Palestinian-American's Library Reading, Initially Cancelled, Now Back On

A Palestinian-American writer, who lashed out at the Evanston Public Library after it canceled his scheduled talk next week, will have his reading after all.

Ali Abunimah, the author of “The Battle for Justice in Palestine,” was booked to read at the library Aug. 11. On Saturday, however, the library Tweeted that the reading was being rescheduled, saying, “With this complex issue, we now plan to schedule more speakers on other dates too.”

In response, Abunimah voiced his anger in a blog post on The Electronic Intifada website, which he co-founded, calling the library’s decision, “a politically motivated and blatant act of censorship.” He said he learned of the decision via Twitter.

He included an email that he said was from a library staff member explaining the change and saying that because a “pro Israeli” speaker hadn’t yet been booked, the library didn’t want to host his reading.

On Monday, the library issued a statement saying that, “the request to reschedule this program was mishandled by the Library.” But it took issue with the idea that Abunimah had been censored. “The statement that the Evanston Public Library banned or censored the work of author Ali Abunimah is false.”

The statement also said that the reading is now back on at 7 p.m. Aug. 11.

In a blog post after the library’s statement was released, Abunimah said he was pleased that his reading would happen.

“Now, more than ever, people want to talk about what is happening in Palestine,” he wrote. “I’m ready to engage with everyone who comes, whether they agree with me or disagree.”