A major national festival, Adelaide Festival, has cancelled its Writers' Week event after a wave of author boycotts in response to the removal of Palestinian-Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah from the program. The festival's director, Louise Adler, resigned, citing 'extreme and repressive' lobbying efforts by pro-Israel groups as the reason behind the board's decision, raising concerns about the erosion of free speech. Prominent Jewish voices, including author Antony Loewenstein, warned that such actions risk worsening anti-Semitism by fostering harmful stereotypes and silencing critical perspectives. The controversy follows similar incidents at other literary events and media organisations, with critics urging institutions and the media to focus on the ongoing conflict in Gaza rather than yielding to lobbying pressure.