A petition has been launched to return the Montreal author's book to the Jewish Public Library

There are calls for the Jewish Public Library to reverse its decision to withdraw a Montreal author's book due to controversial social media posts.

Books are temporarily available by request, but there is a request to put books back on the shelves.

On Sunday, the Montreal chapter of Independent Jewish Voices held a small protest to “show our support for the censored Quebec writer Elise Gravel and condemn the reprehensible act of banning the book.”

Elisa Gravel took to Facebook to thank the supporters who attended the demonstration. Gravel is an award-winning children's author and illustrator, and he has recently come under fire for his 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 see it as an anti-Israel campaign. Since the conflict began in October, Gravel has been very vocal online, accusing the Israeli government of bombing children and oppressing Palestinians.

The Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), recently published on X, said Gravel's comments “contribute to an alarming rise in anti-Semitism.”

Due to the controversy, the Jewish Public Library decided to remove his books from public view. The library issued a statement to various media outlets last week, calling Gravel “one of Quebec's most beloved children's book authors. His work was recognized as lively, thoughtful, funny and educational.

The statement reads: “Although the content of his books is not objectively offensive, we have decided to move them from our open shelves to closed stacks. This action ensures that the books are available through our catalog, while acknowledging the sensitivity regarding the author's posts on social networks.”

Since then, an informal group of Montreal friends and writers have started a petition to denounce what they see as a form of censorship based on the author's political views.

“It's terrible when it's treated like this, not against the authors or the books, or even the content. If there's a complaint against a book, we have strict standards and procedures. Normally in Canada, the onus is on the complainant to prove that the book is libel,” said Leila Marchi, behind the petition. one of the writers.

“It's not like that. This author — his entire catalog of books was put on closed shelves because of his social and political views.”

So far, more than 200 people have signed the petition.

CTV News asked the Jewish Public Library for reaction to the petition and yesterday's demonstration.

“We are listening to the many comments made by community members,” the library wrote in an email and said it would respond with an official statement this week.