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500 International publishers call on Frankfurt to cut ties with Israel
The coalition also urged the fair to refuse collaborations with Israeli cultural institutions that support the country’s policies, unless those institutions acknowledge the rights of Palestinians under international law. The group specifically condemned Israel’s targeting of Palestinian writers, academics, and cultural institutions, which it said is part of a broader effort to erase Palestinian culture, publishersweekly.com reported.
Publishers for Palestine also called on the fair to feature Palestinian writers and narratives prominently at its 2024 event, without downplaying the Israeli occupation and its impact on Palestinians. The coalition formed last November and represents a broad range of publishers from around the world.
The members presses in Publishers for Palestine hail from 50 countries, including Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Nigeria, the Philippines, Spain, Tanzania, Turkey, Wales, and others. The US.–based member presses, which include several regular exhibitors at Frankfurt, are Haymarket Books, Interlink Publishing, Microcosm Publishing, OR Books, Other Press, Seven Stories Press, Sublunary Editions, and Verso Books.
The open letter comes shortly before this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, which is slated for October 16–20. Ahead of last year’s fair, held just weeks after the October 7 attack on Israel, Frankfurt director Juergen Boos expressed support for Israel with a statement saying that the fair “stands with complete solidarity on the side of Israel” and intended to highlight Israeli voices at that year’s show. Additional programming featuring Israeli speakers crashed into last year’s Frankfurt program including an event called “Out of Concern for Israel,” organized by PEN Berlin, which took place on the first day of the fair. (The majority of Israeli publishers canceled their appearances at the 2023 fair following the attack.)
Last year, fair organizers also canceled a ceremony for Palestinian author Adania Shibli, who was to be awarded the LiBeraturpreis for her novel 'Minor Detail', about the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The cancelation prompted a number of major Arab publishing organizations to pull out of last year’s fair, although some are expected to return this year. This year’s programming highlights, sent to press earlier this week, include “Occupied, Destroyed, Fought over, in Turmoil: Quo Vadis Palestine?,” an Oct. 19 conversation with Palestinian novelist and former culture minister Atef Abu Saif moderated by German journalist Kristin Helberg, and a talk from Palestinian author Abdalrahman Alqalaq on writing in exile scheduled for the new Center for Words on Oct. 17.
“Every year, people from more than 100 countries attend Frankfurter Buchmesse,” a Frankfurt Book Fair representative said in a statement to PW. “The book fair is a platform for democratic discourse and peaceful encounters between publishers, authors, translators, illustrators, and readers from all over the world. Our program reflects this, featuring voices from every corner of the globe.”