Toronto Public Library emails cast doubt on the organization’s previous explanation for removing a Palestinian writer’s poem from a display, a move critics called an attack on free expression. 

B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish organization that regularly targets both mainstream and obscure critics of Israel, claimed in April that their complaint prompted library staff to remove writer Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I Must Die” from a display at the Main Street branch in Toronto’s east end. 

Library spokesperson Linda Hazzan denied this, telling Ricochet in a statement that staff discussed the display prior to B’nai Brith Canada’s complaint.

“There are allegations that TPL has censored its collections by removing these elements from the display based on pressure from a community group. This is inaccurate,” Hazzan said in an email at the time. “The poem was removed from the display because it is not available in our collections.”

Internal emails released by a TPL spokesperson to Ricochet, and correspondence obtained through a freedom of information request, reveal Hazzan and other senior staff discussed the display before and after B’nai Brith Canada’s complaint, and appeared to work quickly to address the organization’s concerns. In a message to other senior staff sent one day before the group complained, Hazzan mentioned Alareer’s poem and expressed concern about a backdrop listing people killed in Israel and Palestine.

“It looks to me like the names that are displayed on the wall behind the display are Palestinian,” Hazzan, the TPL’s director of communications, programming, and customer engagement, wrote in an email to colleagues. “They don’t look Jewish to me, but I didn’t ask what the intent was. It kind of felt like a memorial, to be honest.”

TPL spokesperson Ana-Maria Critchley said in an email that the library “stands by its original statement that explains why the display was adjusted.” Hazzan was not available for an interview. 

Discussion began after social media post: spokesperson

Senior TPL staff began discussing the display on April 10 — a week before B’nai Brith Canada’s complaint — following a social media post, Critchley said. The previous day, Lisa Radha Vohra, a TPL director, sent the post to several staff, including Pam Ryan. Ryan responded that she and colleagues had coincidentally just met to discuss the TPL’s policies on exhibits and displays. 

The post, a copy of which Critchley shared with Ricochet, features an image of the display, which was titled “Israel-Palestine Conflict.” Over an image of the display, the user wrote, “It’s a genocide, not a ‘conflict.’” 

Ryan, a member of TPL’s management team, wrote to colleagues that the word “conflict” was appropriate, but “it’s the balance part that matters.”

On April 16, Hazzan wrote, “I was actually at the branch today, and I wouldn’t say that this display was neutral or balanced.” In a subsequent message she added that the display “was heavily weighted towards the Palestinian perspective.” 

Ryan responded that branches had relevant displays following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, “so there is feeling these are appropriate topics, but currently no guidance on how to approach.”

Internal discussions continued after Austin Parcels of Jewish organization B’nai Brith Canada wrote to Ryan on April 17 with several complaints about the display: “the lack of content showing the Jewish perspective and experiences,” the list of the dead that, he said, did not include any Israelis, and the inclusion of Alareer’s poem, “which glorifies martyrdom.”

Parcels initially responded to messages from Ricochet, but did not respond to a subsequent email sharing more information and seeking comment for this story.

The poem is “not overtly political,” said Colin Robinson, publisher of OR Books, the press behind Alareer’s posthumous “If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose.” 

“It’s elegiac and beautiful, and I think that’s why it became a meme around the world,” said Robinson, adding that the poem symbolizes “a kind of dignified, Palestinian, intelligent view” of events in Gaza. 

Alareer, a writer and editor living in Gaza, drew new attention while posting online and commenting on Israel’s latest assault on the territory, which began after Hamas and other groups took hostages and killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, 2023. Alareer shared the poem on X last November, weeks before an Israeli airstrike killed him and several family members. 

In his message to Ryan, Parcels included a photo showing a display of books flanked by what appears to be Alareer’s poem in English and French and the quotation, “If I must die, you must live to tell my story.” The books include a mix of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including a history of Israel by late Jewish historian Martin Gilbert and a book on the country’s conflict with Iran co-authored by a communications director for Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Referring to a previous discussion with the TPL about the need to combat antisemitism, the display was “a step in the wrong direction,” Parcels wrote. 

Thirty minutes later, Ryan forwarded Parcels’ complaint to colleagues, including Hazzan. 

The next day, Vohra described a conversation she had with two colleagues, one of whom confirmed that the list of the dead included Israelis and Palestinians. 

Vohra included what appears to be a transcript of a staff member’s explanation for the display. The display was to include poetry and prose from numerous political perspectives, according to the transcript, as well as information, if available, on the International Criminal Court, terms like “genocide” and “occupation,” and Israel’s conflicts with Iran and in Lebanon. 

The list of the dead was inappropriate, Hazzan responded. 

“It does not help to inform and educate, and makes it feel more like a memorial than an information display,” she wrote. “I would suggest they take that down.” (Critchley confirmed staff removed the list from the display.)

The poetry was also inappropriate, Hazzan added. 

“These people and their works have been politicized and can be misinterpreted as a statement or position. I think the display needs to be as politically neutral and balanced as possible,” she wrote. 

Terms like ‘occupation’ too political for display

Although the TPL maintains B’nai Brith Canada’s complaint was not the reason it changed the display, the emails show staff worked quickly to address Parcels’ concerns. 

When Vohra suggested on April 18 that she and her colleagues meet the following week to discuss the display, Hazzan responded, “Do you think we can wait that long, though?”

Moe Hosseini-Ara, the TPL’s director of branch operations and customer experience, suggested the group speak in about an hour. 

Hosseini-Ara wrote in the same email that he was “not convinced” the list of the dead and quotation were appropriate. And including information on the International Criminal Court, terms like “genocide” or “martyr,” and Israel’s conflicts with Iran and in Lebanon “makes the display feel more like a political message,” Hosseini-Ara said. In a separate message, he said the display was not balanced and should be changed or removed.

Just after 3:00 p.m. on April 18, Hazzan told Parcels in an email that staff would remove the list of the dead and the poem. Staff would try to ensure “balance,” she added, depending on what is available to feature in the display. 

TPL highlights its ‘commitment to protecting… intellectual freedom’

The TPL has previously shrugged off fierce opposition while promoting discussion and welcoming controversial speakers on a variety of topics. 

Writer and academic Norman Finkelstein spoke at the Toronto Reference Library in December 2023. B’nai Brith Canada called on the TPL to cancel the event. Like Alareer, Finkelstein suggested a moral equivalence between Hamas’ October 7 attacks and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.  

Today, Alareer’s book, “If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose,” is listed as “in transit” at several TPL branches. Alareer edited and contributed to two other books that are also part of the TPL’s collection. 

Gaza Writes Back, a collection of stories by young Gazan writers, is available at the reference library, steps away from a display featuring books that have been banned and censored. 

“By making them available here, and throughout our 100 branches and at tpl.ca, TPL is highlighting its commitment to protecting and promoting intellectual freedom,” the display reads.

With files from Ayesha Ghaffar.