Check it out !!

Not much on the commercial news about this, but I heard it's worth at least 65 mill to the Adelaide economy, so someone is in trouble. Tsk,tsk,tsk.... :(

Adelaide Writers Week Festival cancelled amid outrage over barring Palestinian writer | Stuff.co.nz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IP6R7owibs

It was on The 7:30 Report on ABC tonight.

I've known Pete for more than 15 years, and he's a really, really decent bloke, but I'm not with him on this one.

He should have kept out of it.

ʞɔnɟ her she's a ʇunɔ


Controversies around her also include an image posted to her social media in the hours after the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, depicting a person parachuting with a Palestinian flag.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm4jkwz2z8o

An award-winning Australian writer has called for the destruction of Israel and the “death cult of Zionism” in what was apparently meant to be a message of hope and optimism for the new year.

“May 2025 be the end of Israel. May it be the end of the US-Israeli imperial scourge on humanity. May we see the abolishment of the death cult of Zionism and the end of US empire and finally a world where the slaughter, annihilation, and torture of Palestinians is no longer daily routine,” Randa Abdel-Fattah posted on X/Twitter on Wednesday evening

https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/12/26/may-2025-be-end-israel-australian-writer-calls-destruction-jewish-state-mark-new-year/

Gordon wrote on Jan 13^th, 2026 at 7:37pm:

ʞɔnɟ her she's a ʇunɔ Controversies around her also include an image posted to her social media in the hours after the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, depicting a person parachuting with a Palestinian flag. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm4jkwz2z8o

180 writers pulling out, plus the resignation of the director, Louise Adler, says you are dead wrong !!


Check it out !!

Zionists Mark & Jeremy Leibler have Palestinian-Australian Dr Abdel-Fattah sacked from festival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJX-kkINi_k

How Lobby Pressure Wrecked Adelaide Writers Week | The West Report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbxfonT6gQ

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 13^th, 2026 at 7:47pm:

Gordon wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 7:37pm: ʞɔnɟ her she's a ʇunɔ Controversies around her also include an image posted to her social media in the hours after the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, depicting a person parachuting with a Palestinian flag. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm4jkwz2z8o 180 writers pulling out, plus the resignation of the director, Louise Adler, says you are dead wrong !! Check it out !! Zionists Mark & Jeremy Leibler have Palestinian-Australian Dr Abdel-Fattah sacked from festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJX-kkINi_k How Lobby Pressure Wrecked Adelaide Writers Week | The West Report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbxfonT6gQ

An attack on free speech.

They'll be burning books next.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 13^th, 2026 at 7:57pm:

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 7:47pm: Gordon wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 7:37pm: ʞɔnɟ her she's a ʇunɔ Controversies around her also include an image posted to her social media in the hours after the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, depicting a person parachuting with a Palestinian flag. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm4jkwz2z8o 180 writers pulling out, plus the resignation of the director, Louise Adler, says you are dead wrong !! Check it out !! Zionists Mark & Jeremy Leibler have Palestinian-Australian Dr Abdel-Fattah sacked from festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJX-kkINi_k How Lobby Pressure Wrecked Adelaide Writers Week | The West Report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbxfonT6gQ An attack on free speech. They'll be burning books next.

Don't give them any ideas :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaLJ10v4xUA

greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 13^th, 2026 at 7:36pm:

It was on The 7:30 Report on ABC tonight. I've known Pete for more than 15 years, and he's a really, really decent bloke, but I'm not with him on this one. He should have kept out of it.

He did, creep.

It was really the festival director, Louise Adler who insisted on including the pro Hamas activist woman in the line up.

The festival board said it would not be “culturally sensitive” to include her voice so soon after the tragedy, citing concerns about community tensions. Abdel-Fattah decried the decision as racism and censorship.
The **cking cheek of her.
In 2024 Abdel Fattah herself called for on the same festival to rescind the invitation of Jewish New York Times columnist.

Palestinian writer's cancellation from Adelaide Writers Festival
2026-01-09
greens.org.au
Acting Leader of the Australian Greens and Arts & Communications spokesperson Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young said:

Like a lot of South Australians today, I am deeply disturbed the Adelaide’s beloved Writers Festival has been ruined by this terrible decision.

The decision to drop Palestinian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers Festival is deeply concerning and should be reversed.

Freedom of expression and the exchange of ideas are what makes writers festivals what they are.

Engaging in respectful, thoughtful debate and challenging ideas and opinions is the whole purpose of an event like this.

Censorship and shutting down diverse voices, including Palestinian voices is the antithesis of an open, free and respectful democracy.

South Australia has a proud history of our arts festivals and supporting artist freedom of expression. This craven decision will leave our state and our reputation as the festival state in tatters.

The Greens will continue to advocate for artists to do their work free of political interference and pressure.

As both a regular panelist and supporter of the AWW I am extremely disappointed and saddened that the Adelaide Festival board has made this decision. It is a bad decision and should be reversed.

I don't think she is being silenced. She can still call for Israel's destruction. The only thing that might actually silence her are the new anti racism laws. She should stick to quoting the Quran. There are plenty of passages in there about killing Jews to choose from.

Influential publisher Morry Schwartz says Adelaide Writers Week boss Louise Adler has intentionally “wounded” the literary festival, claiming the director knew programming controversial Palestinian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah would imperil the event’s future.

In a letter to The Australian, Mr Schwartz claimed Ms Adler’s “obsessive cause” was to blame for the fallout at AWW, where more than 70 authors reportedly had publicly withdrawn and four Adelaide Festival board members, including chair Tracey Whiting, had resigned.

“It’s clearly Louise Adler who has wounded Adelaide Writers’ Week – not the board, nor the SA government,” wrote Mr Schwartz, owner of Schwartz Media, publisher of Black Inc Books, The Saturday Paper, The Monthly and Quarterly Essay.

“Adler well knew that including Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah (‘if you are a Zionist you have no claim or right to cultural safety’) would endanger the institution.

“But it mattered nil to her – her obsessive cause is more important to her than our precious 66-year-old writers’ festival.”

Three years ago, Mr Schwartz called for Ms Adler to resign from her position, but for the writers at her festival to remain.

“Back then she programmed eight pro-Palestinian activists, with zero alternative voices. One, Mohammed El-Kurd, compared Israel to Nazis and defended someone who tweeted that she wanted ‘to kill every motherf..king Zionist’, ‘curse the Jews’, and who supported Hamas. Others weren’t far behind.”


Adler is Jewish. Was a student of Edward Said at Columbia and is married to Max Gillies.

Frank wrote on Jan 13^th, 2026 at 9:52pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 7:36pm: It was on The 7:30 Report on ABC tonight. I've known Pete for more than 15 years, and he's a really, really decent bloke, but I'm not with him on this one. He should have kept out of it. He did, creep.

He made a public comment about her, which I don't think he should have done.

As I say, I've known him for 15 years and it seemed out of character for him.

That's what politics does to you, I guess   :(

Frank wrote on Jan 13^th, 2026 at 9:52pm:

The festival board said it would not be “culturally sensitive” to include her voice so soon after the tragedy, .

Australian men died in Vietnam and there were street war-protests.
People died in the previous bushfires and there were protests about policy.
Ate Jews so different that there can't be protest while they mourn Bondi?

Quote:

Abdel-Fattah sacked from festival

Good things do happen.

Well - there goes the ball game...

Sounds like good riddance to me.

freediver wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 7:14am:

I don't think she is being silenced. She can still call for Israel's destruction. The only thing that might actually silence her are the new anti racism laws. She should stick to quoting the Quran. There are plenty of passages in there about killing Jews to choose from.

That means the Quran needs to be re-done - the King Albo Version or something.... to reflect modern values............................ oh ........................... wait a minute............................... we're talking about Islamic values here .............. not civilised values .......... they're stuck in the Dark Ages on the assumption that their book tells it all and is built on immaculate deception ............................. me bad ...

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 10:40am:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 7:14am: I don't think she is being silenced. She can still call for Israel's destruction. The only thing that might actually silence her are the new anti racism laws. She should stick to quoting the Quran. There are plenty of passages in there about killing Jews to choose from. That means the Quran needs to be re-done - the King Albo Version or something.... to reflect modern values............................ oh ........................... wait a minute............................... we're talking about Islamic values here .............. not civilised values .......... they're stuck in the Dark Ages on the assumption that their book tells it all and is built on immaculate deception ............................. me bad ...

This means all bronze age and dark-ages scripture (but not the NT proclaiming the 'Prince of Peace')  need to be 'redone'.

Interestingly the new 'hate laws' will exclude quoting religious texts which indeed quote a hate-filled 'god' in the OT and Koran, both of which are the same God.

On the grounds of 'freedom of religion'.

As for Malinauskas, he should have kept his mouth shut; Israel IS a genocidal colonizer of Palestine Mandate land.   

Frank wrote on Jan 13^th, 2026 at 9:52pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 7:36pm: It was on The 7:30 Report on ABC tonight. I've known Pete for more than 15 years, and he's a really, really decent bloke, but I'm not with him on this one. He should have kept out of it. He did, creep. It was really the festival director, Louise Adler who insisted on including the pro Hamas activist woman in the line up. The festival board said it would not be “culturally sensitive” to include her voice so soon after the tragedy, citing concerns about community tensions. Abdel-Fattah decried the decision as racism and censorship. The **cking cheek of her. In 2024 Abdel Fattah herself called for on the same festival to rescind the invitation of Jewish New York Times columnist.

Yes - it's one of these Islamists biggest faults - hypocrisy.

And Abdel-Fattah is a terrorist supporting anti-Semite/racist herself.

I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 11:02am:

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 10:40am: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 7:14am: I don't think she is being silenced. She can still call for Israel's destruction. The only thing that might actually silence her are the new anti racism laws. She should stick to quoting the Quran. There are plenty of passages in there about killing Jews to choose from. That means the Quran needs to be re-done - the King Albo Version or something.... to reflect modern values............................ oh ........................... wait a minute............................... we're talking about Islamic values here .............. not civilised values .......... they're stuck in the Dark Ages on the assumption that their book tells it all and is built on immaculate deception ............................. me bad ... This means all bronze age and dark-ages scripture (but not the NT proclaiming the 'Prince of Peace')  need to be 'redone'. Interestingly the new 'hate laws' will exclude quoting religious texts which indeed quote a hate-filled 'god' in the OT and Koran, both of which are the same God. On the grounds of 'freedom of religion'. As for Malinauskas, he should have kept his mouth shut; Israel IS a genocidal colonizer of Palestine Mandate land.

BS. There is no genocide you fool. "50,000 children have been born in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and July 2024, during the ongoing conflict. As of early 2025, daily births continued at a rate of approximately 130 children per day".




It's probably the only sensible thing Peter Malinauskas  has done since taking office.

And DH - Christianity has reformed a lot in the last 1,400 odd years ...

Whereas Islam has not. The Qoran is just a reference book on where & how to kill Jews & other infidels.

freediver wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 11:39am:

I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings.

She would justify them I'd wager.

Gnads wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 11:43am:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:02am: Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 10:40am: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 7:14am: I don't think she is being silenced. She can still call for Israel's destruction. The only thing that might actually silence her are the new anti racism laws. She should stick to quoting the Quran. There are plenty of passages in there about killing Jews to choose from. That means the Quran needs to be re-done - the King Albo Version or something.... to reflect modern values............................ oh ........................... wait a minute............................... we're talking about Islamic values here .............. not civilised values .......... they're stuck in the Dark Ages on the assumption that their book tells it all and is built on immaculate deception ............................. me bad ... This means all bronze age and dark-ages scripture (but not the NT proclaiming the 'Prince of Peace')  need to be 'redone'. Interestingly the new 'hate laws' will exclude quoting religious texts which indeed quote a hate-filled 'god' in the OT and Koran, both of which are the same God. On the grounds of 'freedom of religion'. As for Malinauskas, he should have kept his mouth shut; Israel IS a genocidal colonizer of Palestine Mandate land.    BS. There is no genocide you fool. "50,000 children have been born in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and July 2024, during the ongoing conflict. As of early 2025, daily births continued at a rate of approximately 130 children per day".

