The Jewish Public Library of Montreal is reconsidering its controversial decision to remove the books of author and illustrator Elise Gravel from its shelves. An about-face welcomed by Elise Gravel, who nevertheless says she understands the context surrounding the initial decision.
In a press release published Thursday, the Jewish Public Library of Montreal (BPJ) claims to have “welcomed with openness all the opinions and comments that have recently been addressed to it by its members, its partners and the general public.” It also says “adhere to, support and defend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” and recognize “the fundamental right to access a wide range of knowledge, creativity, ideas and opinions”.
“The BPJ, like any library, declares that the existence of a particular point of view is an expression of the policy of individual freedom and not an endorsement of this point of view,” we can read in the press release. Consequently, all of the collections held by the BPJ remain accessible. »
The name of Elise Gravel is not mentioned anywhere in the press release, but The Press, an employee confirmed that the popular author and illustrator’s books “were put back in their place, in the children’s corner, on the open shelves.” Previously, library customers could still have access to Elise Gravel’s books, but only at the counter, by asking the librarian.
The decision of the Jewish Public Library of Montreal to blacklist the books of Elise Gravel, who shows her support for the Palestinian people on her social networks, caused a stir last week. The controversy reached the National Assembly, where a motion was unanimously adopted to support Elise Gravel as well as another Quebec author, Myriam Daguzan Bernier. The latter’s book, All naked!, was burned with a flamethrower by a Republican candidate for secretary of state in Missouri.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY LA PRESSE, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Myriam Daguzan Bernier
By email, Elise Gravel said she was “happy and relieved” to know her books were back on the library shelves, and also happy that the children who visit her did not have to “pay the price of this division”. At the same time, she assures that she feels no resentment towards the library, its staff and its management. “I understand the context that led them to make their initial decision,” writes Elise Gravel, who recalls that she “positions herself firmly against all forms of discrimination and racism, and of course against anti-Semitism.” “I criticize governments, not people,” she adds.
On Sunday, nearly a hundred people demonstrated their support for Elise Gravel in front of the Jewish Public Library of Montreal, in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, at the initiative of the organization Independent Jewish Voices.