Following the organizers of the Adelaide Festival removing terror supporter Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week – citing concerns over “cultural sensitivity” – the sh*t really hit the fan.
Or should I say, the sh*ts really fanned the flames of hatred.
Over 180 writers and speakers withdrew from the event in protest, as did major sponsors, clearly unperturbed by Randa Abdel-Fattah’s vile terror support and calling for an end to the Jewish state and Zionism. This, in turn, triggered the organizers to cancel 2026 Adelaide Writers’ Week entirely.
Then almost the entire Adelaide Festival board stepped down, and Writers’ Week director Louise Adler – herself quite the hater of Israel – quit, saying she could not be part of silencing writers.
Now the festival’s leadership under a new board have taken the cowardly steps of formally retracting its earlier justification for excluding Abdel-Fattah, apologizing to her, and reinviting her for the 2027 Writer’s Week.
And Abdel-Fattah has responded to this capitulation:
Adelaide Festival has apologised unreservedly. Vindication
— Randa Abdel-Fattah (@RandaAFattah) January 15, 2026
My response. pic.twitter.com/8mqm7xGAKH
This is my response to her response:
.@adelaidefest organizers have formally retracted earlier justifications for excluding terror supporter and atrocity denialist @RandaAFattah from this year’s now cancelled program. Fattah has posted a response to the festival organizers’ apology, which I have edited to illustrate… pic.twitter.com/6lfxLsyot3
— David Lange (@Israellycool) January 15, 2026
Abdel-Fattah isn’t celebrating free speech. She’s celebrating victory. Victory over institutions too gutless to draw a line between legitimate debate and the mainstreaming of hate.
