The board of the Adelaide Festival is facing intense scrutiny and allegations of double standards, following revelations about its handling of two separate controversies involving authors with opposing views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Board Rejected 2024 Call to Remove Columnist
In February 2024, a group of ten academics, including prominent Palestinian Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah, petitioned the festival to rescind its invitation to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The request came days after Friedman published a contentious piece that used animal kingdom metaphors to describe actors in the Middle East conflict, which critics labelled dehumanising.
However, in a letter dated 9 February 2024 and seen by the Guardian, the festival's chair, Tracey Whiting, firmly rejected the petition. The board stated that asking it to cancel a writer was "an extremely serious request" and emphasised its international reputation for supporting artistic freedom of expression.
The letter noted that Friedman was no longer participating due to "last-minute scheduling issues," but made clear the board had not bowed to pressure to remove him. This stance stands in stark contrast to its recent action.
2026 Cancellation Sparks Outcry and Boycott
Last Thursday, the same board announced its decision to remove Randa Abdel-Fattah from the 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week program. The board cited the need for cultural sensitivity following the Bondi Junction tragedy, while stressing it did not suggest Abdel-Fattah or her work had any connection to the event.
Abdel-Fattah condemned the move as "blatant and shameless" anti-Palestinian racism and censorship. The decision has triggered a massive boycott, with over 70 participants now withdrawn from the 2026 event, casting serious doubt on its viability.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas initially claimed the board had removed Friedman in 2024, using this to justify his support for Abdel-Fattah's cancellation. This narrative has since been contradicted by the board's own 2024 correspondence.
Accusations of Hypocrisy and Inconsistent Principles
Randa Abdel-Fattah has forcefully rejected any allegation of hypocrisy regarding her 2024 petition against Friedman. She stated that their concern was about Friedman's use of racist tropes that historically dehumanised groups, including Jewish people, at a time of extreme violence in Gaza.
"In contrast, I was cancelled because my presence and identity as a Palestinian was deemed 'culturally insensitive'," Abdel-Fattah said. "All such supposed values [of artistic freedom] were discarded when it came to cancelling me."
The controversy highlights a significant shift in the board's approach. In 2023, under then-director Louise Adler, the festival staunchly defended its inclusion of Palestinian authors Susan Abulhawa and Mohammed El-Kurd despite sponsor withdrawals. Adler argued festivals should be "brave spaces," a position publicly supported at the time by both the board and Premier Malinauskas.
The premier's office has stated that while the government appoints board members, it has no power to direct artistic programming decisions. The festival board now faces a crisis of credibility, with its commitment to free expression being questioned by a significant portion of the literary community.
