Oh to have been a fly on the wall at Friday night dinner...
On Monday, Jonathan Kay, managing editor of the National Post's Comment section, stood up for the controversial Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak, the children's book by Deborah Ellis that some want banned from schools and libraries.
A few months back, the Ontario Library Association (OLA) short-listed Ellis' book Three Wishes: Palestinians and Israeli Children Speak for a literature award. This angered the Canadian Jewish Congress, which claims the book is inappropriate for grade-schoolers because some of the Palestinians Ellis interviewed support terrorism. In response, the York District School Board removed Three Wishes from its reading list. And the Toronto District School Board barred 4th and 5th graders from borrowing the book unless they have a parent's permission. Last week, the controversy made the front page of the Toronto Star.
Having read Three Wishes, I don't see what the fuss is about. This is one of those rarest of Canadian birds: politically correct censorship from the right.
Good for Kay. Given the usual slant of the Post's opinion pages, this came as a surprise.
Today however, a contrary view -- this time from columnist Barbara Kay (sub. req'd.) The emphasis is mine.
As the book touches on sensitive issues -- one interviewee expresses a wish to become a suicide bomber -- Three Wishes has ignited controversy in Ontario, where it's been nominated for a literary prize.
My fellow columnist feels the book highlights real concerns even-handedly -- Palestinian children's sense of grievance balanced by Israeli children's fears of terror. He admits to one reservation, however: "The only thing [author Deborah] Ellis might be faulted for is not providing more detail about how Arab leaders encourage such murderous hatred."
But what he perceives as a mere shortcoming I believe corrupts the whole enterprise.
<SNIP>
Even more misleadingly, Ellis states: "Many Palestinians disagree with the suicide bombings ... But other Palestinians consider suicide bombers to be martyrs, or heroes." This equivocation is disingenuous. While individual Palestinians may disapprove of the practice, the official position is clear: Parents of bombers are financially rewarded by authority figures. Teachers, rock stars, clerics, media pundits and sports heroes are all complicit in advancing child suicide bombing as a cultural norm.
Three Wishes seems even-handed on the surface, but scratch lightly, and it emerges as a paean to wishful thinking by a moral relativist who can't bear to admit that some cultures value life in general, and their children's lives in particular, more than others.
Leaving aside the merits of the book, which I have not read, I have to say B. Kay should have been more precise when referring to J. Kay.
He's her son.
Too funny...Everyone who's read the Nastypost knows that Jon 'n Barb are a mother/son act.
I wondered who comissioned Barb's piece AND on whose orders.
'Notice how Mme Zerby tactfully refrained from mentioning the Graspers, the Zionist machers who own/run Canwest.
Somehow, I don't think we'll be hearing from the natpost's alleged media columnist War Kins on this except perhaps some bloviation in favour of occasional censorship of children's literature that fails to pay adequate lip service to prevailing power-elite sensibilities such as this book obviously does.
Personally, I loathe all forms of censorship almost as much as I detest suicide bombers and the corrupt hate-driven Palestinian regime, which now calls for the elimination of Israel...and, Iran's new President calling for a nuclear solution for Israel.
Perhaps the correctoid compromise should be to continue to freely distribute/display in librairies, etc. copies of "Three Wishes," which ought to carry warning labels.
Posted by: Scott Disher aka MoDuv | March 08, 2006 at 08:29 PM
"This is one of those rarest of Canadian birds: politically correct censorship from the right"
Yea that is rare ,!!!!!
Posted by: Stephen Reevess | March 08, 2006 at 08:51 PM
"Too funny...Everyone who's read the Nastypost knows that Jon 'n Barb are a mother/son act."
How many people is that?
:-)
Posted by: Antonia | March 08, 2006 at 09:10 PM
About half as many people as read Toronto Star. But, on the other hand, most people read Toronto Star for its Sports section.
Posted by: Johan i Kanada | March 09, 2006 at 04:15 PM
Well then that would explain where JKay gets his craptacular writing skills from. They both suck.
Posted by: Glowbull | March 11, 2006 at 02:17 AM
Three Wishes is a wonderful book that challenges the minds of the readers. I think a grade-four student can decide if the book is worth reading independently. Grade-six students, who are expected to learn about the global-world, should be encouraged to learn how to critique the written word and develop opinions on issues happening around the world.
Not by choice, but I've read other books to elementary classes that measure reading and listening comprehension. Some of those books have put the students and me to sleep. Why? Because they are safe and boring.
I read that one parent felt that families are best able to decide what their children should read. Does that mean that schools should invite the parents to the library to pre-approve every book that their child reads?
As for the CJC representative who said that Three Wishes demonizes both sides, why should I believe that he actually cares about poor little Palestinian kids? Couldn't a Palestinian-Canadian adult act as a spokesperson on behalf of Palestinian kids?
Posted by: Anonymous | March 21, 2006 at 06:30 AM
I am doing a story on the `banning' of Three Wishes by the Toronto School Board. In this context I am looking for any children in grades 4-6 who have read the book and who would be willing, (with parental consent,) to be interviewed about it.
Please contact me at peters@citytv.com .
Peter Silverman, Ombudsman, CitryNews
Posted by: peter Silverman | March 10, 2007 at 05:41 PM