Prominent writers boycott PEN World Voices Festival over Gaza
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The writers who pulled out of the festival have labeled the deliberate Israeli attacks on cultural institutions in Palestine as "cultural genocide".
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Poets from all over the world gathered at the PEN Voices World Festival to share readings of their work and reflect on the gift of poetry on May 14, 2022 ( X/@PENworldvoices)
Dozens of writers have withdrawn from an international literary festival as it failed to call for an end to the ongoing Israeli genocide against Gaza.
Naomi Klein, Michelle Alexander, Hisham Matar, Isabella Hammad, Maaza Mengiste, Zaina Arafat, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and other writers quit the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature as reported by the US The Daily Beast on March 15, which cited a letter released two days prior.
The festival, created in 2004, takes place annually in New York City and Los Angeles and honors international writers.
"Israel has killed, and at times deliberately targeted and assassinated journalists, poets, novelists, and writers of all kinds," the letter stressed.
The letter labeled the deliberate Israeli attacks on cultural institutions in Palestine, including universities and libraries, as a form of "cultural genocide".
As the festival has not urged for a ceasefire in Gaza, the writers in protest emphasized that such neglect is a "betrayal" of its values.
"This failure is particularly striking in light of the extraordinary toll this catastrophe has taken in the cultural sphere," they stated.
Read more: Several media outlets demand journalist protection in Gaza
Journalists are a main target for the IOF
The Government Media Office in Gaza announced on February 23 that 132 journalists were targeted and killed by "Israel" since October 7.
Last month, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that photojournalist Mohammad Yaghi "Aba Teshreen" was martyred on February 23, alongside his wife and daughter, in a massacre perpetrated by Israeli occupation forces near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza.
Despite constant warnings by Palestinian and international media against the Israeli targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip and calls for their protection, the occupation neglected all calls and continued deliberately targeting and killing them in an attempt to conceal its genocidal crimes against the people of Palestine.
Journalists in Gaza are facing terrible dangers, brought forth by "Israel's" mass indiscriminate bombing of the Strip, communication and electricity outages, and supply shortages.
