A major writers festival has cancelled its opening night gala and numerous sessions after 50 writers and moderators pulled out in protest.
The Bendigo Writers Festival has come under fire for allegedly trying to “silence” discussion on the war in Gaza.
Participants in sessions sponsored by La Trobe University were reportedly sent a late code-of-conduct advisory, detailing what they could or couldn’t say.
The list of writers boycotting the event grew on Friday night. The names include Stella Prize winners Evelyn Araluen, Clare Wright and Jess Hill and prominent Palestine advocate Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Journalist/author Paul Daley denounced the festival’s rules as a “shameful episode in Australian literary life”.
The outcry comes in the same week that Australia revealed it would join other Western nations in recognising a state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
University of Melbourne senior research fellow Denis Muller said the code of conduct contained a controversial definition of antisemitism and required speakers to “avoid language or topics that could be considered inflammatory, divisive or disrespectful”.
“The Bendigo festival has questions to answer about its code of conduct and the impact on freedom of speech, some of which have been raised by the Human Rights Law Centre in a letter asking for “urgent clarification”, Muller wrote for The Conversation.
Festival spokesperson Julie Amos told the ABC that organisers were processing refunds for ticket holders after 21 sessions were cancelled.
Amos said the code of conduct was not meant to censor free speech, but was intended as a set of guidelines to “facilitate respectful conversations” about global political issues.
“It’s no secret that we are living in an incredibly risk averse environment at the moment,” she told the ABC.
“We encourage discussions about these issues.
“We’re not trying to shut them down. We just want to make sure those really, really important conversations happen in a safe way.”
La Trobe University-sponsored events require participants to comply with guidelines on antisemitism and Islamophobia from the university’s anti-racism plan.
“Criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions and when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel or all Jews or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel’s actions,” it states.
The event is held over three days from August 15 to 17.
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