brisbane, australia
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A popular annual literary festival has been canceled after more than 180 writers withdrew from the program to protest the dismissal of a Palestinian-Australian writer who was disinvited due to “cultural sensitivities” following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
Adelaide Writers’ Week has been mired in controversy since late last week when the board announced that Randa Abdel-Fattah, a prominent critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, would no longer be invited to attend “due to past comments”.
“While we are in no way suggesting that Dr. Randa Abdelfattah or her writings have any connection to the Bondi tragedy, we have formed the view that, given her past statements, it is not culturally acceptable to continue programming her during this unprecedented time in the immediate aftermath of Bondi,” the statement said on January 8.
Following the statement, three board members, the chairperson and a director resigned, as did a number of prominent participants, including British novelist Zadie Smith, American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Percival Everett, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and popular Australian authors Helen Garner and Trent Dalton.
Amid growing backlash, Adelaide Writers’ Week organizers released a statement on Tuesday saying they regretted the “distress” the decision had caused and apologized to Mr Abdel Fattah for his “expression”.
“This is not about identity or dissent, but a continuing and rapid shift in the national debate about the extent of freedom of expression in our country in the wake of the worst terrorist attack in Australian history,” the statement said.
Abdel Fattah, a prospective research fellow in Macquarie University’s sociology department, an expert on Islamophobia and the author of 12 books, has refused to apologize for his post about X.
“Once again, when the commission refers to actions that specifically target me, a Palestinian-Australian Muslim woman, as ‘national discourse’, it clearly states that I cannot participate in national discourse that is extremely insulting and racist,” she said.
The unrest highlights tensions in Australia as the government rushes to unite the country after two men attacked a Jewish gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people in an attack they say is a direct result of the government’s failure to stamp out anti-Semitism.
After the attack, authorities in New South Wales (NSW) drew a link between the shooting and the weekly pro-Palestinian protests that have taken place since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched retaliation attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for brutal assaults on Israelis.
The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network called the conflation of protests and attacks “irresponsible and misleading” and said the government’s move to tighten protest laws in response “represents a serious and dangerous erosion of democratic rights”.
Ms Abdel Fattah had been booked to speak at Adelaide Writers’ Week about her new book, Discipline, which depicts the lives of two characters, an academic and a journalist, in Australia during the Gaza war.
The description says: “Silence is complicity, and the price of speaking out is everything… ‘Discipline’ represents the price we all pay when those with privilege choose to remain silent.”
Mr. Abdel-Fattah previously angered some members of the Jewish community by saying that Zionists have “no claim or right to cultural security.” In 2024, she was criticized for speaking at a pro-Palestinian protest camp event at Sydney University, where children could be heard calling for an intifada.
At the time, Abdel Fattah said in an X post that 15,000 children had been killed in Gaza and that children protesting had been provided with megaphones “to conduct chants of their own choosing in the hope of giving them agency in their predicament.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jews (ECAJ), which represents around 200 Jewish organizations, attacked the event and Mr Abdel Fattah’s role in it and called for an investigation into anti-Semitism at the university.
ECAJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week.
In a statement, the Adelaide Festival Board said it was committed to rebuilding trust with the arts community and audiences to ensure “open and respectful discussions” at future Adelaide Writers’ Week events.
