Dozens of protesters, wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, gathered in front of the Montreal Jewish Public Library to show their support for Quebec writer Élise Gravel after the library removed her books from its shelves due to her online comments about the recent events in the Gaza Strip.

The library, which is not affiliated with the city of Montreal, did not respond to requests from Canadian media for comment, but told CBC earlier this week: “Although the content of her books is not objectively offensive, we have decided to move them from our open shelves to closed stacks.”

At the same time, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said the author's posts include anti-Semitic metaphors, conspiracy theories, and myths.

But Gravel rejected these accusations. She said social media, unlike her books, are not intended for children, and her posts target the way the Israeli government treats Palestinians, not the Jewish people as a whole.
Protester Fabienne Princety, a member of the Independent Jewish Voices group, said the library should return Gravel's books to its shelves.

Princety, whose group advocates for Palestinian rights and helped organize the march, said Gravel is being censored for showing empathy for Palestinians who are being killed by the Israeli army.

She said, “It’s very important for us as Jews to condemn anti-Semitism when it is really anti-Semitism.”

She added, “What Élise Gravel has published is not anti-Jewish hate. What we say as Independent Jewish Voices is that yes, we can criticize Israel as a state. We will criticize a military operation by any government, and this is not anti-Semitism.”

Alaa Shahin came with her two daughters, each holding Gravel’s books in their hands. Shahin said, “We are here because Élise Gravel is our favorite writer first, and because we as a family believe in freedom of expression.”

André Marois said he wanted to show his support for Gravel as a fellow children’s book writer, adding that libraries should remain places of “freedom.”

Another protester, Yasmine Naeem, pointed to the censorship of people supporting Palestinians as a reason for protesting.
She said, “I think most of the world wants a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire, an end to the siege, occupation, and apartheid.”

Naeem said removing the books is “an attack on education” and contradicts democratic values.

On Thursday, the proposal submitted by Quebec Solidaire to support Gravel and other targeted authors’ books was unanimously adopted in the National Assembly.

Some of Gravel’s posts use the words “apartheid” and “genocide” to describe Israeli policies toward Palestinians. Others describe the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes during Israel’s establishment in 1948.

The writer has modified at least two of her posts, and in one blog post changed the word “they” to “Netanyahu and his allies.”

In another post two weeks ago, Gravel retracted a comment she made about what she said was Israel’s “largest skin bank in the world, harvested from Palestinians.”

She removed the comment and wrote, “I am grateful to anyone who points out questionable information I may have inadvertently conveyed.” She added in her comment: “There is a lot of misinformation circulating about this crisis, and I do not want to inadvertently contribute to it.”