‘Inflammatory, divisive, disrespectful': Bendigo Writers Festival founder speaks out

The Age

5 hours ago

As such, it had given author Randa Abdel-Fattah, an Australian woman of Palestinian and Egyptian heritage, little choice, said Sorensen.
'She could do nothing other than withdraw,' she said. 'She has been subject to relentless, ruthless, unscrupulous attacks for years … other writers withdrawing in protest was absolutely the right thing to do.'
Sorensen left the festival – which was always a council-funded event under her direction – in 2023, having intended to bow out earlier before the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. She was instrumental in seeking the involvement of La Trobe University academic Clare Wright as co-curator of the La Trobe Presents stream of the program, a move, she says, 'of which I'm proud'.
Wright also withdrew from this year's event over the code of conduct issued to participants the day before the event began.
The wording of the directive is taken from the Universities Australia statement on racism, to which La Trobe is a signatory. That definition has come in for criticism over its close alignment with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's 'working definition of antisemitism ', which some critics allege conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
The Universities Australia statement states: 'Criticism of the policies and practices of the Israeli government or state is not in and of itself antisemitic. However, criticism of Israel can be antisemitic … when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel or all Jews or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel's actions.'
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The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's position is that 'manifestations [of antisemitism] might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic'.
'Of course, it was about Gaza,' Sorensen said of the code of conduct. 'And I'd have thought such a directive is antithetical not just to a writers festival or a university but to a government and the society it is there to protect.'
Though this year's event had turned into a disaster, it need not be the end for the Bendigo Writers Festival, its founder insisted.
'If there's an honest appraisal, an owning of this calamity, then I think writers will support it, too,' she said.
Moves in Bendigo and elsewhere to curtail speech in the name of 'respectful debate', as festival organisers put it, were unnecessary and counter-productive, argued Sorensen.
'We have guard rails already,' she said. 'Governments at all levels, and cultural organisations at all levels, responding before the fact is not a guard rail. It's an authoritarian abuse of power and very dangerous for a healthy functioning democracy.'
La Trobe University has defended its stance, stating that it was committed to fostering a culture that valued all forms of diversity.
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'La Trobe University does not tolerate racism of any kind, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. La Trobe's commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech is consistent with our approach to creating safe environments for the free exchange of ideas,' a spokesperson said.
'Our Anti-Racism Action Plan, which includes a working definition of Islamophobia, was developed through extensive staff, student and community consultation.'