100 Writers Back Out of a Renowned Art Festival in Australia After Palestinian Writer Is Banned from Appearing

Illustration of an art festival featuring music performances to the works of artists and writers. (Aranxa Esteve-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Around 100 writers and four board members have resigned from the Writers Week event at the Adelaide Festival. One sponsor has also withdrawn from the leading Australian arts festival.

The mass resignation followed the ban on the appearance of the Australian-Palestinian writer, Randa Abdel-Fattah, in the event, which will take place from February 27 to March 15, 2026.

Citing Al Jazeera, the Adelaide Festival confirmed its chairman and three board members, as well as 100 writers from 124 participants resigned after canceling Randa Abdel-Fattah's invitation to Writers Week in February.

Festival executive director Julian Hobba said the arts body was "facing a complex and unprecedented moment", following "significant community response" to the council's decision.

The cancellation of Abdel-Fattah's appearance was announced last Thursday.

The Adelaide Festival Board reasoned that "it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to present it at this unprecedented time, so soon after the Bondi event".

The Bondi incident refers to the mass shooting during the Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, Australia, on Sunday, December 14 at night.

The two perpetrators fired into the crowd as the celebration ended in many casualties and injuries falling.

The terror would have been very severe if Ahmed Al-Ahmed (43), a man who ambushed one of the shooters and snatched a gun from the gunman's hand, had not appeared. Al-Ahmed is a Muslim Australian of Syrian descent.