Around 20 writers, including prominent Palestine advocate Randa Abdel-Fattah and Stella Prize winners Evelyn Araluen, Clare Wright and Jess Hill, have reportedly withdrawn from Bendigo Writers Festival, which opens today.
They are protesting an email sent by organisers on August 13, requiring authors appearing at events sponsored by La Trobe University to comply with a code of conduct containing a controversial definition of antisemitism. The code also enjoins all speakers to “avoid language or topics that could be considered inflammatory, divisive or disrespectful”.
A festival spokesperson told the ABC 11 sessions had been cancelled. The festival, she said, encouraged discussions on issues such as the Israel-Gaza war. “We just want to make sure those really, really important conversations happen in a safe way.” She noted that “we are living in an incredibly risk averse environment”.
