Beloved NYC Literary Series Paused Following Israel-Palestine Brouhaha

New York City’s 92nd St. Y has halted a beloved literary reading series after the organization’s decision to cancel an event featuring a novelist who had been critical of Israel prompted other artists and writers to cancel their own appearances at the venue.

The Y, which was founded 150 years ago as the Young Men’s Hebrew Association and is now known as 92NY, called off a Friday appearance by Pulitzer Prize-winner Viet Thanh Nguyen just five hours before it was scheduled to start. Nguyen had signed onto a letter condemning Israeli attacks on Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border raids as disproportionate.

“I hope there is a moral consensus that killing civilians is wrong, whether Hamas does it or whether Israel does it,” Nguyen posted on Instagram two days prior, explaining his reasoning for signing last Wednesday’s letter, published in the London Review of Books. “I try to keep space in my mind and heart for all the victims and their loved ones. We share a common humanity.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.