Adelaide Festival drops Randa Abdel-Fattah after Bondi attacks

Adelaide Festival has canceled Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Writers’ Week event, citing “cultural sensitivity” in the wake of the Bondi terror attacks, writes Dr Rosemary Sorensen.

YESTERDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026, Adelaide Festival Board of Directors published a statement Sydney-based writer and academic’s participation canceled Randa Abdülfettah At Adelaide Writers’ Week at the end of February, they said they thought her “past statements” had jeopardized her planned appearance following the incident. Bondi murders.

release It says on the festival website:

‘Although Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah [sic] or that his writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, we have formed the view that, given his past statements, it would not be culturally sensitive to continue programming him at such an unprecedented time so soon after Bondi.’

Unlike Bendigo Writers Festival The cancellation of Abdel-Fattah, which La Trobe University mistakenly claimed was not specifically targeting him, this announcement clearly states: ‘The board decided that we do not want to continue’however, no evidence was presented regarding these “past statements” to support their decision.

Like Bendigo and other cultural events before it, the Adelaide Festival is now a ‘The subcommittee, led by the board, will oversee the ongoing review and guide decisions regarding Adelaide Writers Week in the near and long term’.

We’re curating Adelaide Writers’ Week Louise AdlerStanding tall in the face of a crisis in 2023 campaign to remove him from office When the Palestinian programs the American Susan Abulhawa and Palestinian poet Muhammad Al-Kurd. The large audience participation in these sessions confirmed Adler’s commitment to providing “bold and courageous spaces” for discussion.

Since that stance, board members have continued to bow to defamatory claims that presenters who support Palestine against Israel’s continued aggression are anti-Semitic; The voices of writers, doctors, academics and artists were canceled out. In the wake of Bondi and the political backlash capitalizing on community pain, lobbying to ban any protests against Israel as hate speech has increased tremendously.

It is understood from the Adelaide Festival’s statement that the discourse of ‘cultural sensitivity’ is now fixed on this definition. Board chaired by Tracey Whiting (executive of a media marketing company) and former Liberal Senator Amanda Vanston and councilor/real estate agent Mary Couros, stated them ‘Accept that our request to Dr Abdel-Fattah will be labeled and create discomfort and pressure on other participants’.

IA. Clarification was sought as to what the Adelaide Festival board meant by putting forward their “demands” (did Abdel-Fattah have a choice) Negative withdraw) will be “tagged” (what “tag” are they waiting for?) No response yet.

Professor Clare WrightJewish Australians like Louise Adler, who was scheduled for multiple sessions at Writers’ Week, withdrew her participation immediately after the board’s announcement. In the resignation letter sent to Adler, it was stated that the board’s decision was cowardly and short-sighted.

“As an Australian Jew, I am both shocked and insulted that the board could use the Bondi tragedy to weaponize the much-loved and respected literary festival.” Wright, who experienced a similar situation as the curator of the Bendigo Writers Festival, said:

Wright added:

“As a writer, I stand shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Abdel-Fattah and his democratic rights and powers to discuss his novel on any stage, in any city, in any country in the world to which I am invited by a Festival Director, without political interference from the Board of Directors.”

Adelaide Writers’ Week is scheduled from 28 February to 5 March. Authors scheduled to appear include: Zadie Smith, Kathy LetteBritish-Iranian journalist Christiane Amanpourhistorian Mark Mazower (For talking about what the term “antisemitism” means) and Jacinda Ardern.

Among Australian writers Evelyn Araluen, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Bob Carr, Michelle de Kretser, Helen Garner, Melissa Lucasenko, Micaela Shahhar, Paul Daley And Jane Harper.

According to the statement made by the board, a letter will be sent to the participants and ‘other key stakeholders’ briefly.