More than 1,000 authors have initiated a widespread boycott of Israeli publishers as a protest against the state's displacement of the Palestinian people. The letter, released on October 28th, outlines how the publishing sector is grappling with 'the most profound moral, political, and cultural crisis of the 21st century.' Coordinated by the Palestine Festival of Literature in collaboration with groups like Books Against Genocide and Fossil Free Books, the letter further elaborates on the dire situation in Gaza.
Fossil Free Books, the same advocacy group that has called for boycotts of various literary festivals due to their funding ties to companies involved in the conflict and climate change, states, 'Israel has rendered Gaza uninhabitable. It is impossible to determine precisely how many Palestinians have been killed by Israel since October, as Israel has obliterated all infrastructure, including the means to count and bury the dead. We do know that, at minimum, 43,362 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel since October, making this the largest war on children this century.'
The letter urges its signatories to acknowledge the significant role of culture, stating, 'Israeli cultural institutions, frequently working in direct partnership with the state, have long played a crucial role in masking, disguising, and artwashing the dispossession and oppression of millions of Palestinians.' 'We have a role to play. We cannot, in good conscience, engage with Israeli institutions without scrutinizing their connections to apartheid and displacement,' the letter continues, drawing parallels to literary boycotts against the South African regime during the apartheid era.
The number of signatories has far exceeded 1,000, with initial signatories including some of the most prominent names in contemporary literature. Notable authors such as Sally Rooney, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Annie Ernaux, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Junot Díaz are among the initial signatories. This year's Booker Prize nominees, Percival Everett and Rachel Kushner, are also on the list, along with Jewish-heritage authors Judith Butler, Naomi Klein, and Miriam Margolyes.
In response to the campaign, UK Lawyers for Israel, a volunteer organization, has cautioned the Publishers Association of potential 'legal repercussions' for authors supporting the boycott. Jonathan Turner, the organization's CEO, asserts that the boycott letter 'makes false accusations against Israel and concludes with commitments by its authors to engage in a discriminatory and illegal boycott of Israeli cultural institutions.' Additionally, the UK Lawyers for Israel's letter argues that the boycott would be 'clearly discriminatory against Israelis,' invoking the UK's Equality Act 2010.
A counter-letter, drafted by the Creative Community for Peace, a non-profit pro-Israel organization, criticizes instances where 'any Israeli and/or Jewish author or festival that did not disavow Israel was being harassed and targeted for condemnation, with book readings being shut down, and authors being excluded from festivals.' Authors Mayim Bialik, Sir Simon Schama, and Simon Sebag-Montefiore, along with Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, have signed this counter-letter.
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