A Brooklyn bookstore, POWERHOUSE Arena, is coming under fire after a planned book launch event was abruptly called off Tuesday because the moderator was considered a “Zionist,” sparking accusations of antisemitism by public officials and members of the public.
Joshua Leifer, the author of the new book, “Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life” was slated to be interviewed by Rabbi Andy Bachman at the DUMBO bookstore when he was told that the event had been called off.
In a Facebook post, the rabbi said the reason he was given was “because I was a Zionist.”
“This rank and delusional antisemitism is outrageous,” he said on Facebook. “Josh, who has spent years actively opposing Israel’s policies against Palestinians, is one of the core aspects of the book and his own Jewish identity. In addition, I have been a longtime critic of the current Israeli government while certainly never disavowing the right of the Jewish state to exist and, when necessary, defend itself.”
Daniel Power, the bookstore’s owner, said in a press release that the event was called off after one of the store’s workers made an unauthorized decision, based on a Google search of the rabbi, that his involvement in the event “was a potential for disturbance.”
The decision was made following some back and forth between the employee and the book’s publisher, Power said.
“What is not at dispute is that the staff member made a unilateral decision that was unauthorized,” Power said in the release. “This in no way represents the views of ownership, other staff members, and the way we do business: allowing a space for all to engage in thoughtful and civil dialogue.”
Power said the company is taking steps to avoid any similar situations.
The controversy comes amid deep division and tension across New York over Israel’s war in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas.
“Sorry, due to unforeseen circumstances tonight’s event is canceled,” photos show a paper taped to the door of the bookstore show.
The called-off event touched a nerve, prompting angry responses and dozens of incensed Yelp and Google reviews.
“Absolutely disgusting,” one review read.
“Disgusted and appalled,” said another.
The book is a “lively and personal history of the fractured American Jewish present” that documents from the arrival of his great-grandmother and other Jewish immigrants in the U.S. to pressing Jewish issues today, according to a description.
The rabbi lamented the talk as “exactly the kind of conversation and dialogue our world needs: one based in discourse, disagreement, civility, and shared human values.”
“What we are now seeing is nothing short of Stalinist or Maoist thinking; a moral flattening of the political sphere; a social movement predicated on loyalty and purity tests that at this point can only tolerate, at best, one kind of Jew,” he wrote.
U.S. Rep Dan Goldman called the alleged cancellation “unacceptable antisemitism, plain and simple” in a social media post.
“The term “Zionist” — which simply means someone who believes in a Jewish state — has become an antisemitic slur in extreme left circles,” Goldman said. “Andy Bachman is friend and a proud progressive Zionist.”
U.S. Rep Ritchie Torres also slammed the bookstore.
The bookstore “abruptly and arbitrarily cancelled an event featuring Rabbi Andy Bachman simply because he is a pro-Israel Jew,” the pro-Israel Democrat wrote on X. “The far left is making “Zionists” (i.e. most Jews) the exception to progressivism’s rule against discrimination.
Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller, and a a progressive, Jewish candidate for mayor, also took to social media to bash the bookstore for the decision to cancel:
“You’ve allowed this Zionist (i.e. me) on your premises many times to buy books — but now you won’t let us speak there??”
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