Erika Dreifus

“I wrote an article about what happened at [Adelaide] Writers Week for the Weekend Australian. It is about a person who has done more than any other in my view, to make kosher the argument that powerful Jews are a malign influence on Australian life. Here it is:”

The words above come from Michael Gawenda.

And if perchance you would appreciate background/still more information/additional takes about what has happened lately with this major literary festival, the following have been added to my “After October 7” document:

• Charlotte Graham-McLay, “Adelaide Writers Week Canceled as 180 Speakers Withdraw After the Exclusion of a Palestinian Writer” (Associated Press). January 14; note the Festival’s subsequent retraction of their earlier statement, additional apology, and re-invitation to the writer. See also:
  • Michael Bachelard, “‘Create Tension and Disruption’: Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Road to Festival Fiasco” (The Age). January 18.
  • Lee Kofman, “Abdel-Fattah Doxxed Me. Outrage over Her Removal Exposes Hypocrisy” (Australian Financial Review). January 16.
  • Rachel Caplin, “The Writers’ Festival Scandal Australia Won’t Confront” (Aish). January 15. 
  • Michael Koziol and Stephen Brook, “American Writer Says He Was Uninvited from Adelaide Festival over ‘Timing’” (Sydney Morning Herald). January 15.
  • Elissa Wald, “The Murderous Darlings of the Progressive Left” (Never Alone). January 14. 
  • Lisa Hill, “The Sabotage of the Adelaide Writers Festival and the Posturing Parade of Australian Authors” (ANZ LitLovers LitBlog). January 13. 
  • Kathy Shand, “Platforming Division at Literary Festivals Is Not Artistic Freedom” (Australian Financial Review). January 12. 
  • Julia Lawrinson, “When a Massacre Isn’t Enough” (What Were You Thinking?). January 10.