Over 50 writers withdraw

More than 50 writers and moderators withdrew from the Bendigo Writers Festival (BWF), leading to the cancellation of the opening gala and over 20 sessions.

The withdrawals were in response to BWF sending a code of conduct two days before the opening, requiring participants in the La Trobe University stream of the festival adhere to the university’s Anti-Racism Plan, which includes a definition of antisemitism adopted by Universities Australia. The plan states that “criticism of the policies and practices of the Israeli government or state is not in and of itself antisemitic”, but that “criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions and when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel or all Jews or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel’s actions”.

BWF spokesperson Julie Amos said the code of conduct was intended to “facilitate respectful conversations”. The City of Greater Bendigo owns and operates the festival and said La Trobe University “felt it was necessary to emphasise the importance of safety and wellbeing for all participants by introducing a code of conduct”.

La Trobe University backed the code of conduct, saying, “La Trobe University supports the BWF to have measures in place to ensure respectful exchange of views as well as community safety, and notes that codes of conduct are not unusual at writers’ festivals.

“La Trobe University does not tolerate racism of any kind, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. La Trobe’s commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech is consistent with our approach to creating safe environments for the free exchange of ideas.”