To anyone familiar with the book tour scene in New York City, PowerHouse Bookstores and its largest venue, Powerhouse Arena, will ring a rather noisy bell. To book PowerHouse for a book tour is a feather in a writer's cap.
Boasting a sexy location in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood, the arena's vaulted ceilings and hipster clientele define the avant-garde of writerly cool. While the 92nd Street Y is a more prestigious venue, it's also stuffier, bordering on Boomer vibes.
So it comes as a surprise that PowerHouse would turn censorious. Yesterday, at the last minute, the store manager refused to let author Joshua Leifer take the stage to discuss his book with a self-proclaimed "proudly Zionist" rabbi. As reported by the New York Post:
"Joshua Leifer was just a few hours from taking the stage at Powerhouse Arena in Dumbo Tuesday to discuss his new book with Rabbi Andy Bachman when he learned that the venue was pulling its support over Bachman’s pro-Israel politics."
The idea that speech would be suppressed--not because of the author's views, which would still be unconstitutional--but because of the interviewer's political views is abhorrent on its face. Further, Bachman claims to take issue with the current war:
"Bachman described himself as a “proud Zionist,” but noted that he opposes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government – including some stances Israel has taken in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip." --ibid.
The snub comes in the midst of leftist infighting over the Israel-Palestine war. Democrats saw their national convention sullied by pro-Palestine protests. In his swan song speech at the DNC earlier this week, disgraced Democratic figurehead Joe Biden tried to stay on both sides of the conflict, saying that the Palestinian supporters who infiltrated the tightly-controlled DNC security "have a point."
Biden's conciliatory phrase didn't go far enough for those who insist Israel is committing genocide in the Middle East. Mainstream media have downplayed the disruption caused by the protesters, but the images are telling. How this rift plays out in the election remains to be seen.
PowerHouse was founded in 1995 by Daniel Power.
For uncensored literary selections, skip the lefty bookstores and their drama. Check out The Manhattan's book list. You can read the entire list here!
