In the wake of the Bondi massacre, the Adelaide Writers Festival has “advised scheduled writer Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah that the Board has formed the judgment that we do not wish to proceed with her scheduled appearance at next month’s Writers’ Week.
“Whilst we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah’s 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,” an Adelaide Festival Board statement announced.
“The Board has also now formally established a sub-committee to oversee the ongoing Board-led review, and guide decisions about Adelaide Writers’ Week in the near and longer terms. This includes ongoing engagement with relevant Government agencies and the appointment and/or advice of external experts.”
Predictably, a number of other writers won’t be appearing at the Festival to protest what they see as censorship. “Prominent authors have withdrawn from the program in solidarity with Abdel-Fattah, including Michelle de Kretser, Professor Yanis Varoufakis, Professor Peter Greste, Dr Evelyn Araluen, Dr Melissa Lucashenko, Dr Amy McQuire, Professor Clare Wright, Professor Chelsea Watego, Dr Bernadette Brennan, Hannah Ferguson and Amy Remeikis,” the Nine Papers report.
Abdel-Fattah was at the centre of a controversy with her Australian Research Council grant suspended, then restored in 2025. The Guardian reported on the concerns raised by her critics. “Randa Abdel-Fattah, the recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship and an academic at Macquarie University, has faced sustained criticism from the Coalition, some Jewish bodies and media outlets for a series of controversialcomments, including alleging Zionists had ‘no claim or right to cultural safety’, and posting ‘May 2025 be the end of Israel’ in the new year and changing her profile picture to a picture of a Palestinian paratrooper after the 7 October attacks.”
A writer’s festival is surely the last place where ideas that are considered offensive should be banned. This piece is in no way a defence of Abdel-Fattah’s views and commentary. But one reason to attend a writers’ festival is to encounter ideas with which you may disagree. The recently established Royal Commission into the Bondi Massacre will be considering putative limits on free speech.
Many Christians will quickly support the banning of this writer, based on her campaigning against the state of Israel. But to what extent should arguments for or against the state of Israel mean someone is banned from speaking about it in Australia? Should people who think that Taiwan should be taken over by the People’s Republic of China be silenced? What about arguments for and against a state of Palestine? Or a multicultural Israel / Palestine? Some definitions of antisemitism do include opposition to Israel as a Jewish State within their definition.
What speech should be banned because it offends? NSW has passed new laws in the wake of Bondi: striking a balance as described on the Communities and Justice website
“In NSW, it is now a crime to intentionally incite hatred against people because of their race. Race includes things like colour, nationality, ethnicity, descent, or ethno-religious background.
“From 15 August 2025, if a person publicly says or does something that encourages others to hate a person or group based on race, and it is done on purpose, they will face serious penalties. These include fines or even jail time.
“This law does not make it illegal to talk about or quote religious texts during religious teaching or discussions. People can still share and discuss their beliefs freely, as long as it’s not meant to cause hate.”
The test, then, for the Writers Festival and Abdul-Fattah is whether her speech causes hate. In reality, the brutal war in Gaza has resulted in two traumatised communities – and it is a real struggle for them not to hate each other. Humanly speaking.
Christians have a stake in this because many of the things we say are offensive to others. Leaving aside the hot-button issues of sexuality and gender, there’s the issue of God’s judgment: heaven and the scandalous suggestion that not everyone will be there. This means that all but the most liberal Christian is capable of offending many.
Taking this into account, the hope is that the Adelaide Writers Festival, which can have a “politically correct” tinge (likely shed just now) will be even more open to ideas.
Image: before the boycott – the Adelaide Writers Festival 2026 lineup, which has since been removed from the website.