Key Takeaways:
- The Adelaide Festival board has issued a public apology to Palestinian Australian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah for excluding her from the 2026 writers’ week event
- Abdel-Fattah has accepted the apology and is considering the board’s invitation to appear at the 2027 event
- The apology comes after a controversy surrounding Abdel-Fattah’s exclusion, which led to the resignation of the former Adelaide writers’ week director Louise Adler and the cancellation of the 2026 writers’ festival
- Former board member Tony Berg has accused Adler and Abdel-Fattah of hypocrisy in defending free speech, citing their past actions in relation to a controversy surrounding New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman
- Abdel-Fattah has announced that she will be pursuing defamation action against South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas over comments he made about her
Introduction to the Controversy
The Adelaide Festival board has issued a public apology to Palestinian Australian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, after excluding her from the 2026 writers’ week event. The apology comes after a controversy surrounding Abdel-Fattah’s exclusion, which led to the resignation of the former Adelaide writers’ week director Louise Adler and the cancellation of the 2026 writers’ festival. Abdel-Fattah immediately accepted the apology, posting on Instagram that it was a vindication "of our collective solidarity and mobilisation against anti-Palestinian racism, bullying and censorship". She said she was still considering the board’s invitation to appear at the 2027 event.
The Apology and Its Significance
In a statement, the Adelaide Festival Corporation acknowledged that they had previously said they would exclude Abdel-Fattah from this year’s event "because it would be culturally insensitive to allow her to participate. We retract that statement." The corporation apologized to Abdel-Fattah unreservedly for the harm caused, stating that "Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right. Our goal is to uphold it, and in this instance Adelaide Festival Corporation fell well short." The apology is significant, as it acknowledges the harm caused to Abdel-Fattah and the importance of upholding intellectual and artistic freedom.
Accusations of Hypocrisy
However, the controversy surrounding Abdel-Fattah’s exclusion has also led to accusations of hypocrisy. Former board member Tony Berg has accused Adler and Abdel-Fattah of hypocrisy in defending free speech, citing their past actions in relation to a controversy surrounding New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Berg claimed that Adler and Abdel-Fattah had led a charge to cancel Friedman’s appearance at the 2024 Adelaide Writers Week, after he published a controversial column comparing the Middle East conflict to the animal kingdom. Berg said that he was "utterly astonished" at Adler’s claim that she had resigned in the name of free speech, and at Abdel-Fattah’s "outrage at being ‘cancelled’".
Response to Accusations
Abdel-Fattah has disputed Berg’s claims, stating that she was one of 10 Indigenous and academics of colour who wrote a researched letter about the harm of racial tropes. She said that "What is missing in this is the question of power. We write letters on Google Docs to boards. The people who want to cancel us have premiers intervening." Adler has also responded to Berg’s allegations, accusing him of breaching board confidentiality. She said that she was "rather surprised that a former CEO of Macquarie Bank has breached those confidences. It’s indicative of the way the former board operated, and I believe will make for a rich case study for future management students."
Defamation Action
Abdel-Fattah has also announced that she will be pursuing defamation action against South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas over comments he made about her. Malinauskas has consistently denied any direct interference in the decision to exclude Abdel-Fattah, but has said that he made it clear that the state government did not support her inclusion on the Adelaide writers’ week program. The Greens arts spokesperson, Senator Hanson Young, has called on Malinauskas to apologize to Abdel-Fattah, Adler, and the people of South Australia.
Conclusion and Future Implications
The controversy surrounding Abdel-Fattah’s exclusion from the 2026 writers’ week event has highlighted the importance of upholding intellectual and artistic freedom. The Adelaide Festival board’s apology to Abdel-Fattah is a step in the right direction, but the controversy has also raised questions about the role of power and politics in shaping cultural events. As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the Adelaide Festival will move forward and whether Abdel-Fattah will accept the board’s invitation to appear at the 2027 event. One thing is certain, however: the importance of defending free speech and intellectual freedom will continue to be a crucial issue in the cultural and academic communities.