Petition launched to bring back Montreal author's book to Jewish Public Library
There are calls for the Jewish Public Library to reverse its decision to pull a book by a Montreal author over controversial social media posts.
The books are temporarily available on request but there is a petition to put the books back on the shelves.
On Sunday, a small protest was held by the Montreal chapter of Independent Jewish Voices to "show our support for censored Quebec author Elise Gravel and to denounce the reprehensible act of book banning."
Elise Gravel took to Facebook to thank the supporters who took part in the demonstration. Gravel is an award-winning children's author and illustrator, and she's come under fire recently over her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war.
Elise Gravel, of Montreal, receives the Governor General's Literary Award for book illustration from Governor General David Johnston at Rideau Hall in Ottawa Wednesday November 28, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
Critics argue she's on an anti-Israel campaign. Since the conflict erupted in October, Gravel has been very vocal online, accusing the Israeli government of bombing children and oppressing Palestinians.
In a recent post on X, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said Gravel's comments "contribute to the alarming rise in antisemitism."
In light of the controversy, the Jewish Public Library decided to remove her books from public view. The library issued a statement to various media outlets last week, which recognized Gravel as "one of Quebec's most beloved children’s book authors. Her work is vibrant, thoughtful, funny, and educational."
The statement went on to say: "While the content of her books is objectively not offensive, we have taken the decision to relocate them from our open shelves to closed stacks. This action ensures that the books remain accessible through our catalogue, while also acknowledging the sensitivities surrounding the author's social media posts."
Since then, an informal group of Montreal friends and writers have launched a petition to denounce what they consider to be a form of censorship because of an author's political views.
"It's chilling when authors or books are treated this way and not even for the content. We have rigorous standards and procedures if there's a complaint about a book. Usually, in Canada, there is an onus for the complainer to prove that this book is offensive," said Leila Marshy, one of the writers behind the petition.
"This is not that. This is an author — her entire catalogue of books being put on closed shelves because of her public, political views."
So far, more than 200 people have signed the petition.
CTV News reached out to the Jewish Public Library for a reaction to the petition and yesterday's demonstration.
"We are listening to the many comments that have been expressed by members of the community," the library wrote in an email, adding that it would respond with an official statement sometime this week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
WATCH Moose strolls through Fredericton
A Fredericton woman is awe-struck after seeing a moose stroll down a city street on Tuesday.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.