Nobel laureate JM Coetzee has declined an invitation to the Jerusalem International Writers Festival, citing Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza as 'genocidal.' In a letter to artistic director Julia Fermentto-Tzaisler, Coetzee wrote that the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces appear to have the 'enthusiastic support' of the Israeli population, making it impossible for the country's intellectual community to claim innocence.
Coetzee, 86, a native of apartheid-era South Africa who now lives in Australia, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. He once supported Israel, even receiving the Jerusalem prize in 1987. However, he stated that Israel's current actions have fundamentally changed his stance.
Fermentto-Tzaisler expressed shock at the harshness of Coetzee's reply, noting her disappointment that a fellow fighter against apartheid would not offer encouragement.
This boycott is part of a growing trend among artists and authors refusing to participate in Israeli cultural events. Other notable figures, including Sally Rooney, Naomi Klein, and filmmakers like Olivia Colman and Ken Loach, have similarly withdrawn from events or refused to work with Israeli institutions, citing the war in Gaza.