randa abdel-fattah Archives – J-Wire

Author Randa Abdel-Fattah to appear at Sydney Writers Festival

AAP J-Wire — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 06:48:58 +0000

Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah will appear at the Sydney Writers’ Festival, Australia’s largest writers’ event. Her removal from Adelaide Writers’ Week sparked a major controversy, prompting organisers to defend their commitment to free expression and leading to the withdrawal of numerous authors and the eventual cancellation of the festival. Sydney Writers’ Festival confirmed today that […]

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From disinvitation to apology: Abdel-Fattah and the Adelaide Festival fiasco

Rob Klein — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 06:52:58 +0000

The new board of the Adelaide Festival has issued an unreserved apology and issued an invitation to Palestinian-Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah to Writers’ Week 2027, reversing a controversial January decision that led to the event’s collapse. Executive director Julian Hobba sent an email today (Thursday) to festival supporters, stating the organisation failed to uphold its […]

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NCJWA says feminists backing Abdel-Fattah are “beyond hypocritical”

J-Wire Newsdesk — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 06:21:26 +0000

Australia’s peak Jewish women’s organisation has condemned prominent writers and feminists who withdrew from the Adelaide Writers Festival in support of author Randa Abdel-Fattah. It accused them of standing with someone who has denied sexual violence against Israeli women. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the National Council of Jewish Women Australia said it was […]

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Writers’ festival cancelled

AAP — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 04:43:12 +0000

The axing of a Palestinian-Australian author has led to the cancellation of one of Australia’s premier writers’ festivals as its embattled board stepped down. One of Australia’s premier writers’ festivals has been cancelled after almost 200 speakers and its director pulled out over the dumping of a Palestinian-Australian novelist. The Adelaide Festival board pulled the […]

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Festival ‘must answer’ for dropping Palestinian author

AAP — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 05:32:02 +0000

Palestinian-Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah says her cancellation by a major national festival was calculated to link her to the Bondi massacre. Three Adelaide Festival board members and chair Tracey Whiting quit over the weekend and dozens of authors have withdrawn from Writers’ Week, which starts on February 28. The mass boycott followed the board’s announcement […]

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Writers’ mass exodus after festival bans Palestinian

AAP — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:46:28 +0000

Dozens of authors have withdrawn from a major Australian festival over a decision to remove its only Palestinian writer because of “cultural sensitivities”. A growing list of prominent authors who have withdrawn from a major Australian festival after the only Palestinian writer booked for the event was removed by its board. International writers M. Gessen, […]

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Bendigo Writers Festival uproar

David Marlow — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 06:23:24 +0000

Pro-Palestine activists are in a perpetual state of outrage over recent events surrounding the Bendigo Writers Festival (BWF). The BWF is sponsored by La Trobe University, which is hardly a hotbed of Zionist advocacy. Nevertheless, the BWF and La Trobe University have become targets of anti-Israel activists and their keffiyeh-adorned useful idiots. Since 2012, the […]

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Queensland University of Technology under fire for anti-Israel speakers at anti-racism symposium

Rob Klein — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 02:31:10 +0000

The Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) National Symposium on Unifying Anti-Racist Research and Action is generating controversy due to the participation of speakers with a history of making inflammatory anti-Israel and antisemitic statements. Among the most scrutinized figures is Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah, a sociology academic at Macquarie University, whose past remarks have sparked widespread condemnation. […]

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