Lost Voices: PEN America's Conspicuous Absence in the Palestinian Crisis
Ada Lambert | May 2, 2024
PEN America (poets, essayists, and novelists of America) is a non-profit organization that believes in and uplifts free expression and has fought valiantly against the book-banning crisis in America. But when it comes to international issues, they have fallen short in their “activist” efforts —in this case, the atrocities taking place in Gaza.
Over the past few months, controversies have bubbled up amongst the members of the group, facing scrutiny from the public and internally as well as from employees of the organization.
In December 2023, 41 PEN America employees sent a letter to leadership about “continued concerns about the organization’s shortcomings in mounting a principled defense of free expression,” and warning that the CEO of the organization, Suzanne Nossel’s decision to take an “ill-conceived” trip to Israel would undermine PEN America’s credibility on what they stand for as an organization.
Another letter, sent in October, criticized the organization's initial response to the Hamas attack, accusing PEN America of not addressing the long-standing suffering inflicted on the Palestinians by the Israeli government.
On Oct. 10, 2023, the organization issued this statement: “Political conflicts, even when they involve grave denials of human rights, can never justify nor be resolved through attacks on innocent civilians. Noting the mounting death toll among Israelis and Palestinians, PEN America calls on all parties to uphold the sanctity of human life and to safeguard civilians and human rights.”
Many felt that this message gave no heed to the long-standing oppression that Palestinians have suffered at the hands of the Israeli government and to the multiple Palestinian journalists killed as soon as the war broke out. Members of the organization protested the statement, prompting a second, more informed statement to be released on Oct. 17.
The organization has been eerily silent on what is happening in Gaza since. Back in February, a Palestinian-American writer named Randa Jarrar was forcibly removed from a PEN America event after bringing a speaker to the event and playing the list of writers and poets who have been killed in the war.
This event also featured “The Big Bang Theory” actress Mayim Bialik, who has outspokenly supported Israel on social media.
After Jarrar’s act of protest, over a thousand writers around the world signed an open letter demanding PEN America to speak up for the plethora of Palestinian creatives who have lost their lives at the hands of Israel's militant occupation.
On April 22, the prominent writer’s association canceled the 2024 PEN America Literary Awards amidst the controversy due to many participants dropping out of the event. Over a third of the writers withdrew from the competition in solidarity with Palestine. This is the letter of refusal that they sent:
“We cannot, in good faith, align with an organization that has shown such blatant disregard of our collective values,” the letter reads. “We stand in solidarity with a free Palestine. We refuse to be honored by an organization that acts as a cultural front for American exceptionalism. We refuse to gild the reputation of an organization that runs interference for an administration aiding and abetting genocide with our tax dollars. And we refuse to take part in celebrations that will serve to overshadow PEN’s complicity in normalizing genocide.”
Many of the nominees for the PEN America awards have declined when selected for the prize. For the Jean Stein Award, ten nominees were selected and nine of them turned the offer down. Luckily, Stein was extremely passionate about Palestinian rights and the foundation had informed PEN America to send the unawarded 75,000 dollars to Palestine’s Children Relief Fund.
Further, the recipient of the Mike Nichols Writing for Performance Award, Tony Kushner, has announced that he will be sending the money he receives, 25,000, to Jewish Voice for Peace and half to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
On top of the awards being canceled, PEN America has also announced that the Work Voices Festival will not be happening this year either after a collective group of participants withdrew.
PEN America, founded over a hundred years ago, has fought valiantly for free speech and expression through books and has spoken against the detrimental amount of book banning happening in America. When the war between Ukraine and Russia started, PEN America was happy to uninvite Russian contributors and authors to events in solidarity and for the safety of Ukrainian participants. They have continuously documented their support for Ukraine online. What makes Palestine any different?
This is the question that many people who once supported PEN America’s initiatives are asking in light of recent events. To see an organization that was built on the foundation of human rights flounder aimlessly amidst a mass genocide is devastating.
Thank you to those whose involvement in this organization has been directed in support of the Palestinian people. Your efforts are seen. Change is happening right now.
Resistance is a form of persistence.