Your error: 70,000 non-combatants  have been murdered in Gaza, aka genocide -
hence Netanyahu's invitation to attend a hearing at the ICC...

And Randa Abdel-Fattah's reference to the 'genocidal zionist colonizer of Palestine' refers to the ongoing occupation of Palestine Mandate land since 1948, with its 100 to 1 kill rate in the wars of resistance by Palestinins and other Arab nations since that time.    


Quote:

It's probably the only sensible thing Peter Malinauskas  has done since taking office.

Thanks for your opinion.


Quote:

And DH - Christianity has reformed a lot in the last 1,400 odd years ...

Thankfully; though the baleful effects of the OT keep intruding in our time:

eg "We killed everything  that breathed" (illegal under international law), exclaimed a triumphant  British Colonel at the battle of Beersheba in  1917, directly quoting the OT Prophet Joshua. 


Quote:

Whereas Islam has not. The Qoran is just a reference book on where & how to kill Jews & other infidels.

Well - it is also a reference on how to worship and obey the 'One True God', Islam  being "one of the world's great religions', according to former PM Malcolm Turnbull.

freediver wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 11:39am:

I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings.

I'd have let her have enough rope to hang herself (attend the festival)

freediver wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 11:39am:

I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings.

Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 1:52pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre.

Which means what? She has good lawyers?

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 1:52pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre.

Like I said earlier: I like Pete a lot, but he should have kept well and truly out of it.

I don't know what made him make those comments - totally out of character for him.

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 1:52pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre.

She has been sending out gambit claim letters for years. It is not suing.

freediver wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 1:54pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. Which means what? She has good lawyers?

It means she considers her use of terms like  'genocidal zionist occupier of Palestine' should not have been a cause of her dis-invitation to attend the Adelaide   WW, as recommended by Malinauskas who cited "cultural sensibilities" after Bondi.

I reckon Malinauskas is in deep poo...   

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 2:07pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:54pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. Which means what? She has good lawyers? It means she considers her use of terms like  'genocidal zionist occupier of Palestine' should not have been a cause of her dis-invitation to attend the Adelaide   WW, as recommended by Malinauskas who cited "cultural sensibilities" after Bondi. I reckon Malinauskas is in deep poo...

But it doesn't actually tell us anything about her thoughts on the Sydney shootings. It could just mean she wants a payout.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 1:40pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:43am: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:02am: Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 10:40am: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 7:14am: I don't think she is being silenced. She can still call for Israel's destruction. The only thing that might actually silence her are the new anti racism laws. She should stick to quoting the Quran. There are plenty of passages in there about killing Jews to choose from. That means the Quran needs to be re-done - the King Albo Version or something.... to reflect modern values............................ oh ........................... wait a minute............................... we're talking about Islamic values here .............. not civilised values .......... they're stuck in the Dark Ages on the assumption that their book tells it all and is built on immaculate deception ............................. me bad ... This means all bronze age and dark-ages scripture (but not the NT proclaiming the 'Prince of Peace')  need to be 'redone'. Interestingly the new 'hate laws' will exclude quoting religious texts which indeed quote a hate-filled 'god' in the OT and Koran, both of which are the same God. On the grounds of 'freedom of religion'. As for Malinauskas, he should have kept his mouth shut; Israel IS a genocidal colonizer of Palestine Mandate land.    BS. There is no genocide you fool. "50,000 children have been born in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and July 2024, during the ongoing conflict. As of early 2025, daily births continued at a rate of approximately 130 children per day". Your error: 70,000 non-combatants  have been murdered in Gaza, aka genocide - hence Netanyahu's invitation to attend a hearing at the ICC... And Randa Abdel-Fattah's reference to the 'genocidal zionist colonizer of Palestine' refers to the ongoing occupation of Palestine Mandate land since 1948, with its 100 to 1 kill rate in the wars of resistance by Palestinins and other Arab nations since that time.     Quote: It's probably the only sensible thing Peter Malinauskas  has done since taking office. Thanks for your opinion. [quote]And DH - Christianity has reformed a lot in the last 1,400 odd years ...

Thankfully; though the baleful effects of the OT keep intruding in our time:

eg "We killed everything  that breathed" (illegal under international law), exclaimed a triumphant  British Colonel at the battle of Beersheba in  1917, directly quoting the OT Prophet Joshua. 


Quote:

Whereas Islam has not. The Qoran is just a reference book on where & how to kill Jews & other infidels.

Well - it is also a reference on how to worship and obey the 'One True God', Islam  being "one of the world's great religions', according to former PM Malcolm Turnbull.
[/quote]

Turnbull was suckholing - as he was prone to do ...

there is nothing "great" about Islam except it's numbers of adherents.

Which by in large in many regions/countries are ignorant, uneducated, tribal & warring types.

Mid Easteners, Gazans, Nth Africans, Afghanis, Pakis, Benglas etc.

You know.... the ones Albo is filling the country with.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 1:52pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre.

How did he do that exactly?

And she is not suing - she has sent a notice of defamation.

Long way off suing as yet.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 2:07pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:54pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. Which means what? She has good lawyers? It means she considers her use of terms like  'genocidal zionist occupier of Palestine' should not have been a cause of her dis-invitation to attend the Adelaide   WW, as recommended by Malinauskas who cited "cultural sensibilities" after Bondi. I reckon Malinauskas is in deep poo...

You use that term as well ..... says a lot about you & her.

What Malinauskas has said was in no way defaming & an terrorist supporting activist shouldn't be given a platform so soon after Bondi.

And as has been stated she made a call for someone else she didn't like to not allowed at the festival last year.

Hypocrites.

Gnads wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 2:47pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. How did he do that exactly?

I like Pete.

He was a work associate, and I got along with him extremely well.

Couldn't meet a nicer guy.

However, he should have stayed out of this.

“Can you imagine if a far-right Zionist walked into a Sydney mosque and murdered 15 people?” he said.

“Can you imagine that as the premier of this state, I would actively support a far-right Zionist going to writers’ week and speaking hateful rhetoric towards Islamic people? Of course I wouldn’t, but the reverse has happened in this instance. And I think that’s a reasonable position for me to take, it’s a view that I believe.”

I’m more concerned about the blue seaweed infection that is destroying tourism in  South Australia and destroying the natural environment down there than anything to do with this indulgent sh.it show tbh

Gnads wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 11:33am:

Frank wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 9:52pm: greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 7:36pm: It was on The 7:30 Report on ABC tonight. I've known Pete for more than 15 years, and he's a really, really decent bloke, but I'm not with him on this one. He should have kept out of it. He did, creep. It was really the festival director, Louise Adler who insisted on including the pro Hamas activist woman in the line up. The festival board said it would not be “culturally sensitive” to include her voice so soon after the tragedy, citing concerns about community tensions. Abdel-Fattah decried the decision as racism and censorship. The **cking cheek of her. In 2024 Abdel Fattah herself called for on the same festival to rescind the invitation of Jewish New York Times columnist. Yes - it's one of these Islamists biggest faults - hypocrisy. And Abdel-Fattah is a terrorist supporting anti-Semite/racist herself.

Muslims and lefties meet at that junction: hypocrisy. You cannot be either wighout being a comlkete and utter hypocrite and arse. So they invariably intertwine their hypocrisies.


Former Adelaide Writers Week director Louise Adler has been accused of hypocrisy over free speech after former Adelaide Festival board member and businessman Tony Berg claimed she had in 2024 issued an ultimatum over the cancellation of Jewish Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman.

In a letter sent to The Australian, Mr Berg claimed the direction Ms Adler was taking the festival was the reason he stood down from the board last year.

“I am now utterly astonished at Louise Adler’s statement in her resignation letter in support of free speech. I am likewise surprised by Randa Abdel-Fattah‘s invocation of free speech and her outrage at being ‘cancelled’,” he wrote.

“They both exhibit hypocrisy in defending free speech for some, when I observed them both to stridently oppose free speech during my time on the Board.”

Mr Berg said that at a board meeting in February 2024, Ms Adler “led a demand to the Board” to rescind an invitation to Mr Friedman to Adelaide Writers Week.


After (New York Times journalist) Tom Friedman was invited to speak, Randa Abdel-Fattah (the writer disinvited from the his year’s AWW, which ultimately triggered its collapse) had led a group of academics demanding that Tom Friedman be deplatformed. Then Louise Adler, Ruth MacKenzie and Kath Mainland put an ultimatum to the Board that they would resign if it did not endorse their recommendation to disinvite Friedman

“I regard it to be utterly hypocritical of Randa Abdel-Fatah and Louise Adler to now accuse the Board of repressing freedom of speech when they have both actively sought to deny it to Tom Friedman. I understand why a number of authors have turned down invitations to come to AWW 2026 on freedom of speech grounds,” he said. “But they should understand that the people, with whom they are standing, in fact, have actively undermined freedom of speech in the past.

That's what happens when you have too many lunatic sheilas running the show....

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Gnads wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 2:47pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. How did he do that exactly? And she is not suing - she has sent a notice of defamation. Long way off suing as yet.

Not far off ;)

Premier Peter Malinauskas should be charged with criminal defamation of Dr Randa Abdel Fattah


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-huBBHNRc

freediver wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 1:54pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. Which means what? She has good lawyers?

She is a grifter


Quote:

Grant Summary: Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: a hidden history. This project will be the first study of a neglected but constitutive part of Australia’s social movement history: Arab/Muslim Australian social justice activism. It aims to recover previously untapped oral histories and rare archival collections of Arab/Muslim Australian activists working in anti-racism, anti-war and feminist social movements from the 1970s to date. Funding: $802,000.00 Investigators: Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/Web/Grant/Grant/FT220100427

Labor has give her over $1million of taxpayers money to publish her nonsense.

Why are taxpayers funding rubbish like this?

Baronvonrort wrote on Jan 15^th, 2026 at 10:36pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:54pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. Which means what? She has good lawyers? She is a grifter Quote: Grant Summary: Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: a hidden history. This project will be the first study of a neglected but constitutive part of Australia’s social movement history: Arab/Muslim Australian social justice activism. It aims to recover previously untapped oral histories and rare archival collections of Arab/Muslim Australian activists working in anti-racism, anti-war and feminist social movements from the 1970s to date. Funding: $802,000.00 Investigators: Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/Web/Grant/Grant/FT220100427 Labor has give her over $1million of taxpayers money to publish her nonsense. Why are taxpayers funding rubbish like this?

She is simply someone who disagrees with you. That's all.

Plenty of museums getting millions in handouts too ;)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/12/australia-festival-faces-mass-boycott-after-dropping-palestinian-author


Quote:

Abdel-Fattah, a Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship”. She said the board’s attempt to associate her with the Bondi killings was “despicable”.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 14^th, 2026 at 3:44pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 2:47pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. How did he do that exactly? I like Pete. He was a work associate, and I got along with him extremely well. Couldn't meet a nicer guy. However, he should have stayed out of this. “Can you imagine if a far-right Zionist walked into a Sydney mosque and murdered 15 people?” he said. “Can you imagine that as the premier of this state, I would actively support a far-right Zionist going to writers’ week and speaking hateful rhetoric towards Islamic people? Of course I wouldn’t, but the reverse has happened in this instance. And I think that’s a reasonable position for me to take, it’s a view that I believe.”

He believes he's made a fair comparison & I agree.

Abdel-Fattah supports terrorist groups & is openly anti- Jewish in her views.

Anyways the Festival Organisers have weakened & invited her to attend in 2027.

I hope she's so pissed off with them she says no ....

that would be another win for commonsense against activists like her.

Seeing she does the same to people she thinks are RW conservatives or Pro-Israeli.

