Bethlehem library reopens meeting rooms after clash over talk.

BETHLEHEM — Public meeting spaces at the Bethlehem Public Library have reopened for events months after shuttering them following an event hosted by a propalestinian group.

A Dec. 5 talk by Miko Peled, a peace activist who once served in the Israel Defense Forces, and hosted by the anti-war group Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, was met with opposition from many members of the Capital Region Jewish community including Bethlehem Chabad’s Rabbi Zalman Simon and Rabbi Greg D. Weitzman of Temple Beth Emeth in Albany.

Peled is a vociferous critic of Israel and has accused the Israeli government of participating in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Rancorous moments during the gathering led the library board to a pause on meeting room reservations until after the library’s March 11board meeting. According to a report from Spotlight News, Peled singled out an audience member wearing an IDF sweatshirt, calling the Israeli armed forces a “violent terrorist organization.”

Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace was also banned from reserving library meeting rooms for one year for allowing Peled to sell copies of his book at the event. Commercial activity of any kind by people who reserve spaces is a violation of long-standing library rules.

Library Director Geoff Kirkpatrick said that he understood that Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace

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were unaware that Peled would be selling his book at the event but that the person or group who reserves a library meeting room is ultimately responsible for making sure guests and attendees follow library rules.

Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace member Trudy Quaif said that the library’s decision to ban the group from reserving rooms stemmed from a desire to placate pro-israel community members who opposed the talk. She said that Peled was selling a few books in the parking lot of the library and the crowd of people in attendance — both supporters and opponents of the gathering — made it very difficult to keep track of the speaker.

“It was a mob scene. I barely had a chance to say three words to him when he arrived,” Quaif said. “I think he assumed coming to a library he would be allowed to sell books.”

She said that if the group could hold the event again crowd control would be a larger focus. She also said that the group is attempting to fight the ban and had been in contact with lawyers.

In an interview Thursday, Kirkpatrick said the pause was put in place while the board crafted a new policy on how meeting rooms could be used. He stressed that new rules would remain “content-neutral” and would also have an emphasis on crowd control. In the meantime, capacity in the community room, the library’s largest meeting space, would be capped at 50 people.

He said he expected new draft regulations to be presented at next month’s board meeting but that the decision to move ahead with new reservations was prompted by a demand for spaces for gatherings like Girl Scout troop meetings and rehearsals for elementary school lip-syncing performances.