Censorship at the Jewish Public Library of Montreal | Demonstration in support of Elise Gravel

Nearly a hundred people showed their support on Sunday for author Elise Gravel, whose books were removed from the shelves of the Jewish Public Library of Montreal. The writer had expressed her solidarity with the Palestinian people through illustrations deemed anti-Semitic by the management of the establishment.

“Elise Gravel is a great author, and children should be able to have access to her wonderful books,” pleads Peggy Burns, a colorful work by the writer in her hands.

With signs on their arms and keffiyehs around their necks, there were a hundred of them like her in front of the facade of the Jewish Public Library of Montreal early Sunday afternoon.

Last week, the establishment removed Elise Gravel’s books from its self-service shelves. The reason given? Publications in solidarity with Palestine deemed anti-Semitic by library management.

A decision which sparked strong protest, from the publishing world to the National Assembly.

“Our authors have a wide range of opinions and we believe they should be able to express them,” continues Peggy Burns, editor at Drawn & Quarterly, which prints Gravel’s works in English.

“Elise expresses her opinion responsibly. If she makes a mistake, she owns it, apologizes for it and corrects it. She has the right to do what she wants on her social media,” she adds.

“I like Elise Gravel’s books,” murmurs Melek, shyly. Hey, the little girl has just finished reading one of them, I want a monster!. “It’s about a little girl who wants to adopt a monster…” she sums up with humor. “They want to censor books. This goes too far,” says his mother, Selima Driss. “She’s an author we’ve known for a long time. We love him,” she continues.

Further on, Bérangère Ruet distributes books by the writer to the few children present. “I find it important to understand that criticizing the Israeli government is not anti-Semitism. The censorship of his books is an attack. It’s dangerous,” says the mother, whose husband is Jewish.

The demonstration was organized by Independent Jewish Voices, which promotes peace for all between Israel and Palestine.

“As Jews, we have an obligation, due to our history, to oppose any form of book banning. The images of the Nazis burning our books remind us again and forever how fragile freedom of expression is,” the organization said in a press release released on the sidelines of the event.

The main interested party was not present at the demonstration when The Press. Last week, she reacted to the controversy on Facebook.

“I am sad that access to my books is limited for these children, but I want to make it clear that I have no anger towards the library or its staff or management. I understand the toxic climate and the social pressures that push people and organizations to self-censorship and censorship,” wrote Elise Gravel.

From now on, parents or children who would like to borrow one of his works from the Jewish Public Library of Montreal will have to request it directly at the counter.

The problem does not lie in their “objectively harmless” content, a spokesperson for the establishment argued at The Press.

“This approach reflects our commitment to responding to the different concerns and sensitivities of the community,” she continued.

In the wake of this affair, a motion reiterating the importance of “freedom of opinion, freedom of expression and the free circulation of ideas” was unanimously adopted in the National Assembly.

The elected officials also expressed their support for Myriam Daguzan Bernier and Cécile Gariépy, whose book, All naked!was burned with a flamethrower by a Republican candidate for secretary of state in Missouri.