Double standards are her norm.

Frank wrote on Jan 15^th, 2026 at 8:14am:

Gnads wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:33am: Frank wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 9:52pm: greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 13th, 2026 at 7:36pm: It was on The 7:30 Report on ABC tonight. I've known Pete for more than 15 years, and he's a really, really decent bloke, but I'm not with him on this one. He should have kept out of it. He did, creep. It was really the festival director, Louise Adler who insisted on including the pro Hamas activist woman in the line up. The festival board said it would not be “culturally sensitive” to include her voice so soon after the tragedy, citing concerns about community tensions. Abdel-Fattah decried the decision as racism and censorship. The **cking cheek of her. In 2024 Abdel Fattah herself called for on the same festival to rescind the invitation of Jewish New York Times columnist. Yes - it's one of these Islamists biggest faults - hypocrisy. And Abdel-Fattah is a terrorist supporting anti-Semite/racist herself. Muslims and lefties meet at that junction: hypocrisy. You cannot be either wighout being a comlkete and utter hypocrite and arse. So they invariably intertwine their hypocrisies. Former Adelaide Writers Week director Louise Adler has been accused of hypocrisy over free speech after former Adelaide Festival board member and businessman Tony Berg claimed she had in 2024 issued an ultimatum over the cancellation of Jewish Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman. In a letter sent to The Australian, Mr Berg claimed the direction Ms Adler was taking the festival was the reason he stood down from the board last year. “I am now utterly astonished at Louise Adler’s statement in her resignation letter in support of free speech. I am likewise surprised by Randa Abdel-Fattah‘s invocation of free speech and her outrage at being ‘cancelled’,” he wrote. “They both exhibit hypocrisy in defending free speech for some, when I observed them both to stridently oppose free speech during my time on the Board.” Mr Berg said that at a board meeting in February 2024, Ms Adler “led a demand to the Board” to rescind an invitation to Mr Friedman to Adelaide Writers Week. After (New York Times journalist) Tom Friedman was invited to speak, Randa Abdel-Fattah (the writer disinvited from the his year’s AWW, which ultimately triggered its collapse) had led a group of academics demanding that Tom Friedman be deplatformed. Then Louise Adler, Ruth MacKenzie and Kath Mainland put an ultimatum to the Board that they would resign if it did not endorse their recommendation to disinvite Friedman “I regard it to be utterly hypocritical of Randa Abdel-Fatah and Louise Adler to now accuse the Board of repressing freedom of speech when they have both actively sought to deny it to Tom Friedman. I understand why a number of authors have turned down invitations to come to AWW 2026 on freedom of speech grounds,” he said. “But they should understand that the people, with whom they are standing, in fact, have actively undermined freedom of speech in the past.

If Albanese gets his "hate speech" Bill up in Parliament these writers won't have to worry about "free speech" because it will be dead & buried along with their little festival.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 15^th, 2026 at 9:39pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 2:47pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. How did he do that exactly? And she is not suing - she has sent a notice of defamation. Long way off suing as yet. Not far off ;) Premier Peter Malinauskas should be charged with criminal defamation of Dr Randa Abdel Fattah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-huBBHNRc

Saying that she has pro-Hamas, anti Israeli views/activism is not defamatory - it's factual.

I hope any action she tries to bring is treated with the contempt it deserves.

Abdel-Fattah and her pronouncements should not be celebrated and platformed at a literary event in a respectful society. Her ugly outpourings should be treated just as vile racism and pro-­Nazism are. They should be condemned, shunned and avoided.

As Joe Aston wrote in Rampart this week: “And how could anyone consider it mild of Abdel-Fattah to say that her ‘duty’ is ‘to ensure that every space Zionists enter is culturally unsafe for them’. Most Jews are Zionists so Abdel-Fattah considers it her calling to guarantee that only Jews like Adler may live their lives unmolested. This is properly crazy stuff and yet everyone from Richard Flanagan to Zadie Smith to Jacinda Ardern is saying ‘I’m with you, sister!’ ”

For Australia’s leading writers to align with a purported intellectual who publicly advocates that Zionism “deserves no safe cultural space” is not just risible, it’s recklessly dangerous.

I don’t believe for a moment that most of those writers who have quit Adelaide Writers Week want to seriously argue that there are no boundaries to free speech.

But they need to own something now. They have shown Australians still shaken from the slaughter of Jews on our most iconic beach a month ago that they’ll go to the wall to back Randa Abdel-Fattah.

That’s a travesty.

It explains the ­silence of the yarts when everyone else in Australia was calling for a royal commission.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 8:30am:

Baronvonrort wrote on Jan 15th, 2026 at 10:36pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:54pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. Which means what? She has good lawyers? She is a grifter Quote: Grant Summary: Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: a hidden history. This project will be the first study of a neglected but constitutive part of Australia’s social movement history: Arab/Muslim Australian social justice activism. It aims to recover previously untapped oral histories and rare archival collections of Arab/Muslim Australian activists working in anti-racism, anti-war and feminist social movements from the 1970s to date. Funding: $802,000.00 Investigators: Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/Web/Grant/Grant/FT220100427 Labor has give her over $1million of taxpayers money to publish her nonsense. Why are taxpayers funding rubbish like this? She is simply someone who disagrees with you. That's all. Plenty of museums getting millions in handouts too ;) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/12/australia-festival-faces-mass-boycott-after-dropping-palestinian-author [quote]Abdel-Fattah, a Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship”. She said the board’s attempt to associate her with the Bondi killings was “despicable”.

[/quote]



Quote:

Abdel-Fattah, a Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine,

Nearly $1 million dollars to research a country that does not exist & a made up fictional word.

No one associated the biatch with the Bondi shootings ....

they intimated that if she voiced her views at the festival it would be culturally insensitive because of how recent the Bondi shootings were......

you know like it would be ....... too soon.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 8:30am:

Baronvonrort wrote on Jan 15th, 2026 at 10:36pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:54pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. Which means what? She has good lawyers? She is a grifter Quote: Grant Summary: Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: a hidden history. This project will be the first study of a neglected but constitutive part of Australia’s social movement history: Arab/Muslim Australian social justice activism. It aims to recover previously untapped oral histories and rare archival collections of Arab/Muslim Australian activists working in anti-racism, anti-war and feminist social movements from the 1970s to date. Funding: $802,000.00 Investigators: Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/Web/Grant/Grant/FT220100427 Labor has give her over $1million of taxpayers money to publish her nonsense. Why are taxpayers funding rubbish like this? She is simply someone who disagrees with you. That's all. Plenty of museums getting millions in handouts too ;) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/12/australia-festival-faces-mass-boycott-after-dropping-palestinian-author [quote]Abdel-Fattah, a Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship”. She said the board’s attempt to associate her with the Bondi killings was “despicable”.

[/quote]

She is not a Museum. She is a propagandist for a declared terrorist organisation.

Here's a comment I have borrowed from another forum & I think it sums up the entire situation & the rank hypocrisy driven by Lauren Adler & Randa Abdel-Fattah.


Quote:

The collapse of Adelaide Writers’ Week is not a free-speech crisis.. No writer was censored. No one was silenced by the state. What occurred was a programming decision, followed by an extraordinary display of hubris that ultimately destroyed a public cultural institution. Randa Abdel-Fattah was not banned from publishing or speaking. She was simply uninvited from a writers’ festival after making comments about Israel that many reasonably regarded as antisemitic and beyond acceptable bounds. Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly. To pretend otherwise is to drain the word “censorship” of meaning. She had previously demanded that a Jewish writer be banned from the festival. The real failure came after that decision. At that point, Abdel-Fattah had a choice. She could have responded with humility and proportion, acknowledging that her language had caused offence, accepting that festivals must draw lines, and urging other writers not to withdraw. She could have said that Adelaide Writers’ Week mattered more than any individual participant. That would have been the stoic response: disagreement without self-dramatization. Instead, she chose escalation. Lawyers were engaged. Apologies were rejected. The decision was reframed not as an editorial judgement but as a personal and collective injury. Abdel-Fattah claimed she was being excluded from the “national discourse”, as though a festival invitation were a civic right rather than a discretionary decision. That response revealed a striking lack of self-awareness. No writer, however prominent, is indispensable. To behave as though a festival must either host you or deserve to collapse is not an assertion of principle. It is an assertion of moral supremacy. The consequences were predictable and disastrous. More than 180 writers withdrew. The director resigned. The board dissolved itself. Adelaide Writers’ Week, Australia’s largest free literary festival, was cancelled altogether. Thousands of readers and writers lost a public cultural event not because of censorship, but because one person could not accept being told no. All because writers acted like a herd, lacking courage to stand up against the trend and fearful that they would be cancelled themselves by their tribe. Such is the nature of identity politics today - shameful. What is most telling is the absence of responsibility. At no point did Abdel-Fattah acknowledge that her own words might reasonably have led to disinvitation. At no point did she urge restraint or de-escalation. On the contrary, the controversy was personalised, moralised and amplified, ensuring maximum damage to the institution that had dared to draw a line. This is not courage. It is hubris. It reflects a worldview in which identity confers moral entitlement and disagreement becomes persecution. Within that framework, humility is impossible. To accept a decision is to concede legitimacy to one’s critics. Everything must therefore be escalated until institutions break. And break they did. The irony is stark. A writer who insists that words matter refuses to take responsibility for her own. A movement that claims to oppose cancellation engineers the cancellation of an entire festival. A protest against exclusion ends by excluding the public. Adelaide Writers’ Week did not fall because free speech was threatened. It fell because one individual, and those who followed her lead, believed she was bigger than the institution.

That was well written.

Gnads wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 11:22am:

Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly..

Would you have examples?

Quote:

Declarations of writers’ voluntary withdrawals. Declarations of support for free speech. Declarations of support for the cancelled writer, herself a party to various cancellation demands, including the removal of a Jewish American writer Thomas Friedman from this same festival in 2024.

So no examples of the Festival's judgements?

Every decision they have ever made on who to bring in as a speaker, and who not to bring in, is an example.

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 12:23pm:

So no examples of the Festival's judgements?

Looks that way.

Quote:

It is also widely documented that Abdel-Fattah actively participated in the 2024 doxxing of more than 600 Jewish creatives and academics from a WhatsApp support group that I founded in the wake of October 7, 2023 to help one another deal with the antisemitism we were facing professionally. She was among those who publicly shared the leaked chat and falsely framed us – predominantly progressive Jews, often advocates for a two-state solution – as a sinister cabal of fascists. Nothing could be further from the truth.

tallowood wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 12:39pm:

Quote: It is also widely documented that Abdel-Fattah actively participated in the 2024 doxxing of more than 600 Jewish creatives and academics from a WhatsApp support group that I founded in the wake of October 7, 2023 to help one another deal with the antisemitism we were facing professionally. She was among those who publicly shared the leaked chat and falsely framed us – predominantly progressive Jews, often advocates for a two-state solution – as a sinister cabal of fascists. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Is it true though?

Quote:

She also gained notoriety for her brazen call to make cultural spaces unsafe for “Zionists”, meaning to purge from public discourse any Jews who feel a connection to their ancestral homeland and support its right to exist.

freediver wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 12:25pm:

Every decision they have ever made on who to bring in as a speaker, and who not to bring in, is an example.

She was 'disinvited'. 'The board of the Adelaide Festival last week said Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, a vocal critic of Israel, had been removed from its Writers' Week lineup'.
She was in then she was out. That's active removal.

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 12:59pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 12:25pm: Every decision they have ever made on who to bring in as a speaker, and who not to bring in, is an example. She was 'disinvited'. 'The board of the Adelaide Festival last week said Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, a vocal critic of Israel, had been removed from its Writers' Week lineup'. She was in then she was out. That's active removal.

So you are asking for evidence of people changing their mind, not evidence of them making a decision in the first place?

