The 86-year-old Nobel laureate JM Coetzee has declined an invitation to the Jerusalem international writers festival, writing a scathing letter to organisers in which he accuses Israel of conducting a "genocidal campaign" in Gaza. The South African-born author, who now lives in Australia, stated that the campaign had changed his previously supportive stance towards Israel.
Coetzee's letter to festival organisers
In his correspondence with the festival's artistic director, Julia Fermentto-Tzaisler, Coetzee explained his reasons for declining the invitation to the event, scheduled for 25 to 28 May. He wrote: "For the past two years the state of Israel has been conducting a genocidal campaign in Gaza that has been vastly disproportionate to the murderous provocation of 7 October 2023." He added that the campaign, carried out by the Israel Defense Forces, appeared to have the enthusiastic support of the vast majority of Israel's population, meaning that no significant sector of Israeli society, including its intellectual and arts community, could claim to be free from blame for the atrocities in Gaza.
From supporter to critic
Coetzee revealed that he had previously been a supporter of Israel, but that the "campaign of annihilation in Gaza" had changed his view. He wrote: "Until recently Israel enjoyed a broad measure of support in the West. I would number myself among such supporters. I kept telling myself that surely the day was coming when the Israeli people would have a change of heart and deliver some form of justice to the Palestinian people whose land they had taken over." He recalled visiting Jerusalem in 1987 to receive the Jerusalem prize, but noted that long-time supporters of Israel had now turned away in revulsion at the actions of the Israeli military. "It will take many years for Israel to clear its name, assuming that it wishes to do so, and to re-establish itself in the international community," he concluded.
Reaction from the festival director
Fermentto-Tzaisler first revealed Coetzee's decision in April, telling Israeli news outlet Ynet that his response was "especially harsh" and had "shocked" her. In her reply to Coetzee, she wrote: "As a South African writer who fought apartheid, I would have expected — or perhaps dreamed — that you would extend a hand to me, that you would say to me, 'Fight, my daughter. Do not stop fighting.' … You left me in despair." The Guardian contacted Fermentto-Tzaisler for comment but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
Coetzee's literary stature
Coetzee, who rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances, is widely regarded as the world's most decorated living author. He has won the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. When he accepted the Jerusalem Prize in 1987, he used his speech to call for an end to apartheid in South Africa, describing South African literature as "a literature in bondage" and "a less than fully human literature."
International context
A UN special committee of inquiry has found that Israel's actions in Gaza, including mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions, as well as statements by senior Israeli leaders, demonstrated "direct evidence of genocidal intent." Amnesty International has also stated that Israel is still committing genocide in Gaza during the ceasefire by continuing to target civilian infrastructure and restrict access to medical supplies and humanitarian relief. The Jerusalem international writers festival has previously hosted notable authors such as Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Jonathan Franzen, Joyce Carol Oates, and Karl Ove Knausgård.
