92NY, one of New York City’s major cultural institutions, abruptly canceled its evening events on Friday after Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen signed an open letter criticizing Israel. , leading to criticism that the group was suppressing dissenting opinions. .
The event at 92NY, formerly known as the 92nd Street Y, will see Nguyen chat with novelist Minh Jin Lee about her new memoir, The Man with Two Faces, in an auditorium on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It was planned. The number of seats is approximately 900. But on Friday afternoon, after the Y announced it would no longer hold the event, lecture organizer Bernard Schwartz, who heads the Y’s Poetry Center, moved the lecture to a bookstore in lower Manhattan and offered a standing room. collected. -The crowd in the room is about 100 people.
92NY said in a statement Saturday that the event has simply been postponed.
“We are a Jewish organization that has always welcomed people with diverse perspectives to our stage,” the statement said. “The brutal attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th and the continued detention of hostages, including the elderly and young children, has completely destroyed communities. Read public comments on Israel and this moment by invited authors Given that, we felt it was the responsible move to postpone the event to allow us time to determine how best to utilize our platform and support the entire 92NY community. .”
But participants see it differently. At the relocated event, Nguyen described the Y’s decision as a “cancellation,” which he said he was informed of around 2 p.m. that day.
No explanation was given, he said. But he was reacting to the fact that he was among more than 750 writers and artists who signed an open letter strongly critical of Israel published in the London Review of Books on Wednesday. He said he thought so.
Schwartz, who has led 92NY’s Unterberg Poetry Center since 2005, called the Y’s decision “unacceptable” during his introduction at the event. He noted that both Mr. Nguyen and Mr. Lee have dealt with issues such as war, memory, identity and trauma in their works.
“Who else would you like to hear from at a time like this?” he asked.
The event was the latest example of the cultural fallout surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, sparking complex debates on university campuses and across cultural organizations about freedom of expression, solidarity, and the permissibility of debate around Israel. Events featuring Palestinian artists and culture have been canceled and some controversial statements in support of Palestinians have been cited as failing to adequately acknowledge Hamas’ killing of Israeli civilians and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Leaders of some organizations have been criticized.
In an interview after the event, Schwartz said he, like his colleagues, had been monitoring the letters and petitions “as someone who works at the Y and as someone who is trying to figure out what’s going on.”
He said he briefed the Y leadership on Thursday afternoon about the long-planned event with Nguyen. He said he focused on both the London Review of Books’ open letter and Nguyen’s open letter. public support Mr. Schwartz said his support for the movement to boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, known as BDS, predates other events Mr. Nguyen has staged without incident over the years at 92NY. He pointed out that there is.
On Thursday night, 92NY CEO Seth Pinsky called a meeting of the board’s executive committee, Schwartz said. Schwartz said he was then told there would be further discussions about whether to hold the event.
He said he was asked to call Nguyen around 2 p.m. Friday to discuss “postponing” the event. “I rejected it,” Schwartz said. Instead, they arranged to hold the event at the McNally-Jackson Bookstore on Fulton Street.
Introducing the bookstore event, Schwartz mentioned a promotional brochure sent out by the Y this summer that features Nguyen’s face and the words, “Writers who inspire us, books that define us.” was raised.
“What has changed between August and 2pm today that means artists and thinkers and moral leaders like Viet and Minh will no longer be able to come to the Y?” he asked. Asked. “I’ll leave that question alone.”
The letter, signed by Nguyen, is titled “Open Letter on the Situation in Palestine” and calls for an end to Israel’s “unprecedented and indiscriminate violence” in Gaza, including “grave crimes against humanity.”I drew it harsh criticism from some It does not mention Hamas at all, and only vaguely mentions the October 7 attack that killed about 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians.
On Thursday, Nguyen posted a statement on Instagram about why she signed the letter.
“The Israeli government and its supporters are trying to shut down all forms of protest in Israel, including non-violent protests like BDS, which leads to the current situation where some people can only think of violence as a solution. “We are inviting the situation,” he wrote. “Palestinian literature and art, or even anything sympathetic to Palestinians, is being silenced.”
92NY’s decision to cancel the event drew concerns from free expression groups. Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, said writers are especially important in times of war and conflict as “bridges across divisions.”
“I think as a literary and cultural community, as difficult as it is, we really have to do our part to remain open to all voices and not back down even when it’s really difficult,” she said.
92NY was founded in 1874 as the Hebrew Youth Association with the purpose of serving “the social and spiritual needs of the American Jewish community,” according to its website.
In the 20th century, the organization morphed into the 92nd Street Y, a cultural arts organization widely known to New Yorkers as the “Y.” Last year, a $200 million renovation began and the brand name was changed to 92NY. The company also hired a rabbi to “more publicly assert our Jewish identity” amid rising anti-Semitism, CEO Pinsky said at the time.
Founded in 1939, the Unterberg Poetry Center is one of the oldest literary institutions in the country, with speakers including luminaries such as Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Philip Roth, and Margaret Atwood. is named.
At an event at the bookstore on Friday, Ms. Lee said she and Ms. Nguyen had “absolutely no ill will” toward 92NY, and that she had taken six writing classes at 92NY over the years. “No matter what happened today, it should not provoke any feelings against New York Jews,” she stressed.
“When we think about any organization or nation, I want us to remember that it is made up of individuals,” she said. “There is always plurality.”
Schwartz later said he was “heartbroken” by what happened, noting that his schedule for future events is packed.
“What other events would Company Y say they can no longer hold on stage?” he asked.