Gnads wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 11:22am:

Here's a comment I have borrowed from another forum & I think it sums up the entire situation & the rank hypocrisy driven by Lauren Adler & Randa Abdel-Fattah. Quote: The collapse of Adelaide Writers’ Week is not a free-speech crisis.. No writer was censored. No one was silenced by the state. What occurred was a programming decision, followed by an extraordinary display of hubris that ultimately destroyed a public cultural institution. Randa Abdel-Fattah was not banned from publishing or speaking. She was simply uninvited from a writers’ festival after making comments about Israel that many reasonably regarded as antisemitic and beyond acceptable bounds. Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly. To pretend otherwise is to drain the word “censorship” of meaning. She had previously demanded that a Jewish writer be banned from the festival. The real failure came after that decision. At that point, Abdel-Fattah had a choice. She could have responded with humility and proportion, acknowledging that her language had caused offence, accepting that festivals must draw lines, and urging other writers not to withdraw. She could have said that Adelaide Writers’ Week mattered more than any individual participant. That would have been the stoic response: disagreement without self-dramatization. Instead, she chose escalation. Lawyers were engaged. Apologies were rejected. The decision was reframed not as an editorial judgement but as a personal and collective injury. A protest against exclusion ends by excluding the public. Adelaide Writers’ Week did not fall because free speech was threatened. It fell because one individual, and those who followed her lead, believed she was bigger than the institution. That was well written.

No it wasn't "well-written", it's error based on ignorant opinion.

1. Abdel-Fattah WAS censored even on a recommendation by Malinauskus.

2. The "programming decision" in this case was a dis-invitation of a respected writer.

Note the controversy re "hypocrisy" she has faced recently:

(google)

The Context of the Controversy

The Author in Question:

The author was American Jewish journalist and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The objection centered on a 2002 article he wrote titled "Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom," which compared Middle Eastern groups to insects and vermin.

The Action Taken:

In 2024, Abdel-Fattah was one of several academics who signed a letter to the Adelaide Festival board asking for Friedman's invitation to that year's event to be withdrawn due to the offensive nature of his past writing.

Abdel-Fattah's Position:

Abdel-Fattah has clarified that her request was a principled objection to the language used, not an attempt to silence the author because he was Jewish. She argues that the objection was about the impact of his views on "socially and historically marginalised people".

The Outcome at the Time:

The Adelaide Festival board at the time defended artistic freedom and did not officially cancel Friedman. He ultimately did not participate in the 2024 event due to what was officially described as "last-minute scheduling issues".

This controversy became a point of contention after Abdel-Fattah herself was disinvited from the 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week program, a decision that has since been reversed following widespread backlash and the cancellation of the entire event. Abdel-Fattah has rejected comparisons between her situation and her previous stance on Friedman, describing such comparisons as "insulting".

....Note re "last-minute scheduling issues":

(google)

Former board member's claim:

Tony Berg, a former board member, claimed that Louise Adler and other staff members threatened to resign if the board did not agree to disinvite Friedman.

In a letter responding to the petition, the board chair Tracey Whiting stated that while they upheld artistic freedom of expression, Friedman was no longer participating due to "last-minute scheduling issues".

Ultimately, while "scheduling issues" was the publicly given reason, the actual decision to uninvite him stemmed from internal pressure and a petition regarding the content of his writing.

....

So the comparison (re-disinvitation)  is between  "genocidal zionist colonizers" (Abdel-Fattah) and "Middle Eastern groups (are like) insects and vermin" (Thomas Friedman).

Which is the truer, less objectionable  statement? 

Surely the former.

Gnads wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 11:22am:

She was simply uninvited from a writers’ festival after making comments about Israel that many reasonably regarded as antisemitic and beyond acceptable bounds. Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly..

Are there examples like this?

(Friedman then is an example but is within the same topic. Are there other examples?)

Quote:

Antisemitic writers and arts workers signed an open letter calling for the cancellation of Jewish musician and author Deborah Conway from the Perth Festival’s literature and ideas program

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:26pm:

(Friedman then is an example but is within the same topic. Are there other examples?)

Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous.

Her stance is based on historical reality, while Friedman's writings as reported are  racist crap.

Fatah stance is based on Islamic religion of hate  and is  racist crap.

Gnads wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 11:22am:

Here's a comment I have borrowed from another forum & I think it sums up the entire situation & the rank hypocrisy driven by Lauren Adler & Randa Abdel-Fattah. Quote: The collapse of Adelaide Writers’ Week is not a free-speech crisis.. No writer was censored. No one was silenced by the state. What occurred was a programming decision, followed by an extraordinary display of hubris that ultimately destroyed a public cultural institution. Randa Abdel-Fattah was not banned from publishing or speaking. She was simply uninvited from a writers’ festival after making comments about Israel that many reasonably regarded as antisemitic and beyond acceptable bounds. Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly. To pretend otherwise is to drain the word “censorship” of meaning. She had previously demanded that a Jewish writer be banned from the festival. The real failure came after that decision. At that point, Abdel-Fattah had a choice. She could have responded with humility and proportion, acknowledging that her language had caused offence, accepting that festivals must draw lines, and urging other writers not to withdraw. She could have said that Adelaide Writers’ Week mattered more than any individual participant. That would have been the stoic response: disagreement without self-dramatization. Instead, she chose escalation. Lawyers were engaged. Apologies were rejected. The decision was reframed not as an editorial judgement but as a personal and collective injury. Abdel-Fattah claimed she was being excluded from the “national discourse”, as though a festival invitation were a civic right rather than a discretionary decision. That response revealed a striking lack of self-awareness. No writer, however prominent, is indispensable. To behave as though a festival must either host you or deserve to collapse is not an assertion of principle. It is an assertion of moral supremacy. The consequences were predictable and disastrous. More than 180 writers withdrew. The director resigned. The board dissolved itself. Adelaide Writers’ Week, Australia’s largest free literary festival, was cancelled altogether. Thousands of readers and writers lost a public cultural event not because of censorship, but because one person could not accept being told no. All because writers acted like a herd, lacking courage to stand up against the trend and fearful that they would be cancelled themselves by their tribe. Such is the nature of identity politics today - shameful. What is most telling is the absence of responsibility. At no point did Abdel-Fattah acknowledge that her own words might reasonably have led to disinvitation. At no point did she urge restraint or de-escalation. On the contrary, the controversy was personalised, moralised and amplified, ensuring maximum damage to the institution that had dared to draw a line. This is not courage. It is hubris. It reflects a worldview in which identity confers moral entitlement and disagreement becomes persecution. Within that framework, humility is impossible. To accept a decision is to concede legitimacy to one’s critics. Everything must therefore be escalated until institutions break. And break they did. The irony is stark. A writer who insists that words matter refuses to take responsibility for her own. A movement that claims to oppose cancellation engineers the cancellation of an entire festival. A protest against exclusion ends by excluding the public. Adelaide Writers’ Week did not fall because free speech was threatened. It fell because one individual, and those who followed her lead, believed she was bigger than the institution. That was well written.

The only correction I'd make is that she was invited by Adler AFTER she made those comments.

The Boaard then overruled Adler.

Then the luvvies sided with Adler and Bint Fatah and everybody resigned.

Hamas wins with the help of the luvvies.

tallowood wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:36pm:

Quote: Antisemitic writers and arts workers signed an open letter calling for the cancellation of Jewish musician and author Deborah Conway from the Perth Festival’s literature and ideas program

So...why did they call for the cancellation?

Because they are anti-semetic, or because she's an a**hole author  who happens to be Jewish, like Friedman...   

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:36pm:

Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous.

You forget the meaning of hypocrisy little pink. Whining about her freedom of speech, after she called for a Jewish speaker to be silenced in the exact same way that she was, is hypocrisy, no matter how many excuses you can come up for either.

Frank wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:42pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 11:22am: Here's a comment I have borrowed from another forum & I think it sums up the entire situation & the rank hypocrisy driven by Lauren Adler & Randa Abdel-Fattah. Quote: The collapse of Adelaide Writers’ Week is not a free-speech crisis.. No writer was censored. No one was silenced by the state. What occurred was a programming decision, followed by an extraordinary display of hubris that ultimately destroyed a public cultural institution. Randa Abdel-Fattah was not banned from publishing or speaking. She was simply uninvited from a writers’ festival after making comments about Israel that many reasonably regarded as antisemitic and beyond acceptable bounds. Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly. To pretend otherwise is to drain the word “censorship” of meaning. She had previously demanded that a Jewish writer be banned from the festival. The real failure came after that decision. At that point, Abdel-Fattah had a choice. She could have responded with humility and proportion, acknowledging that her language had caused offence, accepting that festivals must draw lines, and urging other writers not to withdraw. She could have said that Adelaide Writers’ Week mattered more than any individual participant. That would have been the stoic response: disagreement without self-dramatization. Instead, she chose escalation. Lawyers were engaged. Apologies were rejected. The decision was reframed not as an editorial judgement but as a personal and collective injury. Abdel-Fattah claimed she was being excluded from the “national discourse”, as though a festival invitation were a civic right rather than a discretionary decision. That response revealed a striking lack of self-awareness. No writer, however prominent, is indispensable. To behave as though a festival must either host you or deserve to collapse is not an assertion of principle. It is an assertion of moral supremacy. The consequences were predictable and disastrous. More than 180 writers withdrew. The director resigned. The board dissolved itself. Adelaide Writers’ Week, Australia’s largest free literary festival, was cancelled altogether. Thousands of readers and writers lost a public cultural event not because of censorship, but because one person could not accept being told no. All because writers acted like a herd, lacking courage to stand up against the trend and fearful that they would be cancelled themselves by their tribe. Such is the nature of identity politics today - shameful. What is most telling is the absence of responsibility. At no point did Abdel-Fattah acknowledge that her own words might reasonably have led to disinvitation. At no point did she urge restraint or de-escalation. On the contrary, the controversy was personalised, moralised and amplified, ensuring maximum damage to the institution that had dared to draw a line. This is not courage. It is hubris. It reflects a worldview in which identity confers moral entitlement and disagreement becomes persecution. Within that framework, humility is impossible. To accept a decision is to concede legitimacy to one’s critics. Everything must therefore be escalated until institutions break. And break they did. The irony is stark. A writer who insists that words matter refuses to take responsibility for her own. A movement that claims to oppose cancellation engineers the cancellation of an entire festival. A protest against exclusion ends by excluding the public. Adelaide Writers’ Week did not fall because free speech was threatened. It fell because one individual, and those who followed her lead, believed she was bigger than the institution. That was well written. The only correction I'd make is that she was invited by Adler AFTER she made those comments. The Boaard then overruled Adler.

Your error: authors are NOT "invited",  how could they be chosen from among the hundreds available who might like to present their work?


Quote:

Then the luvvies sided with Adler and Bint Fatah and everybody resigned. Hamas wins with the help of the luvvies.

Given writers seek an invitation, not the other way around, your comment there is simply GIGO.

Which is the more objectionable statement:

"Genocidal zionist colonizers" (Abdel Fattah) or "ME people are  like insects and vermon" (Thomas Friedman)?

Quote:

Your error: authors are NOT "invited",  how could they be chosen from among the hundreds available who might like to present their work?

Parrot - you are an idiot.

freediver wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:45pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:36pm: Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous. You forget the meaning of hypocrisy little pink.

No I don't; and I showed those who are whining about Abdel-Fattah's hypocrisy aren't in possession of the facts....like you most of the time....


Quote:

Whining about her freedom of speech, after she called for a Jewish speaker to be silenced in the exact same way that she was, is hypocrisy, no matter how many excuses you can come up for either.

Didn't you read my extensive post (sent 10 minutes ago)  outling the details of the "hypocrisy" controvery?

The question is: on what grounds should a writer  be dis-invited to the festival.

Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization of  Palestine by zionists; even many fair-minded  Jews are disgusted by the behaviour of Israel  since 1948, and certainly since Israel's survival has been  assured since 1967.

