Thousands of writers and members of the entertainment industry signed two opposing letters this week, one pledging to boycott Israeli cultural institutions, and the other condemning the call for a boycott, in the latest sign of the deep divisions that have erupted in the literary world over the conflict in the Middle East.
The first letter, signed by Percival Everett, Sally Rooney, Kaveh Akbar, Rachel Kushner, Jhumpa Lahiri, Justin Torres, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Annie Ernaux, along with more than 2,700 other people, calls for a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions, including publishers, literary agents and literary festivals.
Published on the website Literary Hub on Oct. 28, the letter states that participating authors will not work “with Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians.”
While no specific organizations were named, the letter said that authors would refuse to collaborate with institutions that have failed to publicly voice support for “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law” and those that are “complicit in violating Palestinian rights” by discriminating against Palestinians or by “justifying Israel’s occupation” and its military actions in Palestinian territories, which have led to tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza.
The authors who signed the letter also asked publishers, editors and agents to join the boycott.
The boycott campaign was organized by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups, including the Palestine Festival of Literature, Publishers for Palestine and Writers Against the War on Gaza.
That letter prompted criticism from the organization Creative Community for Peace, a group representing members of the literary and entertainment world that opposes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
On Wednesday, the group released a statement condemning the boycott as an attempt to “to persecute, exclude, boycott and intimidate.” Their letter was signed by more than 1,000 authors and members of the entertainment industry.
“We believe that writers, authors, and books — along with the festivals that showcase them — bring people together, transcend boundaries, broaden awareness, open dialogue, and can affect positive change,” the letter states. “Regardless of one’s views on the current conflict, boycotts of creatives and creative institutions simply create more divisiveness and foment further hatred.”
Authors who signed the statement include Lee Child, Howard Jacobson, Lionel Shriver, Simon Schama, Adam Gopnik, Herta Müller, David Mamet and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
The opposing letters are the latest flare-up in the book world over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has become an unusually divisive issue for writers and literary institutions.
In May, the free speech organization PEN America canceled its literary awards ceremony and its World Voices Festival, after dozens of authors withdrew over what they viewed as inadequate action by PEN America to condemn threats to Palestinian writers and cultural life.
Authors made a statement against the war at last year’s National Book Awards, as more than a dozen nominees took the stage at the end of the ceremony and collectively called for a cease-fire.
Disputes over the conflict have led to protests at bookstores and the cancellation of author appearances. Last month, a Santa Monica bookstore briefly closed down after pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside to denounce the store for selling a book called “Understanding Hamas.”
In August, a Brooklyn bookstore canceled an event featuring the author Joshua Leifer in conversation with Andy Bachman, formerly the head rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim, because members of the bookstore’s staff objected to Bachman’s participation on the grounds of his Zionist views.
It’s unclear what the impact of the recent calls for a boycott of Israeli institutions will be, and how many of the authors who signed the letter will refuse to sell rights to their books to publishers in Israel. Some, including the novelist Sally Rooney, have taken that step.
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