Adelaide festival dumps prominent academic Randa Abdel-Fattah over ‘cultural sensitivity’ concerns after Bondi attack | Bondi beach terror attack
Adelaide festival has removed leading academic and Palestine advocate Randa Abdel-Fattah from its line-up following a review following the Bondi terror attack, citing concerns about “cultural sensitivity”.
The festival covers arts, music, talks and theatre, and includes Adelaide’s annual Writers’ Week next month, where Abdel Fattah will make his second appearance after hosting a series of panels and sessions in 2023.
The festival’s board of directors said in a statement on Thursday that they were “shocked and saddened by the tragic events at Bondi” and that “both social tensions and public debate have escalated significantly”.
“As the Board of Directors responsible for the organization of the Adelaide Festival and all Adelaide Writers’ Week events, staff, volunteers and participants, we have today informed scheduled author Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah that the Board has decided that we do not wish to proceed with her scheduled participation in next month’s Writers’ Week,” he said.
A few hours after the board’s announcement, Abdel Fattah issued his own statement, accusing the festival board of “blatant and shameless” anti-Palestinian racism and censorship. He said the board’s attempt to link him to the Bondi massacre was “despicable”.
“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,” he said in a statement.
“The board’s reasoning suggests that my presence is ‘culturally insensitive’; that as a Palestinian who has nothing to do with the Bondi atrocity, I am somehow a trigger for mourners and therefore persona non grata in cultural circles because my presence as a Palestinian is threatening and ‘unsafe’.”
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Abdel-Fattah also targeted Australian arts and cultural institutions generally, accusing them of displaying “absolute contempt and inhumane behavior towards Palestinians” since 7 October 2023.
“The only Palestinians they will tolerate are the silent and invisible ones,” he said.
The panel said there was “no indication” that Abdel-Fattah or his writings had any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, but the decision was made “taking into account his past statements”.
“We formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue programming it during such an unprecedented time, so soon after Bondi,” he said.
“We recognize that these Board decisions are likely to be disappointing to many in our community. We also recognize that our request to Dr Abdel-Fattah will be labeled and cause inconvenience and pressure on other participants. These decisions are not taken lightly.”
“All we ask is that our community respect our staff and volunteers, who are not part of our decision-making process and deserve nothing but continued support for their excellent work.”
Abdel-Fattah said he was confident the writing community and public would respond “with principle and integrity, just as they did when I was singled out in the same racist way during the Bendigo Writers Festival.”
“In the end, the Adelaide Writers Festival will be left with panelists waxing poetic about freedom of expression while demonizing a Palestinian.”
By Thursday afternoon, withdrawal statements began to emerge from other authors and sponsors.
The Australia Institute said in a statement that it was withdrawing its sponsorship of the 2026 event, which in the past had “encouraged courage, freedom of expression and the exchange of ideas”.
“Censoring or canceling authors is not in the spirit of the open and free exchange of ideas.”
Jo Dyer, a former director of Adelaide Writers’ Week, wrote in Bluesky that she was “appalled” by the Adelaide festival board’s decision – “a shocking decision that will and should have far-reaching consequences”.
Stella Prize-winning poet Evelyn Araluen was one of the first writers to publicly recant.
The author of Dropbear and The Rot said the board’s decision was a “devastating betrayal” of the democratic values that define the festival.
“I am deeply disappointed to witness yet another absurd and unreasonable capitulation to the demands of a genocidal foreign state on the Australian arts sector,” he said on Instagram.
“Erasing Palestinians from public life in Australia does not prevent antisemitism. Removing Palestinians from writers’ festivals does not prevent antisemitism. I refuse to take part in this spectacle of censorship.”
First Nations scholar and author Chelsea Watego posted the list of Adelaide Writers Week’s 2026 confirmed writers on Instagram, with her name crossed out.
Late last year, Abdel Fattah was cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation into potential conflicts of interest and expenses inquiries following criticism of his comments on Israel.
The Australian Research Council confirmed that the suspension of an $870,000 research grant awarded to Abdel-Fattah was lifted in December. This followed a preliminary investigation launched by his employer, Macquarie University, in early 2025.
He had come under sustained criticism from the Coalition, some Jewish institutions and media outlets for his controversial comments about Israel, including his claim that Zionists “have no claim or right to cultural security.”
The Adelaide festival board said the review, carried out over the past few weeks, looked at “current and planned operations and interactions through the lens of the current national community context and the Adelaide Festival’s role in promoting community cohesion”.
“Evaluating the appropriate response to such a tragedy is a humanitarian exercise that we understand is inherently subjective,” the board said.
“We also understand that others will undoubtedly make different judgments.”
A sub-committee has been formed by the board to oversee the ongoing review and “guide decisions regarding Adelaide Writers’ Week in the near and long term”, including the appointment of external experts.
The board and senior executive will be contacting all Adelaide Writers’ Week participants in the coming days. The list includes more than 150 local and foreign writers, including Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish and Greek economist and political commentator Yanis Varoufakis, who described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “ethnic cleansing”.
Adelaide-based publisher Pink Shorts Press said it “strongly condemns” Abdel-Fattah’s removal from the program and is currently considering whether to continue its collaboration with the festival.
All writers were planned to speak at the event, and a Pink Shorts Press event was planned in the festival area.
“The Adelaide Writers Festival has a long and important history of engaging in conversations that matter to all Australians, and this type of censorship is completely at odds with that,” the publisher said in a statement.
“Abdel-Fattah has contributed much to the multicultural discourse in Australia. Open and challenging discourse in the arts is more important than ever.”
Last year Abdel-Fattah was among about 30 attendees who withdrew after the Bendigo writers festival issued a last-minute code of conduct that included instructions to “avoid language or subject matter that could be considered inflammatory, divisive or profane”.
Speakers on panels presented by festival sponsor La Trobe University were required to comply with La Trobe’s anti-racism plan, including the controversial definition of antisemitism adopted by Universities Australia in February.
