Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the decision to withdraw the invitation was the right one.
“It is beyond comprehension how they extended the invitation in the first place to someone who has called for Zionists, an entire society in Australia, to have no cultural safety in this country. But more importantly, someone who days after the worst terrorist attack on Jewish civilians that included the rape, murder and kidnapping of civilians celebrated it as resistance,” he said.
Last year this masthead reported on concerns raised by lobby group 5A about Abdel-Fattah’s previous public commentary ahead of her appearance at the Bendigo Writers Festival. It referenced a series of posts from Abdel-Fattah, including ones it asserted had said Zionists had “no claim to cultural safety” and that institutions that considered “fragile feelings of Zionists” were “abhorrent”.
In 2024, she was accused of doxing Jewish creatives and Abdel-Fattah has also been criticised for use of an image of a parachutist under the Palestinian flag following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
In early 2025, Abdel-Fattah’s $870,000 research grant was suspended and she was subject to a 10-month investigation by The Australian Research Council (ARC) into potential conflicts of interest over her public comments about Israel. In December she was cleared and the grant reinstated.
Adelaide Writers’ Week director Louise Adler has not spoken publicly since the board made its announcement on Thursday. This year is her fourth in the role and many of the writers withdrawing paid tribute to her work.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas doubled down on the decision.
“When asked for my opinion, I was happy to make it clear that the state government did not support the inclusion of Dr Abdel-Fattah on the Adelaide Writers’ Week program.
“I do not support the inclusion of those who actively undermine the cultural safety of others, who celebrate the death of innocent civilians, or those who doxx other artists simply because of their faith or cultural background.”
He said the Adelaide Festival “also made its own decision to remove a Jewish writer from the Adelaide Writers’ Week program in 2024 in very similar circumstances. I support that decision, and the consistent application of this principle.”
This masthead has asked the Adelaide Festival to provide more information on the premier’s assertion.
Former NSW premier Bob Carr, a prominent critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza told The Guardian he would still be appearing at the festival and supported the decision.
“The Adelaide writers’ festival has supported hearing Palestinian voices; its record on this is unimpeachable,” Carr said.
“The board should be supported, and people sympathetic to the Palestinian cause should continue to participate in [the festival].”
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Concerns about the wording of the Adelaide Festival board’s statement – citing the “cultural sensitivity” of a Palestinian-Australian author appearing at the event so soon after the shootings in Bondi last month – were raised by many authors.
Greg Barns, SC, spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said it shows that artists and writers in Australia do not have adequate human rights protections.
“In nations with a charter of rights or a human rights act, the right to freedom of expression can be enforced. Governments can be sued for breaching those rights. In Canada, for example, its charter of rights protects speech, art and ideas, and actions can be brought against governments that illegitimately interfere with those rights,” Barns said.
“In other parts of the world the Adelaide Festival would face legal action for its decision.”
Professor Clare Wright.Credit: Susan Papazian
In her letter of resignation, Stella Prize winner Professor Clare Wright, said she did so “with a heavy heart and a gutful of outrage”.
“As a Jewish Australian, I am shocked and insulted that the board could exploit the tragedy of Bondi to weaponise its much-loved and respected literary festival. As a writer, I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Dr Abdel-Fattah and her democratic rights and entitlements to discuss her novel on any stage, in any city, in any country in the world … ”
Jamal Hakim, chief executive of the Australian Arab Institute for Culture and Ideas (AAICI), says the decision is the latest in a worrying trend.
“Invoking ‘cultural sensitivity’ to justify silencing an author does not protect anyone. It sharpens the divide and is deeply troubling. It tells Palestinians that their testimony alone is too dangerous to be heard, that their grief is an unacceptable disturbance in public life,” he said.
“If this community is serious about healing, Palestinian stories and human rights cannot be pushed to the margins. They must remain visible, audible, and part of the shared record. Silence does not mend wounds, nor does it help end atrocities.”
