Quebec children's author rejects accusations of antisemitism as books removed from library's shelves
CBC
Quebec writer and illustrator Élise Gravel, one of the province's best-known authors of children's literature, has come under fire for her online posts.
Since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupted in October, Gravel has voiced her views on social media, accusing the Israeli government of bombing children and oppressing Palestinians — comments that have upset some members of Quebec's Jewish community.
In response, Montreal's Jewish Public Library has removed her books from its open shelves. At the same time, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which represents Jewish federations across the country, has accused her of antisemitism.
But the author isn't backing down and rejects the accusations of intolerance.
The Jewish Public Library told CBC that Gravel is "one of Quebec's most beloved children's book authors" and her work is "widely recognized for her contributions to children's literature."
In a statement, the library said that "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."
Moving the books, the library said, "ensures that the books remain accessible through our catalogue, while also acknowledging the sensitivities surrounding the author's social media posts."
The library does not belong to the city of Montreal.
CIJA's Quebec vice-president, Eta Yudin, says that the author's posts are one-sided.
"We didn't hear her talk about the barbarism, the rape, the hostages taken on Oct. 7th," she said.
Yudin also says Gravel is spreading falsehoods and engaging in antisemitic tropes, conspiracy theories and myths.
"People are very upset with what they're seeing in her illustrations and in her posts that clearly cross the line, whether intentionally or not … the kind of material that fuels antisemitism," said Yudin.
On social media networks like Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, CIJA disapproved of the use of the word "they" in one of Gravel's posts that the group says read "They are convinced that we are okay with their idea to exterminate the Palestinians, like vermin. Even children, even newborns."
Gravel has since changed the first "they" to "Netanyahu and his allies" in what she said in the comments below the post was a clarification "because people are always trying to find a hateful meaning in every one of my posts," adding that she was not speaking about a specific religious or ethnic group committing violence.
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