BBC:
How Australian festival imploded after axeing Palestinian author
1 day ago
Helen Livingstone
Helen Livingstone
Sydney
Macquarie University
Randa Abdel-Fattah says a decision to exclude her from the Adelaide Festival was racist
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, a mass exodus from fellow authors – and the ultimate cancellation of the festival's Writers' Week.
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, which also features music, dance, theatre and other cultural events.
By Tuesday the list had jumped to 180, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, British author Zadie Smith, beloved Australian writer Helen Garner and British-Australian novelist Kathy Lette.
Over the weekend, four members of the eight-member board, including the chair, resigned without detailing their reasons. And on Tuesday the director of the Writers' Week - who had invited Abdel-Fattah - stood down too.
Louise Adler, the Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors, said art had increasingly come under attack since the start of the Israel-Gaza war and that she could not "be party to silencing writers".
Randa Abdel-Fattah says a decision to exclude her from the Adelaide Festival was racist
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, a mass exodus from fellow authors – and the ultimate cancellation of the festival's Writers' Week.
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, which also features music, dance, theatre and other cultural events.
By Tuesday the list had jumped to 180, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, British author Zadie Smith, beloved Australian writer Helen Garner and British-Australian novelist Kathy Lette.
Over the weekend, four members of the eight-member board, including the chair, resigned without detailing their reasons. And on Tuesday the director of the Writers' Week - who had invited Abdel-Fattah - stood down too.
Louise Adler, the Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors, said art had increasingly come under attack since the start of the Israel-Gaza war and that she could not "be party to silencing writers".
ABC
Louise Adler said she would not be 'party to silencing writers'
"Writers and writing matters, even when they are presenting ideas that discomfort and challenge us," she wrote in the Guardian Australia.
Hours later, the board put out a fresh statement, apologising to Abdel-Fattah for "how the decision was represented" and announcing that the Writers' Week could "no longer go ahead".
"We recognise and deeply regret the distress this decision has caused," it wrote.
All remaining members of the Adelaide Festival board would step down bar one, it said, a move it hoped could "secure the success" of the festival this year "and beyond".
The saga has now left the festival board-less just weeks out from its start late next month, has threatened to spark legal action, and has reignited discussions in Australia about freedom of expression.
Louise Adler said she would not be 'party to silencing writers'
"Writers and writing matters, even when they are presenting ideas that discomfort and challenge us," she wrote in the Guardian Australia.
Hours later, the board put out a fresh statement, apologising to Abdel-Fattah for "how the decision was represented" and announcing that the Writers' Week could "no longer go ahead".
"We recognise and deeply regret the distress this decision has caused," it wrote.
All remaining members of the Adelaide Festival board would step down bar one, it said, a move it hoped could "secure the success" of the festival this year "and beyond".
The saga has now left the festival board-less just weeks out from its start late next month, has threatened to spark legal action, and has reignited discussions in Australia about freedom of expression.
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Proud of you Aussies, Oy Oy Oy
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