Controversy Erupts at Brooklyn Bookstore Over Canceled Event Due to Moderator’s Pro-Israel Views

Controversy Erupts at Brooklyn Bookstore Over Canceled Event Due to Moderator’s Pro-Israel Views

Edited by:  Fern Sidman

A planned book launch event at a popular Brooklyn bookstore has sparked controversy after the venue reportedly canceled the event at the last minute due to concerns over the moderator’s pro-Israel stance. According to a report that appeared on Wednesday in The New York Post, the incident, which took place at Powerhouse Arena in Dumbo, has raised questions about freedom of speech and the politicization of literary spaces.

UPDATE; Powerhouse Arena issued a statement late Tuesday, and it seems the manager took these actions on her own without ownership authorizing the racist, anti-Semitic actions reported in the rest of this story.

Below is what they released on Twitter

Our statement on Tuesday night’s incident. pic.twitter.com/gvZ79lTPL9

— POWERHOUSE Arena (@POWERHOUSEArena) August 22, 2024

Joshua Leifer, a seasoned journalist and the author of Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life, was set to discuss his new book at Powerhouse Arena on a Tuesday evening. The event was to be moderated by Rabbi Andy Bachman, a well-known figure in the Jewish community and a vocal supporter of Israel. However, The Post report indicated that just hours before the event was scheduled to begin, Leifer was informed that the bookstore had taken issue with Bachman’s pro-Israel views.

Leifer recounted the surprising turn of events in an interview, explaining that the bookstore staff had explicitly stated they did not want a “Zionist on [their] stage,” The Post report revealed. The conversation between Leifer and Bachman was intended to be the centerpiece of the evening, making the bookstore’s stance effectively a cancellation of the event.

In response to the bookstore’s decision, Leifer and his wife went to Powerhouse Arena to address the situation directly. They recorded their interaction with the store’s manager, who reiterated the bookstore’s position. According to the recording provided to The Post, the manager stated, “We don’t want a Zionist on our stage.” When pressed for further explanation, the manager offered little additional information, suggesting that the issue would be discussed more fully with the author’s publicist the following day.

Despite the manager’s assertion that the event had not been canceled, Leifer pointed out that excluding his chosen conversation partner effectively amounted to canceling the event. The report in The Post indicated that the manager’s suggestion that security might be called, though not captured in the recording, added to the tension of the situation.

Leifer, who has been vocal about his disappointment, described the bookstore’s actions as “unacceptable and unprofessional.” The Post reported that he noted that readers were only informed of the cancellation via a sign on the window citing “unforeseen circumstances,” despite the fact that the bookstore had ample time to vet both participants in advance. “They had roughly a week to vet Andy,” Leifer said. “In fact, they even put the event up on their website with his bio and photo.”

In a statement to The Post, Powerhouse Arena’s owner, Daniel Power, admitted that a staff member had contacted Leifer’s publicist approximately two hours before the event to express concerns about Bachman’s views on Israel, as per the information provided in The Post report. According to Power, the staffer’s concerns stemmed from “past events where audience reactions were negative,” which prompted them to raise the issue.

Rabbi Bachman arrived at Powerhouse Arena on the evening of the event, only to be informed that it had been scrapped due to concerns about his political beliefs. “It was an utterly shocking, disheartening experience,” Bachman told The Post.

Bachman expressed his disbelief at the situation, stating that the Powerhouse manager had banned his appearance based on problematic assumptions about his identity. “They are basing decisions merely upon their own perception of my identity and this is exactly what’s wrong with the current discourse right now,” he told The Post. The incident, according to Bachman, is indicative of a broader issue in today’s polarized political environment, where assumptions and labels can lead to exclusion and censorship.

Rabbi Bachman described himself as a “proud Zionist,” but emphasized that his views are more complex than the bookstore’s actions might suggest. While he strongly supports the right of the Jewish people to their homeland, he is also a critic of some policies of the current Israeli government, particularly those under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Post report indicated. “It’s ample in my writings … but in this day and age, anyone who identifies with the right of the Jewish people to their homeland is considered an enemy of their cause,” Bachman said while speaking to The Post.