Frank wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:56pm:

Quote: Your error: authors are NOT "invited",  how could they be chosen from among the hundreds available who might like to present their work? Parrot - you are an idiot.

Did you forget to say why...as usual?  :-?

Deplorable.

So I'll do the work for you. 

(google)

Factors That Increase a Writer's Chances (of being "invited")

While the process is highly competitive, several factors can enhance a writer's prospects of being invited:

Recent Work:

Festivals prefer to feature new work, so a recently published book is more likely to be considered.

Topical Relevance:

If a writer's work engages with current events or relevant social topics, it may stand a better chance of being programmed.
Willingness to Participate: Being open to participating in various formats, such as being on a panel with other writers or offering workshops, is beneficial to festival organizers.

Local Engagement:

Being an active and visible local author in the community can help, as most festivals have a mandate to support local talent.
Professionalism: Being easy to work with and having positive testimonials from past presentations can make an author a more attractive option for busy festival organizers.

Ok, so to be  "invited" to speak,  you have to first apply, and then 'run the gaunlet' of  fulfiling  those conditions, against the 'highly competitive' pool of writers who would like to speak. 

Quote:

Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization

So racism isn't racism if you couch it in historical terms? It's OK to shoot Jews in Sydney if you think Israel's existence is unfair?

freediver wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 2:24pm:

Quote: Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization So racism isn't racism if you couch it in historical terms?

Your error: you are diverting from the issue at hand by falsely drawing generalities from the particular issue.

The issue in this case being the  colonization of Palestine Mandate land since 1947, and the genocide in Gaza resulting in arrest warrants for Netanyahu issued by the ICC.   

While you are ignoring Friedman's blatant racism.


Quote:

It's OK to shoot Jews in Sydney if you think Israel's existence is unfair?

No.  And Abdel Fattah has never said it is - do try to keep up.  :( 

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 2:09pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:45pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:36pm: Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous. You forget the meaning of hypocrisy little pink. No I don't; and I showed those who are whining about Abdel-Fattah's hypocrisy aren't in possession of the facts....like you most of the time.... Quote: Whining about her freedom of speech, after she called for a Jewish speaker to be silenced in the exact same way that she was, is hypocrisy, no matter how many excuses you can come up for either. Didn't you read my extensive post (sent 10 minutes ago)  outling the details of the "hypocrisy" controvery? The question is: on what grounds should a writer  be dis-invited to the festival. Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization of  Palestine by zionists; even many fair-minded  Jews are disgusted by the behaviour of Israel  since 1948, and certainly since Israel's survival has been  assured since 1967.

Paraglider Imagery: On October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attack, Dr. Abdel-Fattah changed her Facebook profile picture to an illustration of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag. Hamas militants used paragliders to breach the border with Israel during the attack.

Quote:

Your error: you are diverting from the issue at hand by falsely drawing generalities from the particular issue.

Obviously she thinks her own racism is justified and the other racism is not (if it even exists). Every single racist on earth thinks that. That doesn't mean they are not hypocrits for whining about freedom of speech after calling for someone else to be silenced. One of the fundamental things you do not understand about this is that freedom of speech is not dependent on whether you approve of what someone else says, or whether you think it is justified. It means your entire effort to justify her racism by insisting it is based on history is entirely irrelevant. We are talking about freedom of speech here, not whether or not you approve of what is said. They are, by definition, unrelated.

Of course, being a CCP stooge, this will all go right over your head.

Gordon wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 2:37pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:09pm: freediver wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:45pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:36pm: Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous. You forget the meaning of hypocrisy little pink. No I don't; and I showed those who are whining about Abdel-Fattah's hypocrisy aren't in possession of the facts....like you most of the time.... Quote: Whining about her freedom of speech, after she called for a Jewish speaker to be silenced in the exact same way that she was, is hypocrisy, no matter how many excuses you can come up for either. Didn't you read my extensive post (sent 10 minutes ago)  outling the details of the "hypocrisy" controvery? The question is: on what grounds should a writer  be dis-invited to the festival. Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization of  Palestine by zionists; even many fair-minded  Jews are disgusted by the behaviour of Israel  since 1948, and certainly since Israel's survival has been  assured since 1967. Paraglider Imagery: On October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attack, Dr. Abdel-Fattah changed her Facebook profile picture to an illustration of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag. Hamas militants used paragliders to breach the border with Israel during the attack.

Hamas used paragliders to fight back against the oppressor-colonizing state of Israel - hence Abdel-Fattah's use of the image torepresent  fight-back against an oppressor.

'This controversy became a point of contention after Abdel-Fattah herself was disinvited from the 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week program'.

Writers are not clergy or politicians making a policy statement. Her writing ability was the reason for being invited. Moral integrity / hypocrisy / nasty bitch are not 'writing' outputs. She could be a drunken drug-dealing loonie and still be inspirational at the Festival. (Lewis Carroll. Dylan Thomas. also Van Gogh.)   

freediver wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 2:40pm:

Quote: Your error: you are diverting from the issue at hand by falsely drawing generalities from the particular issue. Obviously she thinks her own racism is justified and the other racism is not (if it even exists).

Your error: she is anti-racist, but you claim she is racist becuase she hates  zionist "Promised Land" ideology



Quote:

Every single racist on earth thinks that.

 

Your error exposed above , hence your following narrative is GIGO. 


Quote:

That doesn't mean they are not hypocrits for whining about freedom of speech after calling for someone else to be silenced. One of the fundamental things you do not understand about this is that freedom of speech is not dependent on whether you approve of what someone else says, or whether you think it is justified. It means your entire effort to justify her racism by insisting it is based on history is entirely irrelevant. We are talking about freedom of speech here, not whether or not you approve of what is said. They are, by definition, unrelated.

More errors , as expected: freedom of speech includes freedom to speak nonsense like Freidman, whereas Abdel Fattah's narrative is based on the fact of the confiscation of Palestine Mandate Land by zionist "Promised Land" ideologues. 


Quote:

Of course, being a CCP stooge, this will all go right over your head.

I understand perfectly "freedom of speech" - and its barriers to arriving at truth,  when the speech is garbage based on 'individual freedom' to follow the individual's own inclinations, whether good or bad. 

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 2:47pm:

Gordon wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:37pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:09pm: freediver wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:45pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:36pm: Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous. You forget the meaning of hypocrisy little pink. No I don't; and I showed those who are whining about Abdel-Fattah's hypocrisy aren't in possession of the facts....like you most of the time.... Quote: Whining about her freedom of speech, after she called for a Jewish speaker to be silenced in the exact same way that she was, is hypocrisy, no matter how many excuses you can come up for either. Didn't you read my extensive post (sent 10 minutes ago)  outling the details of the "hypocrisy" controvery? The question is: on what grounds should a writer  be dis-invited to the festival. Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization of  Palestine by zionists; even many fair-minded  Jews are disgusted by the behaviour of Israel  since 1948, and certainly since Israel's survival has been  assured since 1967. Paraglider Imagery: On October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attack, Dr. Abdel-Fattah changed her Facebook profile picture to an illustration of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag. Hamas militants used paragliders to breach the border with Israel during the attack. Hamas used paragliders to fight back against the oppressor-colonizing state of Israel - hence Abdel-Fattah's use of the image torepresent  fight-back against an oppressor.

Crap. The only oppressors are HAMAS.

Quote:

More errors , as expected: freedom of speech includes freedom to speak nonsense like Freidman

Hence, she is a hypocrite for whining about her own freedom of speech after calling for him to be silenced the exact same way. Whether she is right, whether she is racist, whether he is right, whether he is racist, and whether giving historical justification for your racism makes you no longer racist, are all irrelevant to whether she is a hypocrite.

Again, the little pink CCP stooge can parrot what freedom of speech means, but still gets everything backwards, because she doesn't actually care what freedom of speech means. She just wants to be able to say things like the CCP promotes peace, even if that involves killing millions of Taiwanese for merely stating the face that Taiwan is a separate, independent country from China.

Whether a person is hypocritical, whether they are correct, whether they are justified etc are all meaningless concepts to a little pink. All those words mean the same thing, even if she can regurgitate their meaning.

freediver wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 3:10pm:

Whether a person is hypocritical, whether they are correct, whether they are justified etc are all meaningless concepts to a little pink.

And should be irrelevant in asessing the quality and value of a writer and a text.  If a commie rat can produce excellent verbal constructions, he is a competent writer.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 2:47pm:

Gordon wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:37pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:09pm: freediver wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:45pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:36pm: Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous. You forget the meaning of hypocrisy little pink. No I don't; and I showed those who are whining about Abdel-Fattah's hypocrisy aren't in possession of the facts....like you most of the time.... Quote: Whining about her freedom of speech, after she called for a Jewish speaker to be silenced in the exact same way that she was, is hypocrisy, no matter how many excuses you can come up for either. Didn't you read my extensive post (sent 10 minutes ago)  outling the details of the "hypocrisy" controvery? The question is: on what grounds should a writer  be dis-invited to the festival. Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization of  Palestine by zionists; even many fair-minded  Jews are disgusted by the behaviour of Israel  since 1948, and certainly since Israel's survival has been  assured since 1967. Paraglider Imagery: On October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attack, Dr. Abdel-Fattah changed her Facebook profile picture to an illustration of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag. Hamas militants used paragliders to breach the border with Israel during the attack. Hamas used paragliders to fight back against the oppressor-colonizing state of Israel - hence Abdel-Fattah's use of the image torepresent  fight-back against an oppressor.

The Hamas paragliders killed innocent civilians at the outdoor concert.

They didn't attack other parts of Israel.

If a leading Liberal MP writes terribly bad English, he would still be a leading MP. 
If a crim in max security does an excellent painting, it's an excellent painting.
The life of this woman is not the writing she does.

Gnads wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 9:06am:

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 15th, 2026 at 9:39pm: Gnads wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 2:47pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. How did he do that exactly? And she is not suing - she has sent a notice of defamation. Long way off suing as yet. Not far off ;) Premier Peter Malinauskas should be charged with criminal defamation of Dr Randa Abdel Fattah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-huBBHNRc Saying that she has pro-Hamas, anti Israeli views/activism is not defamatory - it's factual. I hope any action she tries to bring is treated with the contempt it deserves.

you mean anti-genocide views ?

It is utterly hypocritical of Randa Fatah and Louise Adler to accuse anyone of repressing freedom of speech when they have both actively sought to deny it to Tom Friedman.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 4:56pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 9:06am: Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 15th, 2026 at 9:39pm: Gnads wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 2:47pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. How did he do that exactly? And she is not suing - she has sent a notice of defamation. Long way off suing as yet. Not far off ;) Premier Peter Malinauskas should be charged with criminal defamation of Dr Randa Abdel Fattah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-huBBHNRc Saying that she has pro-Hamas, anti Israeli views/activism is not defamatory - it's factual. I hope any action she tries to bring is treated with the contempt it deserves. you mean anti-genocide views ?

Genocide claims are false they haven't been proven in ICJ

Here is what ICJ report said

---

Crims can get car licences if they pass the written test.

Randa Fatah can be used as fishing bait by qualified fisherman.

Some fishermen can read or know a person who can. They read text which is little squiggly bits of ink or black pixels.  Generally you can't smell the author's body odour or bad breath.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:36pm:

chimera wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:26pm: (Friedman then is an example but is within the same topic. Are there other examples?) Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous. Her stance is based on historical reality, while Friedman's writings as reported are  racist crap.

No it's not ... that's exactly what she is... aside from other descriptors.

Last year she demanded that US Jewish author Thomas L. Friedman be banned from the AWF ... and he was.

What part of that is erroneous?

You're a ferking retard.

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 11:55am:

Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 11:22am: Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly.. Would you have examples?

Did you read the article? I said it was borrowed i.e. not mine.

Are you also retarded?

