Australian arts festival decision to bar Palestinian author after Bondi attack

A top Australian arts festival has seen the withdrawal of dozens of writers in a backlash against its decision to bar an Australian Palestinian author after the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as moves to curb antisemitism spur free speech concerns.



The shooting which killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach on December 14 sparked nationwide calls to tackle antisemitism. Police say the alleged gunmen were inspired by the Islamic State militant group.



The Adelaide Festival board said last Thursday it would disinvite Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from February's Writers Week in the state of South Australia because "it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi".



A Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, Abdel-Fattah responded saying it was "a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship", with her lawyers issuing a letter to the festival.



Around 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, leaving it in doubt, local media reported.



Among the boycotting authors, Kathy Lette wrote on social media the decision to bar Abdel-Fattah "sends a divisive and plainly discriminatory message that platforming Australian Palestinians is 'culturally insensitive'."