Bachman’s critique of the Netanyahu government includes opposition to certain actions taken by Israel in its ongoing conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His ability to hold both supportive and critical views of Israel reflects a balanced perspective that he believes is increasingly under threat in today’s public discourse. “It’s something I never thought I’d experience in my life but I’m seeing it happen in real time,” Bachman lamented to The Post.

The rabbi’s experience at Powerhouse Arena has led him to reflect on the current state of American democracy, which he believes is undergoing a troubling transformation. “I can’t believe that this is how American democracy devolved,” he told The Post, noting that the erosion of open and respectful dialogue has been ongoing for many years. Bachman pointed out that there is “deep irrational hatred and fear” emanating from both the right and the left, contributing to a climate where voices like his are increasingly marginalized.

Power acknowledged that it was inappropriate for the staffer to bring up these concerns so close to the event. “It was not our staffer’s place to raise these concerns in the first place, much less than 2 hours before an event that was already scheduled,” Power said. The report in The Post indicated that he added that the publicist initially offered to brainstorm alternative moderators or changes to the event’s format, but ultimately decided to cancel the event when it became clear that Bachman would not be allowed to participate.

Leifer’s account adds another layer to the story. He explained that his publicist called him to ask if he and Bachman could ensure a civil conversation, given the bookstore’s concerns about potential controversy, as was revealed in The Post report.  However, shortly afterward, the publicist informed Leifer that the bookstore had decided not to allow Bachman to moderate the event at all.

Leifer has accused the bookstore of trying to “avoid taking responsibility” for the fallout from the incident. The Post report explained that he emphasized that the event had been billed as a conversation between him and Bachman, and that attendees had bought tickets with the expectation of hearing that specific discussion. “That’s what people bought tickets for. That’s what the event online was for,” Leifer stated.

In an effort to salvage the evening, Leifer led the approximately 30 attendees—who had paid for both tickets and books—to a nearby bar, where the discussion continued as planned, albeit in a far less formal setting. “I took the roughly 30-ish, maybe more, people who had come to the book event and had paid money for it for books and tickets to a bar around the corner where we had the event anyway, kind of improvised,” Leifer explained to The Post.

While the makeshift gathering allowed the conversation to proceed, Leifer was left deeply disappointed by the cancellation. “It also was surprising because I wrote a book that’s all about arguments within the American Jewish community, and I thought it would be pretty clear that that argument would involve Zionists as well as non-Zionists,” he noted while speaking to The Post. For Leifer, the irony was palpable: a book designed to foster discussion and debate within the Jewish community had its very premise undermined by the bookstore’s decision to exclude certain voices.

The bookstore’s actions have drawn sharp criticism not only from those directly involved but also from prominent political figures. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed his outrage on social media, questioning the decision and calling into question the very ethos of bookstores as spaces for free expression, as was indicated in The Post report.  “Shouldn’t a bookstore in NYC be a place committed to hearing all voices? Aren’t the right-wing the ones who ban books, not us?” de Blasio wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The Post also reported that South Bronx Representative Ritchie Torres, a vocal proponent of Israel, also weighed in, accusing Powerhouse of arbitrarily canceling the event. “The far left is making ‘Zionists’ (i.e. most Jews) the exception to progressivism’s rule against discrimination,” Torres wrote on X, highlighting what he sees as a growing trend of exclusion within certain progressive circles.

Bookstores have long been considered bastions of free thought and expression, providing platforms for diverse voices and fostering intellectual debate. The decision by Powerhouse Arena to effectively cancel an event based on the moderator’s political views challenges this traditional role and raises questions about the responsibilities of such institutions in navigating complex and polarizing issues.

Leifer’s book, which aims to explore and perhaps bridge some of these divides within the Jewish community, has now become part of a larger story about the state of free speech and inclusivity in America. The decision to relocate the event may have preserved the conversation for those in attendance, but it has also sparked a much broader debate about the role of cultural institutions in fostering or stifling dialogue.