Letter to Bendigo Writers Festival flagged concern over Palestinian author

A letter warning about Palestinian writer and academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah appearing at Bendigo Writers Festival was sent to event organisers by lobby group 5A in July, suggesting she would “pose a direct threat to the Jewish community in Australia”.

A Palestinian-Egyptian Muslim woman, Abdel-Fattah was scheduled to speak at the festival over the weekend in the La Trobe Presents component of the event called “On Reckonings”, alongside University of Technology Sydney law professor and podcaster Katherine Biber and author Paul Daley.

“We are deeply concerned about the invitation of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to speak at [the Bendigo Writers Festival La Trobe Presents] event on her book Discipline, concerning speaking about the war in Gaza,” the letter from 5A began.

The letter alleged Abdel-Fattah is “widely known for her antisemitism and anti-Israeli rhetoric … [and] perpetually dehumanises people who hold Zionist views and condemns them as not worthy of human dignity”.

Also known as the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism, 5A says it is “dedicated to educating and raising awareness about antisemitism in Australian universities and research institutions”.

The letter pointed to a series of social media posts from Abdel-Fattah, including ones it asserted had said Jews had “no claim to cultural safety” and that institutions that considered “fragile feelings of Zionists” were “abhorrent”.

Responding to the revelations on Monday, Abdel-Fattah said: “La Trobe University and Bendigo Festival indulged a defamatory smear campaign against me by a pro-Israel lobby group. Ironic that the code and policies use the language of anti-racism, safety, respect and inclusion and yet were deliberately wielded to silence, manage and target me, a Palestinian-Egyptian Muslim woman.”

The leaked letter, seen by this masthead and first published by Deepcut News, follows the withdrawal of some 50 authors, including Abdel-Fattah, from the festival who were protesting against restrictions to their freedom of speech after they were asked to sign a code of conduct that said they must “avoid language or topics that could be considered inflammatory, divisive, or disrespectful”.

Nearly 60 per cent of participants at the Bendigo Writers Festival withdrew from the event after the code of conduct – which covered the La Trobe Presents component of the festival – was issued, according to figures released by the City of Greater Bendigo on Monday.

While La Trobe and the Bendigo city council say codes of conduct are common at writers festivals in Australia, industry insiders disagree.

According to Abdel-Fattah, “the code belongs in an Orwell novel”.

“It’s a gag order and exposes an astonishing contempt for, and infantilisation of, writers and artists and the right to free speech, to thought-provoking commentary, to robust debate, to speak out against genocide and oppression. Alarmingly, it reflects the willingness of institutions to placate organisations and lobbyists hellbent on silencing voices who threaten the status quo.”

She said festival organisers must have known that such a code would meet resistance.

Bendigo Writers Festival contracts were issued to participants months ago.

Cecile Shanahan was lead curator of the festival last year and has been an organiser and presenter since 2015. Now a co-curator, this year she programmed the youth sessions and helped other curators as needed.

Shanahan believes the code of conduct was issued “to appease external bodies who have lost touch with the purpose of writers festivals and the importance of open and honest dialogue”.

“I was deeply concerned about its existence and the implications of what it was asking of festival participants,” she said.

“I received the code of conduct as a festival participant at the same time as every one else, just a few short days ago. I, too, was immediately concerned at its wording and the implication that those in the La Trobe sessions should behave themselves or else. It was completely inappropriate to ask anyone to adhere to such requirements.”

Shanahan resigned from the City of Greater Bendigo eight weeks ago for personal reasons.

“We have never had a code of conduct or placed any attempt to guide the direction of conversations upon writers before,” she said.

A La Trobe University spokesperson said it was “deeply embedded with the diverse and multicultural communities we serve, and we are committed to advancing an inclusive and respectful culture which includes addressing racism and all forms of discrimination”.

“La Trobe will always take seriously any concerns raised about community safety and inclusion – including cultural safety – and we welcome feedback on our public events and engagement.”

It said festival organisers and La Trobe agreed to issue a code of conduct to “promote respectful exchange of views and ensure community safety”.

5A has been contacted for comment.

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