Toronto city councillor asks library to cancel visit by controversial author

James Pasternak wants the Toronto Public Library not to provide space to Norman Finkelstein, a speaker it has invited to talk about academic freedom.

thestar.com
Dec. 5, 2023

A Toronto city councillor is calling on the Toronto Public Library (TPL) to cancel a visit Tuesday by an invited guest speaker who has long courted controversy over his views on Israel, which are once again in the spotlight as he speaks on the conflict with Hamas.

On Monday evening, James Pasternak, who represents York Centre, sent out a release “strongly urging” the TPL to “not provide public space paid for by taxpayer dollars” for an event which will feature Norman Finkelstein, an American author and political scientist whose views have been sharply critical of Israel for over 20 years.

Finkelstein is scheduled to appear on Tuesday Dec. 5 alongside Christian Parenti, an investigative journalist and economics professor, in a discussion moderated by former broadcast journalist Jeanne McGuire. The event called “I’ll Burn that Bridge when I Get to It” --- a title taken from one of Finkelstein's books --- is meant to discuss academic freedom, and the institutional repercussions both men have faced for their work. The event is sold out.

“Inviting Finkelstein to a pseudo conference at Toronto Reference Library discussing freedom on university campuses, is particularly hurtful in this period of extreme antisemitism,” writes Pasternak, who accused the author of spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about Jews and the Holocaust.

The Toronto Public Library held a board meeting on Monday evening, and while Finkelstein wasn’t named, there was an early question from the board to library staff about how guest speakers are found and vetted. Previous controversial figures that had spoken at the library were discussed, but no action was taken and the event was scheduled to go ahead as planned.

Asked for comment by CP24.com, TPL said the event was planned months ago by its cultural and special events programming unit and the library's regular process was followed.

Born to Jewish Holocaust survivors, as a political scientist Finkelstein's research has focused on the politics of the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2000, he wrote "The Holocaust Industry," a book which raised his profile and cemented his reputation as a sharp critic of Israel. This has continued through several interviews and speaking engagements recently, giving his thoughts on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Critics have pointed to a post on his Substack from Oct. 7, which likened Hamas’s attacks as being similar to the Jewish resistance in Warsaw during the Second World War: “If we honor the Jews who revolted in the Warsaw Ghetto --- then moral consistency commands that we honor the heroic resistance in Gaza. I, for one, will never begrudge --- on the contrary, it warms every fiber of my soul --- the scenes of Gaza’s smiling children as their arrogant Jewish supremacist oppressors have, finally, been humbled.”

The author's "views toward Holocaust survivors and justification of depraved terrorist attacks of Oct. 7 are not welcome in Toronto and should not be welcomed to our public spaces,” said Pasternak in his release.

On Nov. 30, B'nai Brith Canada also released a statement urging the TPL to cancel the event.

Raju Mudhar is a co-host and producer on the Star’s podcast team. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @rajumudhar.