Similar situation at the Indigenous Writer's Fellowships program Black&Write at the State Library of Queensland last year as well. Winner Ren Wyld was denied the fellowship by LNP MP John-Paul Langbroek due to year old tweets about the situation in Gaza.
I would be very interested to see whether any members of the Jewish community specifically raised the issue, or if the festival is just trying to think on their behalf. I suspect the latter.
Her only connection to anything remotely political is the fact she was born in Palestine. How incredibly offensive to her to basically call her anti-semetic because of that fact alone. Honestly, I was a bit iffy about the same festival's cancellations in 2023, when they had Palestinian writers who had often spoken explicitly pro-Palestine in the past. Dr Abdel-Fattah hasn't even done that. I think Dr Abdel-Fattah probably summed it best herself;
"In the end, the Adelaide Writers Festival [sic] 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," Abdel-Fattah wrote.
Isn't that why the Royal Children's Hospital had to cancel a recent event relating to children in war? They were lobbied by a Zionist organisation and ended up cancelling the entire event.
Change “Jewish community” to “Israel lobby” and you can be certain. There is a lot of cross-over of course but conflation of the two is what Zionists want.
Based. And the thing is, that people are buying into it. We must continue to separate the Jewish Australian people, from the Israeli lobbyists who seek to exert control over our speech and our laws. I appreciate that many Jewish people have spoken out against it.
Why imagining, when you can read the statement itself
Whilst we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah’s or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, given her past statements we have formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi.
Sorry but saying she is not political is wrong. She has a podcast with Sara m Salem that is purely political, a platform and and a known case that just made its way through the courts, due to actions that are inherently political.
I'm for a free Palestine but she toes the line between endorsing and promoting violent freedom fighting against Israel and talking about non violent solutions within the region.
Way to destroy the reputation of a festival. If they cancelled Israeli authors they'd be accused of anti semitism. I'm gob smacked at the poor decisions made.
She is a Palestinian and has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government and zionism. Given this and her position at Macquarie Uni, she's been targeted by the sky news brigade and the Zionist council, who, through massive lobbying pressure and the help of the coalition, got her ARC grants suspended and had her employment put under investigation.
She was cleared by both the ARC and the Uni, but that only made the nutters angrier, so you've got to imagine they've been putting as much pressure as possible on the AWW board as possible. And by doing so in the most badfaith way possible by equating Judaism with the state of Israel.
No shes just an Australian-Palestinian academic that has written stuff about her Muslim identity and Islamophobia in Australia, and the Writers Festival kicked her out because of the "aftermath of the Bondi attack". I cant find a single contraversial thing she has said or done online.
What’s more is the book she is showcasing was something she started writing in 2021, during an Israel Palestine conflict that Israel ultimately provoked.
She has done some particularly controversial things, like:
Making a social media post a year ago which said “May 2025 be the end of Israel".
She organised and participated in a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" event where children as young as five were encouraged to chant slogans such as "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "Israel is a terrorist state".
At an anti-racism symposium, she stated she refuses to "cite anybody who has remained silent over Gaza... they're deficient human beings".
There are more - but I would say the banning is not solely because she is Palestinian!
But I do think praying for the end of an entire country, getting 5 year olds to chant “Israel is a terrorist state”, and calling other human beings “deficient” are all controversial, damning and generally just awful things to do.
She stated on social media that Zionists have "no claim or right to cultural safety" and that it is the "duty of those who oppose racism" to ensure that every space Zionists enter is "culturally unsafe" for them.
Edit: so no, not "just because she is a Palestinian"
There's a conversation happening around the term antisemitism being weaponised, the panelists are all white men. Interesting that in the current climate and with recent events, the board sees fit for that talk to continue, but not Abdel-Fattah's "presence."
" In 2023, law firm and major sponsor MinterEllison withdrew its support for Adelaide Festival because of concern about the potential for "racist or anti-Semitic commentary" from two writers scheduled to speak at AWW: Palestinian American novelist and scholar Susan Abulhawa and Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd.
That year, Adler and the festival's then-chief executive Kath Mainland defended the decision to program the authors.
......
" people from the commercial sector have joined those same boards, bringing with them an understanding of risk management.
As organisations rely more on external funding, it's only "natural" that boards would become more "cautious", she said, "and it's counterproductive and it's been devastating". "
Sounds like political extortion for a foreign government if you ask me....
Deplatforming artists that portray Muslims in a humanising way is a horrific form of censorship performed by the zionist lobby. Shame on the premier of SA and the event organisers for allowing this to happen.
So, as I understand it she was axed simply for existing as a Palestinian? The book doesn't contain elements that could be linked to the Bondi attack at all?
Australian writers' festivals need to shape the fuck up.
This is undisguised racism, and apart from the million other reasons it's reprehensible, it is so unbecoming of an arts festival to shut someone out on this basis.
It feels so antithetical to what a festival like this should be. In an ideal world, all members of the board would have a hard time finding work after the festival.
