(JTA) — A program on Palestinian nonviolent movements was canceled less than 48 hours before it was to take place at a Jewish community space in New York.
The Y’s executive director, Steven Hazan Arnoff, late on May 25 called off the event scheduled for Sunday and planned by Young, Jewish and Proud, the youth branch of Jewish Voice for Peace.
In a statement the event’s organizer, Young, Jewish and Proud, said that Arnoff also refused to reschedule the event. The group said it had signed a contract and rented the space for several months earlier.
“This is emblematic of patterns of silencing Jews, and particularly young Jewish people, who want to engage openly in conversation about Israel and Palestine," Young, Jewish and Proud member Liza Behrendt told JTA.
According to Young, Jewish and Proud, Arnoff said he was canceling the event — part of a series of educational workshops to discuss the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement — due to concerns over high attendance. Some 40 people had reserved space for the workshop in a room with a capacity of 75, the organization said.
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