Jacinda Ardern Joins Arts Festival Boycott | Australia

Dozens of writers, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, have withdrawn from a top Australian arts festival in protest after it disinvited an Australian Palestinian author following the Bondi Beach mass shooting, sparking concerns about free speech amid efforts to address antisemitism.

Adelaide Festival Disinvites Author

The Adelaide Festival board decided last Thursday to disinvite Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah from February’s Writers Week in South Australia, stating it would be “culturally insensitive” to continue with her participation so soon after the December 14 shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, which killed 15 people. Police have stated the alleged gunman was inspired by the Islamic State militant group.

Abdel-Fattah, a Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, called the decision “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship,” and her lawyers have sent a letter to the festival.

Approximately 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, according to local media reports. Author Kathy Lette wrote on social media that the decision sends “a divisive and plainly discriminatory message that platforming Australian Palestinians is ‘culturally insensitive.’”

Board Members Resign

The Adelaide Festival announced on Monday that three board members and the chairperson had resigned. Festival executive director Julian Hobba said the arts body is “navigating a complex and unprecedented moment” following the “significant community response” to the board’s decision.

Australia Addresses Antisemitism and Hate Speech

In the days following the Bondi Beach attack, Jewish community groups and the Israeli government criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not taking action against a rise in antisemitic attacks and protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. Albanese announced last week a Royal Commission would consider the events of the shooting, as well as antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia.

Albanese stated on Monday he would recall parliament next week to pass tougher hate speech laws. New South Wales state premier Chris Minns announced new rules allowing local councils to cut off power and water to illegally operating prayer halls and impose larger fines to curb “hate preachers.”

The new rules were prompted by difficulties in closing a Muslim prayer hall in Sydney linked to a cleric found by a court to have made statements intimidating Jewish Australians. However, the mayor of Fairfield, a western Sydney suburb with a large Muslim community, said the rules were ill-considered and that councils should not be responsible for determining hate speech, stating, “Freedom of speech is something that should always be allowed, as long as it is done in a peaceful way.”

Jacinda Ardern Withdraws

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who was scheduled to speak with Australian journalist Sarah Ferguson about her memoir A Different Kind of Power and “a conversation about women and power” on March 3, has withdrawn from the event. A festival spokesperson confirmed Ardern’s withdrawal on Monday, stating no further comment would be made at this time.