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:22pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 11:22am: Here's a comment I have borrowed from another forum & I think it sums up the entire situation & the rank hypocrisy driven by Lauren Adler & Randa Abdel-Fattah. Quote: The collapse of Adelaide Writers’ Week is not a free-speech crisis.. No writer was censored. No one was silenced by the state. What occurred was a programming decision, followed by an extraordinary display of hubris that ultimately destroyed a public cultural institution. Randa Abdel-Fattah was not banned from publishing or speaking. She was simply uninvited from a writers’ festival after making comments about Israel that many reasonably regarded as antisemitic and beyond acceptable bounds. Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly. To pretend otherwise is to drain the word “censorship” of meaning. She had previously demanded that a Jewish writer be banned from the festival. The real failure came after that decision. At that point, Abdel-Fattah had a choice. She could have responded with humility and proportion, acknowledging that her language had caused offence, accepting that festivals must draw lines, and urging other writers not to withdraw. She could have said that Adelaide Writers’ Week mattered more than any individual participant. That would have been the stoic response: disagreement without self-dramatization. Instead, she chose escalation. Lawyers were engaged. Apologies were rejected. The decision was reframed not as an editorial judgement but as a personal and collective injury. A protest against exclusion ends by excluding the public. Adelaide Writers’ Week did not fall because free speech was threatened. It fell because one individual, and those who followed her lead, believed she was bigger than the institution. That was well written. No it wasn't "well-written", it's error based on ignorant opinion. 1. Abdel-Fattah WAS censored even on a recommendation by Malinauskus. 2. The "programming decision" in this case was a dis-invitation of a respected writer. Note the controversy re "hypocrisy" she has faced recently: (google) The Context of the Controversy The Author in Question: The author was American Jewish journalist and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The objection centered on a 2002 article he wrote titled "Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom," which compared Middle Eastern groups to insects and vermin. The Action Taken: In 2024, Abdel-Fattah was one of several academics who signed a letter to the Adelaide Festival board asking for Friedman's invitation to that year's event to be withdrawn due to the offensive nature of his past writing. Abdel-Fattah's Position: Abdel-Fattah has clarified that her request was a principled objection to the language used, not an attempt to silence the author because he was Jewish. She argues that the objection was about the impact of his views on "socially and historically marginalised people". The Outcome at the Time: The Adelaide Festival board at the time defended artistic freedom and did not officially cancel Friedman. He ultimately did not participate in the 2024 event due to what was officially described as "last-minute scheduling issues". This controversy became a point of contention after Abdel-Fattah herself was disinvited from the 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week program, a decision that has since been reversed following widespread backlash and the cancellation of the entire event. Abdel-Fattah has rejected comparisons between her situation and her previous stance on Friedman, describing such comparisons as "insulting". ....Note re "last-minute scheduling issues": (google) Former board member's claim: Tony Berg, a former board member, claimed that Louise Adler and other staff members threatened to resign if the board did not agree to disinvite Friedman. In a letter responding to the petition, the board chair Tracey Whiting stated that while they upheld artistic freedom of expression, Friedman was no longer participating due to "last-minute scheduling issues". Ultimately, while "scheduling issues" was the publicly given reason, the actual decision to uninvite him stemmed from internal pressure and a petition regarding the content of his writing. .... So the comparison (re-disinvitation)  is between  "genocidal zionist colonizers" (Abdel-Fattah) and "Middle Eastern groups (are like) insects and vermin" (Thomas Friedman). Which is the truer, less objectionable  statement?  Surely the former.

Rubbish - you are retarded to logic. A supporter of Jew haters & terrorists.

Take a long walk off a short pier.

Gnads wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 11:22am:

Here's a comment I have borrowed from another forum ======= That was well written.

OK so I asked whether you have reason to say so.

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:26pm:

(Friedman then is an example but is within the same topic. Are there other examples?)

Same writer festival ... he was an author... Abdel-Fattah didn't like his views ...

she called for his banning, despite her terrorist supporting views ....

and he was banned.

She got some of her own back & is playing the victim/racist card.

You must have a comprehension problem around what hypocrisy means.

Gnads wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 5:34pm:

comprehension problem around what hypocrisy means.

Why does hypocrisy in a person make their writing become no good?

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 5:33pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 11:22am: Here's a comment I have borrowed from another forum ======= That was well written. OK so I asked whether you have reason to say so.

Because how she reacted is exactly as the author described.

You failing to follow that is more testimony to your retardation. DH.

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 5:36pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 5:34pm: comprehension problem around what hypocrisy means. Why does hypocrisy in a person make their writing become no good?

Ask Thomas Freidman Abdel-Fattah(hypocrite got him banned.

Did he threaten to sue anyone for his exclusion? Play the anti-Semite or victim  card?

You really are are dumb twat.

Exposing hypocrisy makes it even better.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/392x286q70/r/924/uyw7lk.png

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 1:24pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 11:22am: She was simply uninvited from a writers’ festival after making comments about Israel that many reasonably regarded as antisemitic and beyond acceptable bounds. Writers’ festivals make such judgements constantly.. Are there examples like this?

So I asked whether you have reason to say so.

Ask Thomas Freidman Abdel-Fattah(hypocrite got him banned.

He wasn't banned for his hypocrisy.
Please read the words.
You mean he should not have been banned?
OK so personal qualities should not affect the quality of his writing?

tallowood wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 5:43pm:

Exposing hypocrisy makes it even better.

Muhammad is not able to be at the Adelaide Festival for reasons of age.

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 6:03pm:

Muhammad is not able to be at the Adelaide Festival for reasons of age.

Neither should be his rep Fatah for reason of her hypocrisy.

Why?  How does it affect her writing?

Check it out ;)

The OmniBus Crash of the Hate Speech Laws | The West Report.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNFS5m1CdE

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 6:26pm:

Why?  How does it affect her writing?

Unlike Salmon Rushdie "Satanic Verses" her writing is crap.

https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/f0b4055fa49b437eb873c0072ee42ce0_18.jpeg

If Adelaide Festival invite a writer, how does that writer's hypocrisy then affect the choice? Has it affected others, apart from Friedman in the same incident?

Adelaide Writers Week Festival cancelled.

tallowood wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 6:24pm:

Neither should be his rep Fatah for reason of her hypocrisy.

Why?

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 7:01pm:

tallowood wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 6:24pm: Neither should be his rep Fatah for reason of her hypocrisy. Why?

That's why.

Baronvonrort wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 5:00pm:

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 4:56pm: Gnads wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 9:06am: Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 15th, 2026 at 9:39pm: Gnads wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 2:47pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 1:52pm: freediver wrote on Jan 14th, 2026 at 11:39am: I would be interested to hear Abdel Fattah's thoughts on the Sydney shootings. Well... she's suing Malinauskus for associating her with the Bondi massacre. How did he do that exactly? And she is not suing - she has sent a notice of defamation. Long way off suing as yet. Not far off ;) Premier Peter Malinauskas should be charged with criminal defamation of Dr Randa Abdel Fattah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-huBBHNRc Saying that she has pro-Hamas, anti Israeli views/activism is not defamatory - it's factual. I hope any action she tries to bring is treated with the contempt it deserves. you mean anti-genocide views ? Genocide claims are false they haven't been proven in ICJ Here is what ICJ report said

Let the journos in. What's the problem ? It's a ceasefire. They have no excuse.

Netanyahu Arrest Warrant !!! [BREAKING NEWS] | Prof. Jeffrey Sachs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAbfvwAwgZk

tallowood wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 6:34pm:

chimera wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 6:26pm: Why?  How does it affect her writing? Unlike Salmon Rushdie "Satanic Verses" her writing is crap. https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/f0b4055fa49b437eb873c0072ee42ce0_18.jpeg

Obviously people are not satisfied with the pro-zionist garbage they are being fed from the MSM :D LOL

---

chimera wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 6:26pm:

Why?  How does it affect her writing?

It's for writers, not a festival of the morally pure enlightened excellent messiahs.
It means that science discoveries are blocked if the researcher is a nasty crim.  Spending on roadways is stopped if the minister is a drunk.

Gordon wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 3:02pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:47pm: Gordon wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:37pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 2:09pm: freediver wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:45pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 1:36pm: Dunno, but accusing Abdel Fatah of "hypocrisy" is obviously erroneous. You forget the meaning of hypocrisy little pink. No I don't; and I showed those who are whining about Abdel-Fattah's hypocrisy aren't in possession of the facts....like you most of the time.... Quote: Whining about her freedom of speech, after she called for a Jewish speaker to be silenced in the exact same way that she was, is hypocrisy, no matter how many excuses you can come up for either. Didn't you read my extensive post (sent 10 minutes ago)  outling the details of the "hypocrisy" controvery? The question is: on what grounds should a writer  be dis-invited to the festival. Friedman's writings  reveal  himself to be a racist prick; whereas Abdel Fatah's writings are based on the historical fact of colonization of  Palestine by zionists; even many fair-minded  Jews are disgusted by the behaviour of Israel  since 1948, and certainly since Israel's survival has been  assured since 1967. Paraglider Imagery: On October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attack, Dr. Abdel-Fattah changed her Facebook profile picture to an illustration of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag. Hamas militants used paragliders to breach the border with Israel during the attack. Hamas used paragliders to fight back against the oppressor-colonizing state of Israel - hence Abdel-Fattah's use of the image torepresent  fight-back against an oppressor. Crap. The only oppressors are HAMAS.

Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world.

The RW are blind self-interested ideolgues who don't even recognize economic inequality as a pressing problem; and in this case you don't recognize the CAUSE of Islamic terrorism, ie the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine.

Deplorable.   

Quote:

Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world.

That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China.

freediver wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 3:10pm:

Quote: More errors , as expected: freedom of speech includes freedom to speak nonsense like Freidman Hence, she is a hypocrite for whining about her own freedom of speech after calling for him to be silenced the exact same way.

No, it's not "the exact same way" : she is saying Friedman was rejected because of the racist content of his writing; while she objects to the SA Premier seeking her disinvitation on grounds of 'cultural sensitivity' after Bondi, for which she is not responsible.

Get it into your (descriptor omitted) head: Islamic - and Hamas - terrorism is caused by the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestinian land. 


Quote:

Whether she is right, whether she is racist, whether he is right, whether he is racist, and whether giving historical justification for your racism makes you no longer racist, are all irrelevant to whether she is a hypocrite.

Why? Surely factual accuracy is an important factor in a debate between opposing views?


Quote:

Again, the little pink CCP stooge can parrot what freedom of speech means, but still gets everything backwards, because she doesn't actually care what freedom of speech means.

More errors:

(google)

Freedom of speech .... becomes punishable when it creates a "clear and present danger" or incites "imminent lawless action," as established in Schenck v. U.S. (1919) and refined by Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969). The speech is unprotected if it's false and intended to cause panic or harm, leading to potential charges like disorderly conduct or even manslaughter if death occurs, but protected if it's a truthful warning or part of a play.

Backwards?

Quote:

No, it's not "the exact same way" : she is saying Friedman was rejected because of the racist content of his writing; while she objects to the SA Premier seeking her disinvitation on grounds of 'cultural sensitivity' after Bondi

Yes, that made people in our culture particularly sensitive to racists calling for the killing of Jews.

Again, beside the point. The reason for why you say something is irrelevant to whether you should have the freedom to say it. If you actually understood what freedom of speech meant, you would understand the futility of trying to make up excuses for her hypocrisy. But alas, it is still an alien concept to you, like justice, honesty etc. You cannot distinguish any of these from from the will of the CCP.

freediver wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 11:29am:

Quote: Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world. That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China.

It's coming, fd, insh'allah, Alboweasel be praised.  Happening in Britain already, thanks be to Schtarker.

freediver wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 11:29am:

Quote: Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world. That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China.

"Stressful to me" - yes, I think good government is achievable.

