Writer quits Society of Authors over union’s ‘betrayal’ of Jerusalem bookshop raided by Israeli police

<p>Matthew Teller, whose books include Nine Quarters of Jerusalem, said the society’s response to the event which saw two leading booksellers detained was ‘an abject failure’</p><p>A writer has left the Society of Authors (SoA) in protest after the UK’s largest writers’ body made a statement on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/10/israeli-police-raid-jerusalem-bookshops-and-arrest-palestinian-owners">a recent Israeli police raid on a Palestinian-owned bookstore</a> without mentioning Israel, Palestine or the names of the booksellers who were arrested.</p><p>Matthew Teller, the author of books including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/06/nine-quarters-of-jerusalem-by-matthew-teller-review-a-new-map-of-a-contested-city">Nine Quarters of Jerusalem</a>, said the SoA’s statement “added insult to the injury” and was a “betrayal”, leading to him cancelling his membership on Tuesday.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/feb/20/writer-quits-society-of-authors-jerusalem-educational-bookshop-raided-by-iraeli-police">Continue reading...</a>