An under-fire Brooklyn bookstore has canned an apparent rogue manager who canceled and “unilaterally” derailed a Jewish author’s book launch event because of the moderator’s pro-Israel views.
Powerhouse Arena owner Daniel Power told The Post Thursday the staffer acted alone when she decided to pull the plug on Joshua Leifer’s event after telling the author the store “did not want a Zionist” moderator.
The manager pulled the stunt a week before she was set to start a new job at a nearby bookstore, according to Power, who said her actions came out of left field.
“This was so out of character,” Power said, describing her as “apolitical” and “milquetoast.”
“Everyone else is scratching their heads like where the hell did this come from,” he said.
The controversy erupted Tuesday night when Leifer was notified the Dumbo bookstore didn’t want to host the conversation between the liberal writer and moderator Rabbi Andy Bachman.
The manager, identified as Hannah Hayes, was caught on a recording taken by Leifer blaming the sudden cancellation on Bachman’s pro-Israel views, saying “we don’t want a Zionist on our stage.”
Powerhouse Arena claimed the now-former employee’s biases led to the ruined event.
“A former employee of Powerhouse made the grossly misguided decision to unilaterally derail a high-anticipated event,” the bookstore “She abused her position as a Powerhouse employee and wrongfully usurped responsibility for planning and logistics from our designated events managers.”
Power, in a Wednesday statement, initially blamed Leifer’s publicist, saying it was their call to nix the event. The owner on Thursday said he based that assertion on a conversation he had with Hayes.
But when Power read news reports that included Hayes’ recorded comments and interviews with Leifer, he said he realized the manager “was not being fully honest.”
“She just said the publicist canceled. Turns out that’s probably not the case,” said Power.
“What she did was unequivocally and blatantly wrong,” the bookstore stated in its statement on social media, claiming the incident “does not define us.”
Hayes, who worked at Powerhouse for more than three years, did not respond to a request for comment.
Leifer, who is promoting his new book “Tablets Shattered,” told The Post that while his publication week didn’t go as planned, he was appreciative of the bookstore taking responsibility on Thursday.
He said he and Bachman plan to hold a forum in Brooklyn at a new venue next week.
“I hope everyone who planned to attend the original event will come out to hear our conversation,” he said.
Hayes was supposed to leave the bookstore next week before she was terminated Wednesday. She took a new job at a competing bookstore less than a mile away.
Power is debating whether he’s going to reach out to that bookstore to warn them.
The axed event sparked outrage across the political spectrum as Big Apple pols condemned Powerhouse.
“Our neighborhood bookstores should be home to healthy debates and divergent viewpoints,” lefty Councilman Lincoln Restler
“This decision by Powerhouse Books is deeply hurtful.”