But also stressful to leaders of most democracies who  have to deal with the opprobrium of half the electorate; and leaders of democracies -  notably Carney who is visting China to negotiate free trade deals while  Trump is increasing tariffs  on Canada; and France and Germany are sending soldiers to Greenland to defend that NATO  country from Trump........

Plenty of stress all around; but of course you are immune: eg  you claimed there is no housing-affordability crisis in Oz; oh - the bliss of ignorance...

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 12:03pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 11:29am: Quote: Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world. That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China. "Stressful to me" - yes, I think good government is achievable.

And starving 50 million people to death by trying to feed them all equally is no barrier to good governance? So long as you don't have to think for yourself?

Frank wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 11:57am:

freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 11:29am: Quote: Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world. That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China. It's coming, fd, insh'allah, Alboweasel be praised.  Happening in Britain already, thanks be to Schtarker.

And why do you think "petty bureaucrats "are coming"?

Hint: the private sector is no longer serving the needs of a majority of citizens...

Today of course on ABC 'Global Roaming" we had CIS  free market ideologue Stutchbury pontificating on the solution : smaller governement, don't bale out Oz smelters, reduce taxes and social welfare etc etc:

In this final instalment, Michael Stutchbury - Former editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review and Executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies, says that Australia's economic luck is about to run out. He argues we need break the cycle of high spending and low growth if we want to retain anything like the prosperity we're accustomed to.

Problem is if goverment adopted his remedies, there would be riots in the streets - as opposed to just the current  disappointment with Albo. 

freediver wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 12:07pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 12:03pm: freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 11:29am: Quote: Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world. That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China. "Stressful to me" - yes, I think good government is achievable. And starving 50 million people to death by trying to feed them all equally is no barrier to good governance? So long as you don't have to think for yourself?

Your error:  mental incompetence caused by ideological blindness - meaning you have to ignore most of the post to which you imagine you are replying, and can only to divert to criticizing past failures of the CCP long before the 'Chinese miracle'. 

And you claim you are thinking for yourself.

Deplorable.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 12:27pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 12:07pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 12:03pm: freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 11:29am: Quote: Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world. That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China. "Stressful to me" - yes, I think good government is achievable. And starving 50 million people to death by trying to feed them all equally is no barrier to good governance? So long as you don't have to think for yourself? Your error:  mental incompetence caused by ideological blindness - meaning you have to ignore most of the post to which you imagine you are replying, and can only to divert to criticizing past failures of the CCP long before the 'Chinese miracle'.  And you claim you are thinking for yourself. Deplorable.

I just find it hard to get past you talking about good governance after defending the CCP's killing of about 100 million of their own citizens.

tallowood wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 7:03pm:

chimera wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 7:01pm: tallowood wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 6:24pm: Neither should be his rep Fatah for reason of her hypocrisy. Why? That's why.

You feel that a person's behaviour changes written words in a file or book? 
And so, you hear voices in the room? Cockroaches have AI and are staring at you?

freediver wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 12:47pm:

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 12:27pm: freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 12:07pm: thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 12:03pm: freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2026 at 11:29am: Quote: Proving why 'democratic', adversarial,  2-party  politicis is in chaos around the world. That must be terribly stressful for you. If only we had a bunch of petty bureaucrats controlling the internet and telling what to think, just like in China. "Stressful to me" - yes, I think good government is achievable. And starving 50 million people to death by trying to feed them all equally is no barrier to good governance? So long as you don't have to think for yourself? Your error:  mental incompetence caused by ideological blindness - meaning you have to ignore most of the post to which you imagine you are replying, and can only to divert to criticizing past failures of the CCP long before the 'Chinese miracle'.  And you claim you are thinking for yourself. Deplorable. I just find it hard to get past you talking about good governance after defending the CCP's killing of about 100 million of their own citizens.

Your error: your mental incompetence infers I equate past failures of the CCP with "good governance"  - another topic like international law you haven't got the foggiest idea how to approach.

tallowood wrote on Jan 16^th, 2026 at 6:24pm:

chimera wrote on Jan 16th, 2026 at 6:03pm: Muhammad is not able to be at the Adelaide Festival for reasons of age. Neither should be his rep Fatah for reason of her hypocrisy.

A proceduralist ethos of mutual respect – so widely adopted as to “become second nature” – was thereby firmly embedded as a shared ideal in the nation’s democratic culture.

That culture has now been dramatically eroded, if not altogether shredded.

Most obviously, an Islamist rhetoric of religiously inspired hatred has been allowed to flourish, creating the conditions for escalating acts of intimidation and violence.
This rhetoric has been amplified by elements of the left that, animated by a deep hostility to the West, have lent their muscle to efforts to silence voices they detest. And far from standing firmly against such outrages, many of today’s self-proclaimed “creatives” – ranging from artists to academics – have excused them while openly defending their perpetrators.

We were unable to identify, for example, even a single instance in which Sarah Ferguson or Laura Tingle – both salaried employees of the ABC – publicly opposed any one of the 40 or so “cancellations” of Jewish artists, speakers and academics that have occurred since October 7, 2023. Their incandescent indignation at the decision to rescind Randa Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to Writers Week is therefore not merely another expression of the ABC’s indifference to its obligation to be, and to be seen to be, politically neutral. Like the statements issued by many of the other protesters, it is manifestly hypocritical.

But hypocrisy is not just a character flaw; it subverts the evidentiary trust on which moral and civic evaluation depends. For that reason, Dante Alighieri placed hypocrites in the sixth Bolgia of the Divine Comedy’s Hell, as exemplars of duplicity’s vilest form: the masking of evil beneath the appearance of good.

Because hypocrisy works by cloaking deception in the garb of virtue, Dante’s punishment is exact. Hypocrites are forced to wear cloaks of dazzling beauty but of crushing weight – a burden that discloses the truth their surfaces were designed to conceal.

Deception draped in the language of free speech
Seldom has that judgment been more appropriate than here, where deception has been draped in the language of liberty of expression. It is, after all, indisputable that Abdel-Fattah – who scarcely pretends to be a disciple of John Stuart Mill – is no defender of free speech.

Rather, she claims freedom for herself while denying it to others. Worse still, she endorses a form of vigilante politics in which organised mobs intimidate or suppress the speech of real or alleged Zionists, whom she refuses to treat as fellow Australians.

As Abdel-Fattah frankly put it, “If you are a Zionist, you have no claim or right to cultural safety. And it is my duty as somebody who fights all forms of oppression and violence to deny you a safe space to espouse your Zionist racist ideology.”


South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas was therefore right to observe that this advocacy of harassment and intimidation renders her an entirely unsuitable speaker, especially at an event supported by taxpayers, a group that includes the people whose safety she regards as legitimately expendable.

In demanding a platform, Abdel-Fattah seeks to convert into a right what is merely a privilege: a privilege whose sole condition is the mutual respect she has repeatedly rejected.

That ought to be uncontentious. That it has instead generated so much heat is deeply revealing. It highlights the essence of the issue we must now confront: how a liberal society, grounded in tolerance, should respond to those who invoke the freedoms it affords for the sole purpose of destroying them.

Just another example of hypocrisy at the ABC. I noticed a similar hypocrisy in their coverage of recent protests. Taxpayers should not be funding such shoddy journalism.

Frank wrote on Jan 19^th, 2026 at 10:55am:

A proceduralist ethos of mutual respect – so widely adopted as to “become second nature” – was thereby firmly embedded as a shared ideal in the nation’s democratic culture.

eh what..
they all resigned..
who embedded it?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-03/jayson-gillham-melbourne-symphony-orchestra-legal-action/104428274
He said that journalists were targeted in Gaza. 'Mutual respect' means you are banned from this opinion.

chimera wrote on Jan 19^th, 2026 at 11:01am:

Frank wrote on Jan 19th, 2026 at 10:55am: A proceduralist ethos of mutual respect – so widely adopted as to “become second nature” – was thereby firmly embedded as a shared ideal in the nation’s democratic culture. eh what.. they all resigned.. who embedded it?

It would be easy to dismiss the tempest surrounding Adelaide Writers Week as a storm in a teacup, stirred by serried ranks of second-rate intellectuals marinating in a steam bath of emotion. But the controversy exposes something far more serious: our difficulty in mastering the lessons of the crisis that has confronted Australian society since October 7, 2023, and that found its most horrific expression in the murders at Bondi Beach.

That crisis cuts to the heart of the assumptions underpinning Australia’s democratic order, notably the belief that our shared civic framework is sufficiently robust to contain – even discipline – the passions that inevitably mark a free society.

Central to that order is an expectation of self-restraint, ensuring that we treat one another with mutual respect so disagreements do not degenerate into brawls or dislikes into outright hatreds. Equally taken for granted is the conviction that, however searing our differences, they do not cleave the country into warring camps in which one side claims a licence to intimidate, silence, harass or even assault the other.

Laura Tingle and others epitomise the ABC’s indifference to its obligation to be, and to be seen to be, politically neutral. Picture: ABC
Laura Tingle and others epitomise the ABC’s indifference to its obligation to be, and to be seen to be, politically neutral. Picture: ABC
Yet none of these traits is a gift of nature. They are instead the hard-earned product of our history, which from the outset forced previously hostile groups of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish settlers to learn how to live together. By the 1850s, as self-government was being established and mass-suffrage democracy was sweeping through, a “democracy of manners” had begun to emerge – one in which settlers of widely differing origins were expected to treat one another with informal friendliness at best and laconic toleration at worst.

It would be absurd to claim that this standard was always met: no society ever has or will. But there was a substantial consensus about the standard itself, repeatedly affirmed by prominent churchmen, leading writers and the press. Indeed, for authoritative voices to denounce the norm as such would have been virtually unthinkable.

Instead, the period’s intellectual elites actively promoted civic education that inculcated habits of mutual respect and elevated them into a civic duty.

Learning how to be a good citizen
At the same time, the practices essential to democratic freedom were woven into everyday experience. To take just one example, Westminster rules and procedures proliferated through handbooks circulated across the colonies and were assiduously applied in the governance of the innumerable voluntary bodies that peppered the social fabric: friendly societies, mutual-improvement and progress associations, bowls clubs, debating and chess clubs, Mechanics’ Institutes, as well as the committees formed to run libraries, community halls, hospitals, schools and charitable institutions.

It was in these institutions, writes historian John Hirst, that Australians “learned how to be good citizens: to listen to opposing arguments, to respect the rulings of the chairman and to accept that voting decided issues”. A proceduralist ethos of mutual respect – so widely adopted as to “become second nature” – was thereby firmly embedded as a shared ideal in the nation’s democratic culture.

That culture has now been dramatically eroded, if not altogether shredded.

ibid

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17^th, 2026 at 2:58pm:

Your error: your mental incompetence infers I equate past failures of the CCP with "good governance"  - another topic like international law you haven't got the foggiest idea how to approach.

What do you equate them with then?

Frank wrote on Jan 19^th, 2026 at 11:09am:

learned how to be good citizens: to listen to opposing arguments,

No no no.
no arguments, please.
This is Australia.  Arguments destroy what's written by authors on paper. They burn into your brain like ants under your skin. The ants argue with you and read your thoughts.

Frank wrote on Jan 19^th, 2026 at 11:09am:

Equally taken for granted is the conviction that, however searing our differences, they do not cleave the country into warring camps in which one side claims a licence to ., silence the other.

oh

It's curious to read who was on the Board of the Writers' selection.
L Adler is a uni book publishing exec, which is not necessarily for literary skill.
T Whiting is a marketing exec.
Mary Couros is in real estate and local government and was guilty of conflict of interest actions. So she has little sense of ethics.

Not literary experts but execs.  $ status news. No wonder the premier had a grip on them.

