(Image: Lighthouse Books)
A 'cancelled' travel writer and a self-described ‘radical’ Edinburgh bookshop are embroiled in a public row over Israel, Zionism, and “problematic speech”.
Cyclist and author Julian Sayarer was scheduled to appear at Lighthouse Bookshop on West Nicolson Street to promote his book about cycling in Latin America.
However, the bookstore pulled the October 21 event after becoming aware of several "problematic" social media posts by Mr Sayarer.
In one post referenced by the bookshop, the author blamed “endemic Jewish overrepresentation in leftist circles and media” for convincing people “that Jews aren't Zionists” instead of “convincing their fellow Jews not to be Zionists”.
Mr Sayarer also appeared to argue that British Jews influenced the Brexit vote.
In another post, Mr Sayarer wrote: “Nobody and certainly no foreign state did anything like as much to influence the course of British politics away from a referendum to avert Brexit than British Jews, including their big chief rabbi endorsing a vote for Boris Johnson to avoid a Jewish spiritual crisis.”
Raising the issue on social media, the travel journalist claimed he had been “cancelled” by the bookshop, which he accused of perpetuating “insidious Zionism in supposedly anti-Zionist spaces”.
He also shared an email from the bookstore explaining why the event had been cancelled.
“We've recently come across some of your posts on twitter and find we are fundamentally at odds on the way you collapse Zionism and Jews, conflating race and ideology and leaning into warped tropes like Jews controlling the media,” the email stated.
“Not only is the framing antisemitic - just as collapsing militant Islamism with Muslims would be racist - it's the kind of straw man attack that we see diverting energy from crucial movement building, and it simply doesn't align with our politics of care or our philosophy of change.”
Mr Sayarer denied he was using antisemitic tropes, and instead said he was "talking of Zionism in the Jewish community”.
"Given the bookshop’s accusation that I upheld tropes such as 'Jews control the media' (an asinine claim that I’d never make and totally obscures how any power works), it is ironic to reject such a claim by promptly cancelling me," he said.
In response, Lighthouse wrote on Facebook: “Sentiments such as these clearly conflict with our safe spaces policy and we will always reject any attempt to equate the Jewish people as a whole with the state of Israel and the Zionist lobby.
“In an age when spurious accusations of antisemitism are frequently used to silence anti-Zionists, we feel it is even more important to call out instances of problematic speech like this, and not to platform those who espouse it.”
Mourners gather around the flag-draped remains of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes after they were recovered from the rubble. (Image: AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)
According to its ‘safe spaces policy’, the bookshop does not platform speakers who engage in "oppressive language”, which is described as “any racist, sexist, homophobic, antisemitic, Zionist, transphobic or disablist language, including misgendering”.
Mr Sayarer hit back on his Substack, writing it was ‘suspicious’ that his event had been cancelled within days of being promoted by the bookshop.
“Scenario 1 is that the event was publicly promoted and an over-entitled Zionist, jewish or otherwise, got on the phone angrily, and the radical bookshop capitulated,” he wrote.
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"Scenario 2 is almost more depressing; they didn’t even have to get on the phone."
However, the bookshop said Mr Sayarer had "spread unfounded accusations and misrepresent our correspondence".
“We did not want to let these accusations go unanswered, but this will be our only public statement on the matter, though we welcome members of our community to reach out to us if they have concerns around this issue,” Lighthouse Books said on Facebook.
“Those who know us know what we stand for, and how committed we are to the liberation of the Palestinian people."