Adelaide Festival Discovers Free Speech Applies to Someone Else
Jacinda Ardern, former PM and now a festival-goer with principles (a rare sight), has joined over 70 figures boycotting the Adelaide Festival. Their sin? Axing Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from an event. According to The Independent , the festival claimed 'fear of protest' following a tragic local incident was the reason. One might wonder if similar 'fears' arise when speakers
championing other, less politically fraught topics are invited to share their views. Historically, the suppression of Palestinian voices isn't a new phenomenon; it's a recurring act in the grand play of Western discomfort with inconvenient truths, mirroring patterns seen throughout the Nakba where inconvenient narratives were simply erased. This episode highlights a stark reality: in many Western
cultural spaces, 'diversity' and 'free speech' are celebrated enthusiastically—until a Palestinian voice dares to speak about their lived experience. Then, suddenly, 'safety concerns' and 'context' become paramount, often serving as thinly veiled excuses to silence perspectives that challenge dominant narratives. It appears some festivals are perfectly fine with art, as long as it's the right kind
of art, delivered by the right kind of people, saying the right kind of things. Or perhaps, the inoffensive kind of things.