Particularly egregious when she literally just got cleared of wrongdoing over the last academic attack on her for being Palestinian. I hope the bulk of the writers drop out and it's just like three weird dudes speaking awkwardly on the stage.
I’m surprised the premier made a statement at all. This is an easy “I’m not aware” type scenario compared to many.
If they were going to make a statement I would have thought it would have been neutral or at most supporting AWW to make their own decisions about their lineup.
I think it's a lot more even than it seems, it's just that so many people in power are Zionists. The 300,000 that marched across Sydney Harbour are the true representatives of this country.
It was shifting the other way until Bondi. That's why so many people think it was a false flag operation (not saying I do, as I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that).
I understand you're being glib/sarcastic but organisations and groups who can coordinate with enough passion and hatred to go on targeted smear/lobby campaigns for something as small as this shouldn't be underestimated. And in case you missed it, I said I don't believe that lmao.
You commenting on a post where that’s literally what happened. A writer was pulled from Adelaide Writer’s Week because she wrote articles supporting Palestine.
Didnt the same thing happen last year? Or was that another writer festival?
Different one.
Similar situation at the Indigenous Writer's Fellowships program Black&Write at the State Library of Queensland last year as well. Winner Ren Wyld was denied the fellowship by LNP MP John-Paul Langbroek due to year old tweets about the situation in Gaza.
https://theconversation.com/a-first-nations-writers-fellowship-was-withdrawn-by-queenslands-government-whats-going-on-257445
Is anyone else seeing a pattern here?
A year really isn't very long ...
Abdel-Fattah should sue. To connect her personally to Bondi in this way is absurdly libellous.
I would be very interested to see whether any members of the Jewish community specifically raised the issue, or if the festival is just trying to think on their behalf. I suspect the latter.
Her only connection to anything remotely political is the fact she was born in Palestine. How incredibly offensive to her to basically call her anti-semetic because of that fact alone. Honestly, I was a bit iffy about the same festival's cancellations in 2023, when they had Palestinian writers who had often spoken explicitly pro-Palestine in the past. Dr Abdel-Fattah hasn't even done that. I think Dr Abdel-Fattah probably summed it best herself;
Isn't that why the Royal Children's Hospital had to cancel a recent event relating to children in war? They were lobbied by a Zionist organisation and ended up cancelling the entire event.
Yep, you’re right, they bent the knee. I was planning to attend that talk and was/am really disappointed in RCH for their weak stance.
Very disappointing, especially on such an important topic which shouldn't be politicised, the health impact of war on children.
Change “Jewish community” to “Israel lobby” and you can be certain. There is a lot of cross-over of course but conflation of the two is what Zionists want.
Based. And the thing is, that people are buying into it. We must continue to separate the Jewish Australian people, from the Israeli lobbyists who seek to exert control over our speech and our laws. I appreciate that many Jewish people have spoken out against it.
I would put good money on it being raised by someone.
But you have no idea
Why imagining, when you can read the statement itself
Sorry but saying she is not political is wrong. She has a podcast with Sara m Salem that is purely political, a platform and and a known case that just made its way through the courts, due to actions that are inherently political.
I'm for a free Palestine but she toes the line between endorsing and promoting violent freedom fighting against Israel and talking about non violent solutions within the region.
There are plenty of her actions I disagree with.
Way to destroy the reputation of a festival. If they cancelled Israeli authors they'd be accused of anti semitism. I'm gob smacked at the poor decisions made.
Has Abdel-Fattah got any specific negative reputation at all or is this literally just because she is Palestinian?
She is a Palestinian and has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government and zionism. Given this and her position at Macquarie Uni, she's been targeted by the sky news brigade and the Zionist council, who, through massive lobbying pressure and the help of the coalition, got her ARC grants suspended and had her employment put under investigation.
She was cleared by both the ARC and the Uni, but that only made the nutters angrier, so you've got to imagine they've been putting as much pressure as possible on the AWW board as possible. And by doing so in the most badfaith way possible by equating Judaism with the state of Israel.
No shes just an Australian-Palestinian academic that has written stuff about her Muslim identity and Islamophobia in Australia, and the Writers Festival kicked her out because of the "aftermath of the Bondi attack". I cant find a single contraversial thing she has said or done online.
It’s the Israel lobby. They do this crap all over the world
That's the single stupidest thing I have ever read on Reddit.
Congratulations.
And you couldn’t even let them hold the title for 15 minutes
Just the second. It's apparently 'too soon' after Bondi to allow a Muslim to exist.
What’s more is the book she is showcasing was something she started writing in 2021, during an Israel Palestine conflict that Israel ultimately provoked.
The novel isn’t even about Israel really, more about the internal conflicts of Muslim Australians during the 2021 war. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-15/randa-abdel-fattah-palestinian-author-new-book-discipline/105865540
After October 7 she temporarily shelved the project.
