Racism towards Jews is “apparently now acceptable” and what has happened at the Adelaide Writers’ Week over the past few days is “intolerable”, says Sky News host Sharri Markson.
“People like the Writers’ Week director, Louise Adler, say it’s perfectly fine to criticise Israel, and of course it is. But this is the veil through which people get away with dangerous anti-Semitism. “I’m not talking about criticism of the Israeli government and its actions – of course that’s fine – I’m talking about inflammatory individuals who call Jews and Israelis human garbage and who want to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
Ms Markson said Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa and Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd were “allowed into Australia” and celebrated at the Writer’s Week, and she revealed some of their “blatantly offensive and racist remarks”.
“I just think this is all really sad – it’s one thing to criticise the Israeli government, the settlements. “It’s quite another to engage in hate speech, in anti-Semitism – not in the dark corners of the dark web, but on stage where people have bought tickets to hear you speak, where your remarks are cheered and applauded.”
Watch the segment on Sharri.