NSW book awards judged by anti-Israel academic Randa Abdel-Fattah ‘hijacked by activists and provocateurs’

Dave Sharma says a book award judged by Randa Abdel-Fattah has been ‘hijacked by activists and provocateurs’ after shortlisted authors used the opportunity to express support for the academic.

Randa Abdel-Fattah.

A slew of shortlisted authors for a $30,000 taxpayer-backed literary prize say they back the award’s judge, anti-Israel activist Randa Abdel-Fattah, whose job is under threat after she organised an event where small children chanted “intifada”.

Liberal senator Dave Sharma says the award has been “hijacked by activists and provocateurs”, and he had earlier called for the NSW government to end Dr Abdel-Fattah’s role as chair of the judging panel for the $30,000 Multicultural NSW Award under the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

After shortlists for the competition were announced last week, several authors published statements in support of the Macquarie University academic.

Dr Abdel-Fattah’s position at the university is reportedly under review after she organised a “kids excursion” to the University of Sydney pro-Palestine encampment protest where primary school-aged children led each other in anti-Israel chants such as calling for “intifada” and labelling Israel a “terrorist state”.

Macquarie Uni academic Randa Abdel-Fattah attended the USyd encampment.

Sara Saleh, shortlisted for the Multicultural NSW Award for her book Songs for the Dead and the Living, in a statement on social media, said she stood “in unwavering solidarity with award judge, the indefatigable Randa Abdel-Fattah, who is fielding attacks purely for being Palestinian”. Dr Abdel-Fattah replied with fire emojis.

Alex McInnis’s As Good a Woman as Ever Broke Bread was shortlisted for the $10,000 Award for New Writing, for which Dr Abdel-Fattah was a judge.

In a social media statement McInnis said it was “mind-­boggling” to see the NSW Premier praise police for the arrest of her and others for “peaceful protest” and weeks afterwards to be shortlisted for an award bearing the Premier’s name. She expressed solidarity with “everyone fighting our government’s complicity in genocide, for a free Palestine”.

She also expressed “solidarity with … Randa Abdel-Fattah, steadfast in the face of Sharma, The Australian, and everything they represent”.

Senator Sharma said not removing Dr Abdel-Fattah as a judge was a “failure of leadership” on the part of NSW Premier Chris Minns. “In what can only be considered a perverse irony, the Multicultural NSW Award under Dr Abdel-Fattah has been turned into a vehicle for spreading social division and undermining multiculturalism in NSW,” he said.

“The Premier, Chris Minns, should be acting to protect the integrity of the literary awards that bear his name.

“Instead, he has allowed what should be a celebration of multiculturalism to be hijacked by activists and provocateurs. It’s a failure of leadership.”

A spokesperson for Mr Minns said the Premier “has nothing to do with these awards”.

“They are administered by the State Library of NSW and have been for the past 42 years. The Premier has been focused on ensuring community harmony and cohesion.”

Omar Sakr.

Lamisse Hamouda.

Omar Sakr, whose book Non-Essential Work was shortlisted for the multiculturalism award, released a statement on social media asking “What does literary recognition mean in a society and government utterly invested in the racist domination and genocide of Arab peoples?”

Lamisse Hamouda, whose book The Shape of Dust was also shortlisted for the multiculturalism award, posted to social media telling “protests, university encampments, boycotts, teach-ins … don’t stop, don’t hesitate to begin, don’t give up”.

Dr Abdel-Fattah is quoted with an endorsement of the book in its promotional material, with her calling it a “socio-political critique with intellectual depth and a beautiful literary quality”.

The Australian understands Dr Abdel-Fattah will not return as a judge for the awards next year, after serving on various judging panels four times previously.

Separately, Dr Abdel-Fattah at the weekend spruiked a letter-writing campaign to the leadership of Macquarie University, sharing on her social media platforms people who wrote in to express support for her.

A spokesperson for the NSW State Library said “the awards are judged by an independent committee of writers, academics, critics and other sector professionals”.

“There are strict guidelines for judges … which include reasons for recusal and notification of conflicts of interest,” they said.

“The 2024 judging panel was approved by the government on 21 August, 2023.”