Adelaide festival rejected 2024 request to remove Thomas Friedman

The Adelaide festival board did not remove New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman from its 2024 Adelaide Writers’ Week programme, despite a petition from 10 academics including Randa Abdel-Fattah requesting his exclusion. According to a letter dated 9 February 2024 and seen by the Guardian, the board rejected the request, saying asking the festival to cancel a writer was “an extremely serious request” and noting its international reputation for supporting artistic freedom of expression; the letter added that Friedman was no longer participating because of last‑minute scheduling issues.

Abdel-Fattah and nine other academics had sent the board a letter on 6 February 2024 asking it to rescind his invitation after he published a controversial column. South Australia’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, on Saturday said the board had dumped a Jewish writer in 2024 and used that account to support the board’s removal of Abdel‑Fattah from the 2026 programme; News Corp outlets highlighted the apparent inconsistency and Guardian Australia has independently confirmed more than 70 participants have withdrawn from the 2026 event.

Abdel‑Fattah has said she rejected any charge of hypocrisy, noting she had called for Friedman’s removal in 2024 and accusing the board of “blatant and shameless” anti‑Palestinian racism and censorship after her own cancellation.

Key Topics

Culture, Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Writers Week, Thomas Friedman, Randa Abdel-fattah, Peter Malinauskas