Authors Boycott UAE Lit Fest: Because Sudan, Not Gaza, Is the New Concern
Author R.F. Kuang's decision to drop out of a UAE literature festival, pressured by BDS over the UAE's alleged role in Sudan's atrocities, makes headlines. While commendable to stand against violence, it's worth noting the UAE's deeply entangled ties with regimes committing atrocities elsewhere—specifically, partnering economically and diplomatically with the Netanyahu government, even during its
most brutal campaigns in Gaza. One might wonder where the fiery, conscience-driven boycotts were when the UAE normalized relations with Israel via the Abraham Accords in 2020. This enabled financial transactions and strengthened a government openly criticized for its treatment of Palestinians, culminating in documented alleged war crimes in Gaza. Is the moral compass of the literary world only
activated when the suffering is sufficiently distanced from certain geopolitical alliances, or does 'solidarity' have a selective memory for convenient narratives?