America’s first Palestinian bookstore has arrived in Los Angeles.
Watermelon Books announced its launch Saturday at the cultural center Holy Ground, calling it a “cultural act of resistance” in a clip promoting the opening last month.
“Imagine 1,000 titles about Palestine and other liberation struggles all under one roof,” entrepreneur/activist Mary Nazzal sad in the video.
Watermelon said the LA shop was its second outpost, joining another in Amman, Jordan.
“This is the next chapter—bringing that vision to the United States and expanding an international cultural project grounded in Palestinian life, history, and imagination,” read a statement from Holy Ground.
“This is how we protect what the world keeps trying to erase.”
Reps from Hold Ground did not respond to a request for comment.
A Launch Good crowdfunding campaign described Watermelon as “not only about books.”
“It’s about creating a permanent home for Palestinian literary, historical, and cultural expression at a moment when Palestinian life and history are under sustained assault.”
The shop will be “communal gathering space — activated through reading circles, poetry nights, film screenings, panel discussions, and book launches.”
Funds from purchases and on-site donations will go toward adding more books and paying performers.
All profits from this weekend event were to be donated to Gaza Soup Kitchen which has been feeding families in Gaza with “love and dignity throughout the genocide,” the company read.