandit Media has rejected the accusations, arguing that the book has been unfairly targeted through political pressure. In posts on its Instagram account, the publisher said the actions in France followed “ongoing pressure dating back to the summer of 2025, when pressure groups and far-right forces accused it of antisemitism, accusations that are completely unfounded”. 

The publisher also framed the French intervention as an attack on artistic freedom, saying that “any attack on these freedoms constitutes an act of censorship”. It has announced that, because the book has been deemed illegal in France, it will make a French-language edition available as a free download. 

The French case has attracted international media attention. Reports in Middle East Eye and Maktoob Media noted that the search of Violette and Co was carried out in the presence of armed police officers and temporarily prevented customers from entering the shop. The publisher described the incident as “unprecedented and disproportionate”, while French authorities have not publicly detailed the legal basis beyond the decision that the book couldn’t be sold. 

In Germany, the controversy centred on the book’s title and content. Hugendubel said the book “spreads conspiracy myths about Israel” and shows a clear anti-Israel bias, portraying Palestinians as peaceful while depicting Israeli soldiers as aggressive, without addressing Palestinian terrorism. The chain said it would make “every effort to ensure that such an incident doesn’t happen again”. 

The book has previously been the subject of debate in South Africa. A 2025 article in the SA Jewish Report examined criticism that the colouring-in book erased Jewish historical ties to Israel, and presented the conflict through a single ideological lens. 

Adding to the South African dimension, the book’s illustrator is South African. The same illustrator has also worked with Social Bandit Media on another colouring-in publication, Malcolm X in Gaza, which the publisher describes as an educational project linking global civil-rights struggles with the Palestinian cause. 

Social Bandit Media has reported that From the River to the Sea has been widely distributed outside Europe, claiming that at least 22 000 copies have been sold in countries including South Africa; the United States; the United Kingdom; Switzerland; the Netherlands; India; and Pakistan. It argues that the continued restrictions in France amount to a violation of freedom of artistic creation and democratic principles. 

For Jewish organisations, however, the issue isn’t censorship but child protection. As Marks put it, “This isn’t debate. It’s ideological grooming and early hatred indoctrination, leaving zero space for peace or coexistence.” 

As European authorities continue to assess the boundaries of lawful expression in children’s publishing, the fate of From the River to the Sea has become a flashpoint in a much broader argument about education, propaganda, and the responsibilities of publishers, booksellers, and states.