Nobel laureate JM Coetzee has declined an invitation to the Jerusalem International Writers Festival, citing Israel's 'genocidal campaign' in Gaza. In a letter to organizers, the 86-year-old author stated that the campaign has changed his long-standing support for Israel and that it will take many years for the country to clear its name.
Coetzee's letter to festival organizers
In his response to artistic director Julia Fermentto-Tzaisler, Coetzee explained his reasons for declining the invitation to the festival, scheduled for May 25-28. He wrote: 'For the past two years the state of Israel has been conducting a genocidal campaign in Gaza that has been vastly disproportionate to the murderous provocation of 7 October 2023.' He added that the campaign, conducted by the IDF, appears to have enthusiastic support from the vast majority of Israel's population, making it impossible for any sector of Israeli society to claim innocence.
Coetzee, who was born in apartheid South Africa and now lives in Australia, revealed that he had previously considered himself a supporter of Israel. He noted: 'Until recently Israel enjoyed a broad measure of support in the West. I would number myself among such supporters: I kept telling myself that surely the day was coming when the Israeli people would have a change of heart and deliver some form of justice to the Palestinian people whose land they had taken over.' He visited Jerusalem in 1987 to receive the Jerusalem Prize.
However, he stated: 'The campaign of annihilation in Gaza has changed all that. Long-time supporters of Israel have turned away in revulsion at the actions of the Israeli military. It will take many years for Israel to clear its name, assuming that it wishes to do so, and to re-establish itself in the international community.'
Background on Coetzee
Coetzee is widely regarded as one of the most decorated living authors. He has won the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. He rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances. When he accepted the Jerusalem Prize in 1987, he used his speech to call for an end to apartheid in South Africa, describing South African literature as 'a literature in bondage.'
Festival director's response
Fermentto-Tzaisler first revealed Coetzee's decision in April, telling Israeli news outlet Ynet that his response was 'especially harsh' and left her 'shocked.' In a reply letter, she wrote to Coetzee: 'As a South African writer who fought apartheid, I would have expected — or perhaps dreamed — that you would extend a hand to me, that you would say to me, 'Fight, my daughter. Do not stop fighting.' … You left me in despair.'
International context
A UN special committee of inquiry found that Israel's actions in Gaza, including mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions, demonstrated 'direct evidence of genocidal intent.' Amnesty International has stated that Israel is still committing genocide in Gaza during the ceasefire by targeting civilian infrastructure and restricting medical supplies and humanitarian relief.
The Jerusalem International Writers Festival has previously hosted prominent authors such as Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Jonathan Franzen, Joyce Carol Oates, and Karl Ove Knausgård.
