Asheville – The West Asheville Library incident is just a small piece of how the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has boiled over into Asheville. Since October 7, protesters have been showing up to Asheville City Council meetings for public comment. Their narrative is aligned with that of news sources like Al Jazeera.
Scores would show up accessorized in what one Fox News host snarkily referred to as “designs from the Yasser Arafat collection,” and meetings would often end with chants of “Free! Free! Palestine!” Speakers include those genuinely fearful for what might happen to their friends and family back home, youth in search of belonging, and ringleaders. Notably, council experienced a reprieve the week protests erupted at Cambridge and other college campuses.
Soon, Monica Buckley, a self-proclaimed Zionist, started sharing the Israeli perspective. She said everybody, at minimum, needed a place to be, and the Israelis were only acting in self-defense. Furthermore, the holding of 200 hostages and the slaughter of 2,000 civilians were not acceptable. It seemed bold—a frail woman standing on behalf of her people against an upset crowd.
Buckley was soon joined by David Moritz. He would get others to cede time so he could deliver a 10-minute presentation, complete with slides documenting historical events leading to Hitler’s rise to power. He argued that, as the son of Holocaust survivors, he was alarmed by the seeds of anti-Semitism that were sprouting. He said he couldn’t control what was going on in the Middle East, but he had an obligation to make sure what was written on these pages in history would never repeat in America.
The event at the West Asheville Public Library was called “Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair,” an acronym not unintentionally shared with the ACAB of cop-hater graffiti. Like many anarchist events, it had no official sponsors, only a more or less loose affiliation with Firestorm, the local anarchist bookstore and conversation spot. The subject of the seminar was “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance.” Buckley claimed she, Moritz, and Bob Campbell, described as an 80-year-old cancer patient, had the right to attend the event because it was held in a public library and advertised as free and open to the public. She, however, livestreamed it from her phone, saying she feared for her safety.
Footage from Buckley’s recording published online shows the presenter being informed that the meeting was being livestreamed. He asked the participants how they wanted to handle the situation, and answers ranged from rude quips to polite approaches to dismissing them or just the phone. At this point, people started to move between the camera and the presentation.
The intimidation continued, and Moritz could be heard asking, “What are you guys afraid of? I thought you want your message sent out.” People started mobilizing as somebody made a quip about a Zionist occupation. More blocked the camera as one man began clapping and the “Free! Free! Palestine!” chant began.
Campbell was seen shaking with agitation as Buckley called, “Bob? Bob?” When it was time for the echo in the chants, he shouted, “Blah! Blah! Blah!” A hand was seen restraining Campbell’s arm in a femme fatale grip. According to some accounts, the fight started when somebody took the phone and Buckley tried to get it back, but people were already moving into position before the video went black. Following seconds of brawling audio, somebody said, “This is someone’s phone. I’m just going to chuck it against the wall.”
The three were allegedly forced outside. Buckley reported being pulled, kicked in the head, and having her ankles stomped. Moritz later published a selfie with a quarter of his head bruised and bumped. Campbell, who reportedly was also forced to the ground, had serious contusions on his arms.
The police responded around 3 p.m., and the three were treated for minor injuries. One person was arrested, the victims intend to press charges, and the Asheville Police Department has published photos of suspects it would like to identify.
ACAB posted on acabookfair.noblogs.org that Buckley and Moritz were “two well-known fascists,” “white supremacists,” and provocateurs. They said Moritz had “attempted to force his way into Palestinian solidary encampments at the University of California in Los Angeles and here in Asheville with the goal of inciting conflict.” Buckley, they said, “bragged about starting the brawl by tackling a bookfair attendee [and] stayed in the neighborhood, harassing and threating community members from a car.” They said the ruckus was “a planned disruption by individuals with extreme, genocidal beliefs who have publicly called for the suppression of solidarity with Palestinians.”