Frank wrote on Jan 19^th, 2026 at 11:09am:

chimera wrote on Jan 19th, 2026 at 11:01am: Frank wrote on Jan 19th, 2026 at 10:55am: A proceduralist ethos of mutual respect – so widely adopted as to “become second nature” – was thereby firmly embedded as a shared ideal in the nation’s democratic culture. eh what.. they all resigned.. who embedded it? It would be easy to dismiss the tempest surrounding Adelaide Writers Week as a storm in a teacup, stirred by serried ranks of second-rate intellectuals marinating in a steam bath of emotion. But the controversy exposes something far more serious: our difficulty in mastering the lessons of the crisis that has confronted Australian society since October 7, 2023, and that found its most horrific expression in the murders at Bondi Beach. That crisis cuts to the heart of the assumptions underpinning Australia’s democratic order, notably the belief that our shared civic framework is sufficiently robust to contain – even discipline – the passions that inevitably mark a free society. Central to that order is an expectation of self-restraint, ensuring that we treat one another with mutual respect so disagreements do not degenerate into brawls or dislikes into outright hatreds. Equally taken for granted is the conviction that, however searing our differences, they do not cleave the country into warring camps in which one side claims a licence to intimidate, silence, harass or even assault the other. Yet none of these traits is a gift of nature. They are instead the hard-earned product of our history, which from the outset forced previously hostile groups of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish settlers to learn how to live together. By the 1850s, as self-government was being established and mass-suffrage democracy was sweeping through, a “democracy of manners” had begun to emerge – one in which settlers of widely differing origins were expected to treat one another with informal friendliness at best and laconic toleration at worst. It would be absurd to claim that this standard was always met: no society ever has or will. But there was a substantial consensus about the standard itself, repeatedly affirmed by prominent churchmen, leading writers and the press. Indeed, for authoritative voices to denounce the norm as such would have been virtually unthinkable. Instead, the period’s intellectual elites actively promoted civic education that inculcated habits of mutual respect and elevated them into a civic duty. Learning how to be a good citizen At the same time, the practices essential to democratic freedom were woven into everyday experience. To take just one example, Westminster rules and procedures proliferated through handbooks circulated across the colonies and were assiduously applied in the governance of the innumerable voluntary bodies that peppered the social fabric: friendly societies, mutual-improvement and progress associations, bowls clubs, debating and chess clubs, Mechanics’ Institutes, as well as the committees formed to run libraries, community halls, hospitals, schools and charitable institutions. It was in these institutions, writes historian John Hirst, that Australians “learned how to be good citizens: to listen to opposing arguments, to respect the rulings of the chairman and to accept that voting decided issues”. A proceduralist ethos of mutual respect – so widely adopted as to “become second nature” – was thereby firmly embedded as a shared ideal in the nation’s democratic culture. That culture has now been dramatically eroded, if not altogether shredded. ibid

Yes I answered in #129, # 130.
Your quote is against what you want to see.

At 15, Llewellyn attended Miss Mann’s Business School in Adelaide, where she learned to type; she later trained as a nurse at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where she met her husband, Richard (he was a patient in an iron lung, having contracted polio). They had two children, including writer and artistic director Caro Llewellyn, who has championed Salman Rushdie’s right to speak.

An avid reader, Llewellyn started to write her own poems while at university, and while she missed the first Adelaide Writers Festival because she was pregnant, she vividly recalls the second being opened by celebrated Perth writer Thomas Hungerford in 1961.

“He was interrupted all through his speech by Hal Porter, who was drunk,” she says.  “It was electrifying.”

The event was initially designed for writers but members of the public soon outnumbered them. Guests in the early days include John Updike, Nancy Cato, and Rose Tremain and Richard Holmes, who met there and later married.

“Over the years, everyone came,” Llewellyn says. “I saw Ted Hughes lying on the ground like a lion.” (Hughes attended in 1976, where he faced protests from feminists enraged by the suicide of his wife, Sylvia Plath.)

The festival grew so rapidly they had to abandon the State Library for the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Gardens. Immediately it became more visible, free and egalitarian, and readers came to hear writers from all over the world. “Now it’s gone, and people who loved it are shattered, and I cannot forgive her (Adler),” says Llewellyn.  “I don’t think anyone can. To turn it into a festival of politics, and then to see her just walk away.”

Llewellyn says she was “concerned and puzzled” by Adler’s programming from the beginning.

“In her first program, in 2023, she had all these political speakers from one side, and it bothered me,” she says.  "Instead of writers standing up to talk about why they wrote the book and how they had the idea and what was the aim of it, it became a thing about politics.  Literature faded away. Some of the greatest events they had were with poets. People would sit on the lawn, all the way back to the street; you could hear a pin drop.

“People befriended Louise when she came to take it over, and hospitality is old-fashioned in SA.  It is warm, and beautiful, and she had it all. And she ruined the festival, and turned on her heel and walked out.  “One friend said to me ‘If I’d known the truth (about the efforts by Abdel-Fattah to cancel Jewish writer Thomas Friedman before she was herself cancelled), I would never have joined the boycott’. The hypocrisy – it’s shameful.

“In my view, Louise should hang her head. She should never go to Adelaide again. I am speaking for myself but I know others who are very hurt.  “I want them all to know: what you have done is wicked, and to do it so idly, so casually, to something so precious … what else could I do but write a poem?

Adelaide Writers’ Week

We gave you our child,
handed it over,
hearts in our mouths
and we waited.
Soon you removed the blanket,
the baby shivered, but few noticed
        (though any decent parent would have.)

The child wasn’t well. You had decided
vegan food was what you wanted for it.
Tears and loss of weight
were the result. Only a few noticed,
        wringing their hands and muttering[/color]
to each other. Nobody likes a whinger,
and who knows when they’d need your approval.
        I was one of the latter.

Later more noticed
how sickly t our he baby had become.
Bored, it was then you took a gun
and shotprecious child,
        our precious child.

How quickly we turned on each other
with glaring looks, turned backs
and sorrow. We left you to walk away
wearing the halo you had put on your head.

— Kate Llewellyn

Frank wrote on Jan 19^th, 2026 at 10:55am:

That culture has now been dramatically eroded, if not altogether shredded. Most obviously, an Islamist rhetoric of religiously inspired hatred has been allowed to flourish, creating the conditions for escalating acts of intimidation and violence. This rhetoric has been amplified by elements of the left that, animated by a deep hostility to the West, have lent their muscle to efforts to silence voices they detest. And far from standing firmly against such outrages, many of today’s self-proclaimed “creatives” – ranging from artists to academics – have excused them while openly defending their perpetrators. We were unable to identify, for example, even a single instance in which Sarah Ferguson or Laura Tingle – both salaried employees of the ABC – publicly opposed any one of the 40 or so “cancellations” of Jewish artists, speakers and academics that have occurred since October 7, 2023. Their incandescent indignation at the decision to rescind Randa Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to Writers Week is therefore not merely another expression of the ABC’s indifference to its obligation to be, and to be seen to be, politically neutral. Like the statements issued by many of the other protesters, it is manifestly hypocritical. But hypocrisy is not just a character flaw; it subverts the evidentiary trust on which moral and civic evaluation depends. For that reason, Dante Alighieri placed hypocrites in the sixth Bolgia of the Divine Comedy’s Hell, as exemplars of duplicity’s vilest form: the masking of evil beneath the appearance of good. Because hypocrisy works by cloaking deception in the garb of virtue, Dante’s punishment is exact. Hypocrites are forced to wear cloaks of dazzling beauty but of crushing weight – a burden that discloses the truth their surfaces were designed to conceal. Deception draped in the language of free speech Seldom has that judgment been more appropriate than here, where deception has been draped in the language of liberty of expression. It is, after all, indisputable that Abdel-Fattah – who scarcely pretends to be a disciple of John Stuart Mill – is no defender of free speech. Rather, she claims freedom for herself while denying it to others. Worse still, she endorses a form of vigilante politics in which organised mobs intimidate or suppress the speech of real or alleged Zionists, whom she refuses to treat as fellow Australians. As Abdel-Fattah frankly put it, “If you are a Zionist, you have no claim or right to cultural safety. And it is my duty as somebody who fights all forms of oppression and violence to deny you a safe space to espouse your Zionist racist ideology.”

AWF, then Sydney Biennale. The Yarts are festering.



In an open letter to the executive on Wednesday, Mr Schwartz – who is also a former Biennale board member – refers to an Instagram post on September 3 by Palestinian-Australian artist Feras Shaheen that reads: “Treat your local Zionist like you treat your local Nazi”.

The text sits above pictures of Australian neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell, Mr Schwartz, and Mr Gandel, the Melbourne businessman known for his patronage to the arts. Shaheen’s work is due to be displayed at the event.


“I’m sure you’ll agree with me that a line has been crossed. To equate John Gandel and me with Nazis is shocking. The Biennale will not survive this if you don’t act immediately,” writes Mr Schwartz, owner of Schwartz Media, publisher of Black Inc Books, The Saturday Paper and Quarterly Essay.
...
Tasmania-based Shaheen’s work Blocked Duwar – which “asks viewers to confront their own role in local and global systems of power” – is due to be displayed at the Biennale, which begins in Sydney on March 14. It is Australia’s biggest and most prestigious contemporary art event.

“Based on Feras Shaheen’s experience of maintaining Palestinian identity within diaspora, Blocked Duwar explores the simultaneous frustration and resilience of forced separation from your Indigenous homeland,” reads the online description of the event that takes place at Campbelltown Arts Centre on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28.

“Set within an imagined Palestine – pieced together from fragmented memories, family records and digital remnants – Shaheen’s struggle for self-determination is explored through dance performance that blends video game technology, sound, user interface and experience design.

“Blocked Duwar considers the agency of the public, asking viewers to confront their own role in local and global systems of power, the perpetuation of propaganda, and the liberation of Indigenous people.”

Last year at the Sydney Festival, patrons reportedly walked out of Air Time, a children’s show at the University of Sydney’s Seymour Centre, after it opened with a welcome to country, followed by a pro-Palestine monologue by the activist.

“My name is Feras Shaheen, I am one of the artists in the Air Time. I was born to Palestinian parents; one side of me is from Gaza, and another from al-Lid,” he said in the show.

“My name is Feras Shaheen, I am one of the artists in the Air Time. I was born to Palestinian parents; one side of me is from Gaza, and another from al-Lid,” he said in the show.

“As we make art and perform for you today, Palestinian people are experiencing a genocide implemented by Israel, as well as the sustained destruction of Palestinian culture, people and land.

“We call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and we stand in solidarity with all oppressed people around the world. From the river to the sea, always was, always will be,” he said as the crowd started cheering and clapping.

Air Time, described as a “fearless” production involving BMX, skate, dance and parkour, was organised by not-for-profit arts group Branch Nebula, which has received more than $1.4m in taxpayer funding through Create NSW since March 2016.

Use of the “from the river to the sea” phrase and the genocide claim led to multiple people leaving the shows early, the issuing of refunds, and the Sydney Festival adding a “content warning” on its website.

In January, Biennale of Sydney ambassador Bhenji Ra parted ways with the event after concerns were raised about social media posts liked and shared by the Sydney-based “transdisciplinary artist”, including one by Lebanese-American journalist Rhania Khalek that read “Genocidal death cults do not have the right to exist”.

Mr Schwartz in emails to Ms Mills since August, seen by The Australian, also raised concern about controversial Biennale of Sydney curator Hoor al-Qasimi, whose selection to run the prestigious event has been the source itself of controversy.

The appointment of the Emerati princess – Dr Al-Qasimi is the daughter of the Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, who once described Israel as a “cancerous growth” – was criticised by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry as symbolic of “an extremist anti-Western political agenda”. The curator in Japan last year was reported saying: “None of us will be free until all of us are free … so free Palestine.”

Mr Schwartz referred in the emails to a post Dr Al-Qasimi liked on social media by the account “Reformistan Iran” that reads: “Iran is one of the richest, most misunderstood, most fascinating countries on the planet ... and I am deeply upset by the Zionist terrorism on this land.”