Besides being Palestinian, there’s very little to do with Bondi or the current conflict at all
Thanks. Have purchased the book to support her.
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none of that has anything to do with Bondi or Judaism
What you claim she said and what you quoted do not match at all, but of course you know that.
I mean, you can Google her name and read it for yourself.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/12/30/australian-university-investigates-prominent-academic-calls-destroy-israel-zionism/
based
She has done some particularly controversial things, like:
Making a social media post a year ago which said “May 2025 be the end of Israel".
She organised and participated in a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" event where children as young as five were encouraged to chant slogans such as "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "Israel is a terrorist state".
At an anti-racism symposium, she stated she refuses to "cite anybody who has remained silent over Gaza... they're deficient human beings".
There are more - but I would say the banning is not solely because she is Palestinian!
None of these are particularly controversial or damning…
I’m not pro Israel obviously but calling for the destruction of a foreign country is automatically going to be controversial lol
I don’t think she should be banned, personally.
But I do think praying for the end of an entire country, getting 5 year olds to chant “Israel is a terrorist state”, and calling other human beings “deficient” are all controversial, damning and generally just awful things to do.
She stated on social media that Zionists have "no claim or right to cultural safety" and that it is the "duty of those who oppose racism" to ensure that every space Zionists enter is "culturally unsafe" for them. Edit: so no, not "just because she is a Palestinian"
Why should the subset of Jews that believe in exterminating Palestinians feel safe?
Absolutely wild decision. I'd like to point out that the shooters were also men, but I'm not seeing men being deplatformed from any events.
There's a conversation happening around the term antisemitism being weaponised, the panelists are all white men. Interesting that in the current climate and with recent events, the board sees fit for that talk to continue, but not Abdel-Fattah's "presence."
not to mention the man who tackled the shooter who was muslim
Genocide is cultural sensitivity. What a time to be alive.
" In 2023, law firm and major sponsor MinterEllison withdrew its support for Adelaide Festival because of concern about the potential for "racist or anti-Semitic commentary" from two writers scheduled to speak at AWW: Palestinian American novelist and scholar Susan Abulhawa and Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd.
That year, Adler and the festival's then-chief executive Kath Mainland defended the decision to program the authors. ...... " people from the commercial sector have joined those same boards, bringing with them an understanding of risk management.
As organisations rely more on external funding, it's only "natural" that boards would become more "cautious", she said, "and it's counterproductive and it's been devastating". "
Sounds like political extortion for a foreign government if you ask me....
Deplatforming artists that portray Muslims in a humanising way is a horrific form of censorship performed by the zionist lobby. Shame on the premier of SA and the event organisers for allowing this to happen.
Muslims? Do you mean Palestinians?
It applies to both. Look at the topic of the book.
So, as I understand it she was axed simply for existing as a Palestinian? The book doesn't contain elements that could be linked to the Bondi attack at all?
Australian writers' festivals need to shape the fuck up.
This is undisguised racism, and apart from the million other reasons it's reprehensible, it is so unbecoming of an arts festival to shut someone out on this basis.
It feels so antithetical to what a festival like this should be. In an ideal world, all members of the board would have a hard time finding work after the festival.
Particularly egregious when she literally just got cleared of wrongdoing over the last academic attack on her for being Palestinian. I hope the bulk of the writers drop out and it's just like three weird dudes speaking awkwardly on the stage.
Gotta hand it to the Zionists, they're winning the culture war.
This is straight up Islamophobia and is backed by the State Govt.
I’m surprised the premier made a statement at all. This is an easy “I’m not aware” type scenario compared to many.
If they were going to make a statement I would have thought it would have been neutral or at most supporting AWW to make their own decisions about their lineup.
Ehhh, getting an Australian government to back Islamophobia is like shooting fish in a barrel.
I think it's a lot more even than it seems, it's just that so many people in power are Zionists. The 300,000 that marched across Sydney Harbour are the true representatives of this country.
It was shifting the other way until Bondi. That's why so many people think it was a false flag operation (not saying I do, as I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that).
Yeah, they killed 15 Jews, including a child on Hannukah so they could checks notes cancel some random writer /s
I understand you're being glib/sarcastic but organisations and groups who can coordinate with enough passion and hatred to go on targeted smear/lobby campaigns for something as small as this shouldn't be underestimated. And in case you missed it, I said I don't believe that lmao.
The only thing you can actually be cancelled for is supporting Palestine.
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You commenting on a post where that’s literally what happened. A writer was pulled from Adelaide Writer’s Week because she wrote articles supporting Palestine.
Its literally what happened.
Outrageous. This madness has to stop...simply existing as a Palestinian is somehow insensitive?
Well shit that's not very sensitive is it
Hey Zionists, fuck you.
A board with no artists dictating this shit?
Fucking great. Hope she sues them.
Advocating against human genocide should not be controversial and censored.
This is plain discrimination. I hope she sues them
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The country is pretty tired of the endless tantrums of the infantile, antisemitic far left.