Randa Abdel-Fattah responds to the gaslighting, censorship, and repression she faced, leading to her cancellation from the Adelaide Writers’ Week festival over her support for Palestine.
The Australian government is using the Bondi Beach attack as a pretext to accelerate its repression of the Palestine movement. This response lays bare the state’s true interest: to protect and defend Australia’s complicity in the Gaza genocide.
Benjamin Netanyahu is blaming the attack at Bondi Beach on Australia’s support for Palestinian statehood. He conflates Jewish safety with Zionism to garner support for Israel, but in doing so, he enlists all Jews as agents of Palestinian oppression.
In Australia, the pro-Israel lobby is suing two University of Sydney scholars under racial discrimination laws. If they succeed, anti-Zionism will be legally classified as hate speech and essentially banned.
An ongoing Zionist pressure campaign against Australian universities has resulted in government recommendations for an investigation. The resulting inquiry will put academia under constant political scrutiny in defense of Zionism.
The feelings and fragility of Zionists are used as a rhetorical shield to deflect from the reality of Palestinian genocide. I refuse to provide reassurances to placate and soothe Zionist political anxieties.
Susan Abulhawa responds to the campaign to ban her from the 2023 Adelaide Writers’ Week festival.
The case for boycotting Israel is plausible and should be taken seriously – not smeared by specious or misleading criticisms.
Artists and companies continue to drop out of the Sydney Festival over its sponsorship deal with the Israeli government. The annual festival is a major arts event in the city attracting approximately 500,000 visitors a year. According to BDS Australia, 100 individuals and organizations have withdrawn, disrupting more than 40% of the scheduled events.
Maragret Cassar writes, “The state where I live, South Australia, has a long and proud history of firsts especially in the area of social justice. In 1856 South Australia was the first state to introduce universal male suffrage. In an Australian first, women were admitted to degree courses at universities in 1882. It was a world first in 1895 when women were able to vote and permitted to stand for Parliament in South Australia.
This proud history gained a new entry on June 22, 2017, when the South Australian Parliament passed a landmark motion calling on the Australian government to recognize the State of Palestine just as it recognizes the State of Israel.”