Toronto Public Library branch removed a poem by a celebrated Palestinian poet killed in an Israeli airstrike in December, following pressure from pro-Israel lobby group B’nai Brith Canada, a move that advocates are calling a clear example of anti-Palestinian racism.

“The removal of the poem highlights concerns regarding Palestinian voices and their rights to express their human experiences. It implies that Palestinians are reduced to mere political issues without the entitlement to cultural expression or even the basic right to exist without facing labels of anti-Israel or antisemitic,” Ewais [researcher at Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)] says.

She added that “writing about death should not automatically be equated with glorifying martyrdom; rather, it is a part of the human experience. To remove Palestinian narratives without valid reasons is a form of discrimination and racism.”