Trans activists thwart controversial book launch, sparking free speech debate
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, positing that transgenderism in teen girls is a social contagion, was released in 2020, Amazon would not allow her to advertise it, and employees of the book-selling giant petitioned for it not to be sold at all. It was twice removed from Target’s shelves, and even a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union called for “stopping the circulation of this book.”
With the book’s recent release in Hebrew by Sella Meir, a publisher that specializes in bringing heterodox and conservative voices to light, the debate over whether Shrier’s ideas should even be available in the public square has reached Tel Aviv’s public square: Kikar Atarim, to be precise.
Sella Meir and the Tel Aviv International Salon (TAIS) planned a book launch for Shrier for her to advise parents on what to do if their teen daughters say they are transgender. The event was planned to take place at the glass-windowed strip clubturned-event space overlooking the beach, run by the organization the Social
Space, for next Sunday, until the publishing house’s owner. Rotem Sella, and TAIS founder Jay Shultz were told it was canceled.
“We do not host such events,” a woman named Omer wrote. Sella said she called the event “homophobic” in a phone call.
The Social Space, which repurposes unused buildings for social projects, did not respond to numerous emails or calls from The Jerusalem Post. But it told Haaretz it would not have signed with Sella Meir in the first place had it known about the book’s content, adding that it “will not allow for any incitement.”
fears that fights over the judicial overhaul issue would break the army apart. The IDF must be kept out of politics at all costs. he said.
In addition, Halevi said the IDF must continue the mandatory draft to continue to remain strong and safe in the dangerous region that is the Middle East. Other countries that may have recently dropped their mandatory draft were in much safer and lower-risk regions, he said.
Moving on to the threat posed by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Halevi said Israel wants to avoid war, but it should also always be ready to consider military moves “that can yield advantages” in the ongoing standoff. “Relative deterrence of Hezbollah [from attacking Israel] has been achieved, but this does not mean forever,” he said.
On one hand, “Hezbollah is very deterred from fighting a big war versus Israel,” Halevi said. But on the other hand, Hezbollah “thinks it understands how we think, which can lead it to dare and challenge us in scenarios where we won’t go to war” in response.
Halevi said all of this means that Israel must “take action to carry out surprises when needed” to make Hezbollah feel less secure about being daring against Israel.
Halevi’s comments come one day after OC IDF Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva said Nasrallah might miscalculate his understanding of Israel and accidentally drag both sides into a larger conflict.
“We have a very good level of readiness in the North for any war,” Haliva said. “It gets better every day.”
Although any fight with Hezbollah would be very difficult for the IDF and the Israeli home front, “it would be very hard for Lebanon to recover after such a war,” he said.
Turning his attention to Syria and Syrian President Bashar Assad, Halevi said: “Any state that got closer to Iran is failing and falling apart. He should take this into account.”
Moreover, “in recent weeks, Assad came for the first time in 12 years to an Arab League meeting,” he noted. “He is starting hesitatingly to return to the region,” leaving open the question of whether moderate Sunni states may draw Syria away from the dangerous Iranian Shi’ite axis.
Regarding the West Bank, Halevi said, despite the current ongoing waves of terrorist attacks since March 2022, it is better to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, so that it will maintain order, rather than weaken it, which could create more chaos or pave the way for Hamas to take over, as it did in Gaza.
Halevi also recalled what he said were many IDF achievements cies, Halevi said. •