US EditionWriters' Mass Exodus After Festival Bans Palestinian
Almost a dozen authors withdrew from the festival in protest after the board cited cultural sensitivity and the Bondi Beach shooting in removing Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah.
- The Adelaide Festival Board removed Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers' Week on Thursday, prompting a wave of withdrawals by prominent writers in protest.
- Given the 'current national community context,' the Adelaide Festival Board said it would 'not be culturally sensitive' to program Abdel-Fattah so soon after the Bondi Beach attack in December, where 15 people were killed.
- More than 30 authors, including The Australia Institute, withdrew after Abdel-Fattah wrote: `In the end, the Adelaide Writers Festival will be left with panellists who demonise a Palestinian out of one side of their mouths while waxing lyrical about freedom of speech from the other.`
- Organisers temporarily removed the program from the Adelaide Writers' Week website on Friday and the Adelaide Festival Board subcommittee is reviewing festival operations to guide future decisions.
- Past incidents show a pattern: in 2023 a sponsor pulled support when MinterEllison withdrew over Palestinian authors, while Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah faced a suspended then reinstated $870,000 research grant and more than 50 writers boycotted Bendigo Writers Festival.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Dozens of writers withdraw from event after Palestinian author dropped from program
Dozens of writers have pulled out of the Adelaide Writers' Week after it dropped a Palestinian author, Randa Abdel-Fattah, from the program due to "cultural sensitivities" following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.The Adelaide Festival Board yesterday announced it had cancelled her scheduled appearance at the February 28 to March 5 event in light of promoting social cohesion."Whilst we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah's or …
Sydney Morning Herald
Star British author Zadie Smith joins dozens of authors boycotting Adelaide Writers’ Week
Local and international writers have pulled out of one of the country’s best-loved writers’ festivals after Palestinian-Australian Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah was removed from its program.
The Conversation
MASSIVE.NEWSAs authors abandon Adelaide Writers’ Week after cancelling of Randa Abdel-Fattah, is free speech in tatters?
The decision by the Adelaide Festival Board to exclude Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” is based on a dangerously broad and vague criterion for suppressing free speech. The board appears to have overruled Writer’s Week director Louise Adler to remove Abdel-Fattah from the program, arguing it would not be culturally sensitive to include her so soon a…
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