Palestinian Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has been a vocal critic of Israel, has been removed from the guest list for the Writers’ Week program at the Adelaide Festival, with organisers concerned her public statements could make her appearance culturally insensitive so soon after the Bondi terror attack.
In a statement, the Adelaide Festival Board noted that the decision was not intended to link Abdel-Fattah to the violence.
“Whilst we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, given her past statements, we have formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi,” the board said.
The festival organisers said they took several weeks to reflect on the February program following the attack.
“As an organisation and as people, we have been shocked and saddened by the tragic events at Bondi,” the statement said.
“We have been further saddened by the national grief and the significant heightening of both community tensions and the community debate.
“Consideration of the appropriate response to such a tragedy is a human exercise that we understand is subjective in nature. We also understand others will undoubtedly form different judgments. These judgments may likely even change as the landscape and context evolves.”
The board acknowledged that the decision would be “labelled” and could cause discomfort to other participants, but said it had not been made lightly.
“Our only request is that our community is respectful to our staff and volunteers who have not formed part of our decision-making process and deserve nothing but ongoing support for their excellent work,” it said.
Author Accuses Festival of Racism
Abdel-Fattah issued a response shortly after the announcement, labelling the move as “anti-Palestinian racism.”
“What makes this so egregiously racist is that the Adelaide Writers Festival Board has stripped me of my humanity and agency, reducing me to an object onto which others can project their racist fears and smears,” she said on X.
“The board’s reasoning suggests that my presence is culturally insensitive, that I, as a Palestinian who had nothing to do with the Bondi atrocity, am somehow a trigger for those in mourning and that I should therefore be persona non grata in cultural circles because my very presence as a Palestinian is threatening and unsafe.”
In her response, Abdel-Fattah accused Israel of carrying out a “live-streamed genocide of Palestinians” during the Israel-Hamas war, and said Australian arts and cultural institutions treated Palestinians with contempt.
It is the second time Abdel-Fattah has been involved in controversy linked to a writers’ festival.
In August 2025, the author withdrew from the Bendigo Writers Festival in protest after speakers were asked to avoid inflammatory or divisive topics. About 50 other writers later joined her.
“In the end, the Adelaide Writers’ Festival will be left with panellists who demonise a Palestinian out of one side of their mouths while waxing lyrical about freedom of speech from the other,” Abdel-Fattah said.
The writer and university academic has been a staunch opponent of Israel, having previously been reported as saying she wished 2025 would have been the “end of Israel.”
She has also referred to Zionism as a “death cult” and once wrote, “Congratulations to the people of the Holocaust for committing a holocaust.”
Abdel-Fattah has also attended pro-Palestine rallies where chants such as “from the river to the sea” and “intifada” were used.
The author has called for others to withdraw from the festival in protest of her removal. Public policy think tank The Australia Institute has already announced its withdrawal.
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