Cry me a river…to the sea
From festival bans to Bondi, how Jewish voices are erased, tolerated only after tragedy, then blamed again.
The Palestinian author banned from the Adelaide Writers Festival who played “victim” and was “victorious”.
Why the other side will now blame the Jewish lobby for using a brutal massacre to gain favour in the Gaza marketing war. And what the last two years has looked like for this Jewish author.
I am the writer of a historical fiction novel, The Star on the Grave. It went to print two days after October 7. Being a debut author, I was unfamiliar with the publishing landscape and literary world – a place I’m now told had a leftist tinge long before the Gaza conflict plummeted it into “Keffiyeh” Fashion Week.
Before my Jewish themed book was a book it was a screenplay draft. I secured a grant from Screen Australia after a gruelling and absurdly worded application process, resulting in a rejection based on the fact I had not adequately satisfied the question “Why this movie now?”
I strongly objected and reapplied with a plea, stating “I’m sorry – but why NOT this movie now?” I then cited my reasons:
1. The Gandel Foundation had just released a survey that found 50 per cent of young Australians did not know what the Holocaust was;
2. Whoopee Goldberg had just been thrown off The View for two weeks over controversial comments she made about the Holocaust not being about race;
3. Kanye West had just been fired from representing Nike for his vicious antisemitic stance.
They reconsidered but possibly also due to the fact I had a high-profile writer attached to the project.
That was 2022. There is not a chance in hell I would have received that grant post October 7 as demonstrated recently by the exposé that Screen Australia had been told to “tone down” Jewish stories in the last two years. It is time these bodies and the people that run them are held accountable for decisions based on faith rather than merit.
My publisher had high hopes for my book, touting it as the next Tattooist of Auschwitz to me and setting up media opportunities with gay abandon. That all halted as Jews became “unpalatable”, unmarketable. They had already had a taste of what happens when you put a Jewish theme forward in such a climate, when they proudly announced the release of my book on social media, only to be pelted by relentless, vitriolic trolling.
I worked tirelessly, with wonderful support from the incredible Jewish community in Australia and quickly became a bestseller. I approached the US market. But no American publishing houses were risking Jewish writers or stories. The cookie-cutter rejection letter was “Great story but not for us ‘at this time.'” One even suggested I remove the Star of David from the cover.
Opportunities to put myself forward for generic writers’ festivals came and went with me shying away due to fears for my safety – given the domination by Palestinian authors with books on Gaza and attendees donning “Readers and Writers Against Genocide” T-shirts and the familiar keffiyehs. I realised this was our new reality and I had better get used to it.
And then the unimaginable. Chanukah, December 14, 2025. And the tides finally began to change in this country. Because it always takes dead Jews. (Unless, of course, they happen to be Israeli dead Jews). But we were Australian Jews killed at iconic Bondi Beach, known worldwide by travellers, and a few unfortunate non-Jewish victims among the dead; plus, a beautiful, precious child with the most Australian of names: Beautiful Matilda (Z”L).
It was finally acceptable to “hug a Jew.”
I, like many Jewish Australians, was inundated by beautiful, respectful, heartfelt reach-outs from non-Jewish friends and connections from now and years gone by.
We thought we had a tiny reprieve. Even the Adelaide Writers Festival showed momentary moral clarity. But when friends called me last week to discuss the reversal in decision by the Festival, and could I believe what was going on, my answer was unfortunately, yes. Nothing new. This has been my lived experience for over two years.
We feared that of course, as has ensued, the decision to remove Randa Abdel-Fattah was not permanent; and the erosion of the festival would doubtless be blamed on the Jewish lobby.
Authors were all suddenly on the back foot. Blindsided by the unprecedented shift in support for Jewish voices. Angered, as sickening as that is, by the pesky Bondi “incident” that had given us leverage and interfered in their glorious, media victory. Headed by Louise Adler, head of the board of the festival and head of the Jewish Council of Australia, heralded by leftists as an example of a “clear-thinking Jew” (but who does not represent the broader Jewish community),180 authors withdrew in support of the woman who openly calls for global intifada and no safe space for every Zionist (Jew) on the planet. All “victims” for having had to “step down”.
Seriously. I would love the opportunity, just once to be able to be in a position to do that.
I finally managed to nab that elusive US publishing deal – with the aid, no doubt of the Australian Jewish Writers Award for Fiction I’m humbled and honoured to say I was awarded last year, and of course, bestowed on me by Jews. Who else.
So, a hate-promoting extremist has been threatened (unsuccessfully now). Please. Cry me a river… “to the sea”.
Just remember to stipulate which one. Because most of her fans don’t actually know.
Linda Royal is the award-winning author of The Star on the Grave.
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