On Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 24) both Wilton First Selectman Toni Boucher and Wilton Library Executive Director Caroline Mandler issued statements regarding the recent controversy surrounding the library’s newly named writer-in-residence.
On Saturday, news reports surfaced that Wilton Library‘s first-ever writer-in-residence, Aisha Abdel Gawad, had refused to take part in a book festival forum at SUNY Albany because, according to organizers, she stated the panel’s moderator was a “Zionist.”
The story appeared on multiple online news outlets, including on Yahoo.com, and spread widely on social media, and the resulting coverage generated enough attention nationally to prompt email writing campaigns condemning Gawad’s withdrawal and the book festival’s subsequent cancellation of the event as antisemitic. Wilton Library, School and Town officials received upwards of 3,000 emails over the next 36-48 hours.
GOOD Morning Wilton sought reactions from local officials and published their comments on Monday. “At this time, I am only able to say that the library is taking this situation very seriously,” Mandler said then.
Boucher expressed her “deep concern” and added, “Antisemitism in any form has no place in our society and certainly not in Wilton. I hope to find out more and may then be able to comment further.”
GMW also sent several email requests to Gawad for comment but has not yet heard back.
Tuesday afternoon, Mandler emailed GMW another statement:
“We are in active internal discussions and are convening the Board for meetings tomorrow. We are taking this very seriously. Let’s be clear — the Library firmly believes that there is no place for hate, Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or racism of any kind in our community. Wilton Library continues to be dedicated to its mission to ‘inform, enrich, connect, and inspire our community,’ and to maintain an environment where everyone is made to feel safe and welcome.”
Also on Tuesday, Boucher issued a statement to the media and to residents via the town’s email alert system:
“It has been widely reported in news outlets that Aisha Abdel Gawad, the Wilton Library’s inaugural Cornerstone Writer-in-Residence, refused to sit on a panel with a fellow author at a Writer’s Festival in Albany because she deemed this other writer to be a ‘Zionist.’ I am deeply troubled by this revelation. We live in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious country. As civilized members of this society, we must be able sit at the table with those whose views differ from our own. Any unwillingness to share a public forum in this way smacks of an intolerance that is antithetical to our American values.
“Just recently, community and religious leaders in Wilton convened panels to address how discrimination and bias threatened the quality of life in our town. I attended these discussions where leaders of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities sat side by side to talk about these issues with great respect and care. The event did so much to foster problem-solving and harmony among neighbors. Not only is this the best way to broach our differences, but I believe that this kind of community building is the real Wilton.
“I understand that the Board of Trustees of the Library will be meeting this week on this critical issue. The Board of Selectman will be watching the results of their executive session closely, as this organization receives 75% of its operating funds from the taxpayers of Wilton. It was quite a shock to me, personally, to learn, as the news was made public, of this writer’s views and her subsequent behavior. Please know that I speak for the entire Board of Selectman in stating adamantly that antisemitism has no place in our society and certainly not in Wilton. I will share updates on this terrible situation as they become available.”