One of Australia's biggest cultural festivals has been left in disarray after a decision to disinvite a prominent Australian-Palestinian writer, triggering a massive backlash and mass exodus from fellow authors.
The board of the Adelaide Festival last week said Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, a vocal critic of Israel, had been removed from its Writers' Week lineup due to sensitivities after the shooting of 15 people – by gunmen allegedly inspired by the Islamic State militant group – at a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach in December.
Though the Adelaide Festival's board said they do not suggest in any way that Abdel-Fattah had any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, they made the decision that it would not be culturally sensitive to include her given her past statements. She called the decision to exclude her a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship and the attempt to link her with the Bondi attack despicable.
In the following days, dozens of other writers scheduled to appear withdrew from the festival. By Tuesday the list had jumped to 180, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, British author Zadie Smith, US-Russian journalist Masha Gessen, beloved Australian writer Helen Garner and British-Australian novelist Kathy Lette. Many publicly criticized the decision as an attack on free speech.
Four members of the eight-member board, including the chair, have resigned. The director of Writers' Week, who invited Abdel-Fattah, has also stood down. Louise Adler, daughter of Holocaust survivors, stated, I cannot be party to silencing writers.
Abdel-Fattah, a novelist, lawyer, and academic, had been invited to discuss her novel Discipline, deemed culturally sensitive due to her prior statements on Zionism. Critics say her exclusion is hypocritical given previous complaints against authors like Thomas Friedman.
The saga may lead to legal action and threatens to halt the whole festival, which is scheduled to begin at the end of February.
The board of the Adelaide Festival last week said Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, a vocal critic of Israel, had been removed from its Writers' Week lineup due to sensitivities after the shooting of 15 people – by gunmen allegedly inspired by the Islamic State militant group – at a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach in December.
Though the Adelaide Festival's board said they do not suggest in any way that Abdel-Fattah had any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, they made the decision that it would not be culturally sensitive to include her given her past statements. She called the decision to exclude her a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship and the attempt to link her with the Bondi attack despicable.
In the following days, dozens of other writers scheduled to appear withdrew from the festival. By Tuesday the list had jumped to 180, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, British author Zadie Smith, US-Russian journalist Masha Gessen, beloved Australian writer Helen Garner and British-Australian novelist Kathy Lette. Many publicly criticized the decision as an attack on free speech.
Four members of the eight-member board, including the chair, have resigned. The director of Writers' Week, who invited Abdel-Fattah, has also stood down. Louise Adler, daughter of Holocaust survivors, stated, I cannot be party to silencing writers.
Abdel-Fattah, a novelist, lawyer, and academic, had been invited to discuss her novel Discipline, deemed culturally sensitive due to her prior statements on Zionism. Critics say her exclusion is hypocritical given previous complaints against authors like Thomas Friedman.
The saga may lead to legal action and threatens to halt the whole festival, which is scheduled to begin at the end of February.
