Australian festival cites 'Bondi sensitivity' in bizarre decision to drop Palestinian writer Randa Abdel Fattah

The Adelaide Writers Festival in Australia is facing backlash after removing prominent Palestinian academic and activist Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from their lineup over "cultural sensitivity".

Dr Abdel-Fattah, who has previously written for The New Arab, was scheduled to make her second appearance at the festival, which covers arts, music, talks and theatre.

"This is a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship and a despicable attempt to associate me with the Bondi massacre," Abdel-Fattah said in a statement.

The festival announced on Thursday that Abdel-Fattah would be removed from the lineup, under the pretext "it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time" in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack that targeted a Jewish gathering and killed 15 people in December.

The festival, without going into detail, said her "past statements" are the reason behind her removal.

Dr Abdel-Fattah has been vocal in her support for Palestine. She is a member of the Palestinian Human Rights Committee, and has spoken out against the genocidal war in Gaza, saying that Israel was committing a "holocaust" there.

Her work covers not only Palestine, but also Islamophobia, race, the war on terror, youth identities and social movements.

"What makes this so egregiously racist is that the Adelaide Writers Festival Board has stripped me of my humanity and agency, reducing me to an object onto which others can project their racist fears and smears," Dr Abdel-Fattah said.

"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'."

While the motive for the festival's removal of her remains unclear, pro-Israeli organisations and politicians have long attempted to conflate support for Palestinians with antisemitism.

This has been especially true in recent weeks in Australia after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes in Gaza, blamed Australia's recognition of a Palestinian state for the Bondi Beach massacre.

Abdel-Fattah however has condemned the attack, as well as the conflation of pro-Palestinian activism with antisemitism.

Abdel-Fattah's removal has triggered widespread outrage, with many writers and sponsors withdrawing from the event. Poet Evelyn Araluen being one of the first writers to withdraw from the festival publicly.

The Australian Institute announced it would be withdrawing its sponsorship, saying: "Censoring or cancelling authors is not in the spirit of an open and free exchange of ideas."

At the same time, writer and former director of Adelaide Writers' Week, Jo Dyer, said she was "appalled".

Abdel-Fattah was also cleared of wrongdoing in December after her research grant was suspended following an investigation into her critiques and comments against Israel.

The academic was being investigated for potential conflicts of interest and spending queries.