Australia: Boycott calls after art festival pulls Palestinian author in wake of Bondi attack Submitted by Hannah. Smith on Thu, 01/08/2026 - 13:52 Authors withdraw from Adelaide Festival over 'racist' decision to remove Randa Abdel-Fattah for 'cultural sensitivities' Palestinian-Australian author and academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah (X/@RandaAFattah) Off One of Australia's biggest art festivals is facing a backlash and calls for a boycott after its organisers announced that it would cancel the scheduled appearance of a prominent Palestinian -Australian author and scholar, citing concerns about "cultural sensitivity" in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack. The Adelaide Festival board said in a statement on Thursday that its members “do not wish to proceed” with Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah's appearance, as it “would not be culturally sensitive… so soon after" the attack on a Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people in December. "We do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah’s [sic] or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi," the statement added, citing “her past statements” as the reason for the decision. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Abdel-Fattah called the move “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism”, rejecting the association between her and the Bondi massacre. "The Board’s reasoning suggests that my mere presence is ‘culturally insensitive’; that I, a Palestinian who had nothing to do with the Bondi atrocity, am somehow a trigger for those in mourning and that I should therefore be persona non grata in cultural circles because my very presence as a Palestinian is threatening and ‘unsafe’," she continued in her statement. Abdel-Fattah was scheduled to appear as part of Writer's Week next month. She has featured in the line-up in the past. At least 11 authors subsequently dropped out of the festival, criticising the board’s decision. Award-winning author Jane Caro wrote that “authoritarianism is rising” and “I refuse to participate” in the festival’s “censoring [of] ideas it does not like”. The Adelaide Festival cancels Palestinian writer Randa Abel-Fattah out of “cultural sensitivity” in the wake of #Bondi . We don’t help social cohesion by silencing voices. I was to appear, but if the Festival sticks with this decision, I’m out. https://t.co/0LX1a8I4eD — Peter Greste (@PeterGreste) January 8, 2026 “[R]emoving Palestinians from writers' festivals won’t prevent antisemitism,” wrote Dr Evelyn Araluen , announcing her decision to boycott the Writers’ Week. "I am so disappointed to witness yet another absurd and irrational capitulation to the demands of a genocidal foreign state from the Australian arts sector." The Australia Institute, an independent think tank that was sponsoring events in the festival, also announced that it had decided to withdraw its support. In a statement , it said that “censoring and cancelling authors is not in the spirit of an open and free exchange of ideas”. I was scheduled to chair two panels at Adelaide Writers Week 2026. Given that the state Festival Board (not AWW) has deplatformed a respected Palestinian Australian writer, I cannot in good faith participate this year. I stand firmly in solidarity with Palestinian liberation ✊ — Ren Wyld (@1KarenWyld) January 8, 2026 Journalist Mary Kostakidis replied to the announcement, calling it a “shocking decision” and warning that the events would be “boycotted by artists and audiences”. Boycott the racist @adelaidefest . If you are presenting or performing, withdraw. If you are attending, ask for a refund. If you proceed with your engagement with Adelaide Festival, you have to be taken to mean that you think Arabs should be cancelled for being Arab. — Fahad Ali (@fahad_s_ali) January 8, 2026 Social media users soon began to call for a widespread boycott of the festival, praising the authors who had already withdrawn from the events. ‘Racist censorship’ Several users criticised the decision as an act of anti-Palestinian racism and racist censorship . One user wrote : “It’s worth reminding all Australians that Palestinians had absolutely nothing to do with the Bondi shooting.” On the back of of Dr Abdel Fattah’s muzzling, the . @TheAusInstitute is pulling out of the Adelaide Fest with more writers expected to follow suit. A previous attempt censoring the same author at Bendigo Writers Fest in 2025 backfired with dozens of participants boycotting #auspol pic.twitter.com/Wwacf8qpvU — Farid Y. Farid (@FaridYFarid) January 8, 2026 "It’s not culturally sensitive to be Palestinian at this time," wrote another user. It’s v[ery] disturbing that so many institutions can reproduce vicious assertions without evidence about the link between Palestinian rights campaigns and the Bondi killings, then use these assertions to ban people." Abdel-Fattah is a fellow at Macquarie University in Sydney and a former litigation lawyer. In addition to her academic publications, she has also published multiple award-winning novels and a picture book. She is known for her research, essays, media appearances and op-ed writing across a range of topics, including Islamophobia, Palestine, the "war on terror", youth identities and social movement activism. In 2025, she was one of 50 authors who boycotted the Bendigo writers' festival following censorship concerns over a last-minute change to its code of conduct which accepted a controversial definition of antisemitism. The Adelaide Festival did not respond to MEE’s request for comment by the time of publication. Boycott 'Racist censorship': Boycott calls after Adelaide art festival pulls Palestinian author in wake of Bondi attack Trending Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0