Adelaide festival did not remove Jewish columnist from 2024 program despite appeal from Randa Abdel-Fattah and others
The Adelaide festival board did not remove a Jewish columnist from its 2024 lineup during Adelaide writers’ week, even though a coalition of 10 academics – including Randa Abdel-Fattah – urged them to do so. On Saturday, South Australia’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, asserted that the board had eliminated the New York Times pro-Israel columnist Thomas Friedman from the 2024 lineup and reiterated his backing for the festival board’s decision to exclude Abdel-Fattah, a Palestinian Australian academic, from this year’s program. “I note the Adelaide Festival also made its own decision to omit a Jewish writer from the Adelaide Writers’ Week program in very similar circumstances,” Malinauskas conveyed to the Guardian via a spokesperson on Saturday. “I support that decision, and the consistent application of this principle.” On Saturday, News Corp outlets highlighted the premier’s remarks, noting the apparent disparity between the public backlash against Abdel-Fattah’s removal and the alleged removal of Friedman two years prior, which did not incite the substantial boycott currently affecting the writers’ week, making the 2026 event seem increasingly unfeasible. Guardian Australia has independently verified that over 70 participants have since withdrawn.
Abdel-Fattah and nine other academics sent a letter to the Adelaide festival board on 6 February 2024, asking it to withdraw the invitation to Friedman, who had written a controversial column just days earlier, likening the Middle East conflict to the animal kingdom. However, a letter obtained by the Guardian indicates that the festival board declined this request for Friedman’s removal. “Requesting the Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Writers Week to cancel an artist or writer is an exceedingly serious request,” the letter indicated. Dated 9 February 2024, it was signed by Tracey Whiting, the chair of the Adelaide festival board. “We have an international reputation for championing artistic freedom of expression. Thomas L Friedman was scheduled to contribute online from New York. However, I have been informed that due to last-minute scheduling conflicts, he will no longer be part of this year’s program.” The Guardian sought a response from Friedman in New York. The letter implies that Abdel-Fattah’s exclusion from the 2026 event marked the first instance where the board did not endorse the programming decision made by its director, Louise Adler.
Following the announcement of her removal on Thursday, Abdel-Fattah accused the board of “blatant and shameless” anti-Palestinian racism and censorship. She told Guardian Australia on Sunday that she rejected any claim of hypocrisy, having previously called for the withdrawal of Friedman from the festival in 2024. “Friedman’s widely criticized NYT article compared various Arab and Muslim nations and groups to insects and vermin requiring extermination at a time when references to ‘human animals’ were used to justify wholesale slaughter in Gaza,” she stated. “We were worried about the effect of Friedman’s views on socially and historically marginalized groups who have been dehumanized and discriminated against due to such racist tropes. Indeed, one instance we provided was how Jewish individuals have historically been likened to vermin. “In contrast, I was canceled because my identity and presence as a Palestinian were viewed as ‘culturally insensitive’ and connected to the Bondi incident. “I was removed because I, a Palestinian, have been a staunch advocate against the actual extermination of my people.” Abdel-Fattah suggested it was the festival board that had acted hypocritically, given its claims of commitment to “artistic freedom of expression” in its 2024 response regarding Friedman. “All of those purported values were disregarded when it came to my cancellation,” she remarked.
In his column, Friedman likened the US to an aging lion, Iran to a parasitoid wasp that infects and kills caterpillars (Lebanon, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq), Hamas to a trap-door spider, and Benjamin Netanyahu to a sifaka lemur. He later acknowledged that some of his readers, including colleagues, found his comments insulting, perceiving them as dehumanizing and invoking racist tropes. He wrote, “If invoking a metaphor or image alienates and angers part of my audience, I know I used the wrong metaphor … I would never want anyone to feel insulted, even if I resonated with others.” In its statement on Thursday, the festival board noted that while it did not suggest “in any way” that Abdel-Fattah or her writings were related to the tragedy at Bondi, the decision was made “given her past statements.” Abdel-Fattah had previously faced sustained backlash from the Coalition, some Jewish organizations, and media outlets over controversial remarks regarding Israel, including alleging that Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety.” “We have come to the conclusion that it would not be culturally sensitive to keep programming her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi,” the statement read. “We realize these Board decisions will likely disappoint many in our community. We also acknowledge that our request to Dr. Abdel-Fattah may be criticized and will create discomfort and pressure for other participants. These decisions were not made lightly.” In 2023, Adler refused to remove Palestinian authors Susan Abulhawa and Mohammed El-Kurd, despite significant sponsor withdrawals and boycotts from Ukrainian writers. Adler contended that festivals should be “brave spaces” for grappling with challenging ideas through literature, rather than “safe spaces” designed for consensus. At that time, the board supported her stance, and Malinauskas publicly expressed that while he was “genuinely disturbed” by some views from both authors, it was not the responsibility of politicians to “decide what is culturally appropriate.” The South Australian government appoints members to the festival board, but a spokesperson for the premier informed the Guardian that the government does not hold authority to dictate the board’s artistic programming decisions.
Published: 2026-01-11 04:08:00
Source: www.theguardian.com
