In just one week, more than 1,000 people have signed a petition asking for a film screening to happen at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library.
As of Monday, March 18, the Change.org online petition had 1,047 signatures. Simcoe County 4 Palestine launched the petition March 11, the same day the cancellation was publicly announced, and the group is requesting the library reschedule the screening originally planned for Sunday, March 17.
According to the petition, the cancellation has “silenced the voices of Palestinian people,” is “an act of anti-Palestinian racism” and “undermines efforts toward peace and justice.”
The group is urging the library to support the screening to “uphold the principles of freedom of expression and cultural diversity.”
In light the petition hitting the milestone, Change.org sent out a media release highlighting some of the comments from supporters.
“If anyone needs a voice right now, it is the Palestinian people. I believe this film can foster an understanding of the plight of people in that besieged nation. While I am sympathetic to those who experience anti-Semitism, I decry the notion that stimulating dialogue through this film will embolden hate. It is through art — film, books, music — that we may grow to understand each other. Show the film. Host a discussion,” Mary Whittaker of Barrie commented.
“A public library is supposed to be providing sources of valuable information to the public. It is the taxpayers’ right to have their choice of resources available as a source of education, especially on such a topic as Palestine, which is practically invisible in most, if not all libraries. So it’s about time there is a glimpse of the truth about the Palestinian reality shared in a library,” Teresa dePinto of Richmond Hill commented.
As previously reported, 359 people signed an earlier petition started by a resident group calling themselves Jewish Bradford Association, who requested the cancellation and claimed the screening “may inadvertently incite anti-Semitic sentiments,” with a representative of the group making even bolder claims.
While the screening was originally planned in response to a resident request, the library’s statement explained it was cancelled “out of an abundance of caution for the safety of participants and all library patrons,” and Nina Cuniff, deputy chief executive officer at the library, explained that while there have been “no explicit threats to public safety,” the library received concerns that “the film screening could cause attendees and library patrons to feel unsafe.”
Cuniff called the decision “difficult” and added the library will work with local groups to develop programming “that encompasses broad perspectives and ensures that all feel safe and welcome.”
The film is a fictional drama about a Palestinian man named Mustafa, whose wife and children live apart from him in a different Palestinian village in the West Bank, with both villages 200 metres apart and separated by the Israeli barrier wall. After Mustafa’s son is taken to hospital and Mustafa is unable to cross through a checkpoint to see him, the father makes the decision to hire a smuggler to bring him across, which transforms the 200-metre distance to his son into a 200-kilometre journey.
