The Advertiser will continue to support the broader Adelaide Festival cultural program but has withdrawn its staff from the Breakfast With Papers event in light of the publication’s stance on the hateful views of two participants in the festival’s Writers’ Week.
The publication has taken a firm position on the inclusion of Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa and Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd, both of whom have expressed anti-Semitic and factually incorrect views.
Abulhawa has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky while El-Kurd has repeatedly compared Israel to the Nazi regime.
Advertiser Editor Gemma Jones said discussions with Festival chief executive Kath Mainland and artistic director Ruth Mackenzie had been constructive.
“The broader festival program is uncontroversial and important to the cultural life of Adelaide,” Ms Jones said.
“The Advertiser and Adelaide Festival have had a long and proud partnership.
“The Adelaide Festival has advised that The Advertiser was not directly supporting Writers’ Week under a current partnership.
“Notwithstanding that, The Advertiser will withdraw its staff from the Festival’s Breakfast With Papers program. The Advertiser will not feature in any promotion material for Breakfast with Papers or the Writers’ Week.”
Breakfast With Papers is a daily morning event during the festival in which a panel discusses news of the day.
Ms Jones said The Advertiser had publicly called for Writers’ Week director Louise Adler to resign.
Read the article by Tim Williams in The Advertiser.