''Palestine Writes'', founded as ''Palestine Writes Back'', is a festival that presents

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

culture and literature. The festival, which claims to be the largest celebration of Palestinian literature and culture in North America, was first held 2020. The festival was originally scheduled in March 2020, but was virtually presented in December 2020 due to the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

, with an attendance of more than 3000 people. Organizers explicitly aimed to include both Palestinians and non-Palestinians to "to imagine a world we want". Among others, it was sponsored by the

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

, the

Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...

, and the Columbia University Center for Palestine Studies."Palestine Writes Literature Festival Goes Virtual this December'' Al Bawaba'', London. 23 Nov 2020 In September 2023, ''Palestine Writes'' took place on the campus of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. Programming included oral storytelling, graphic novels, dress-making, and other displays of Palestinian culture. The event featured more than 100 pro-Palestinian speakers. It was criticized based on the participation of speakers with a public history of accused antisemitism and

anti-zionism Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestin ...

. The criticism of the festival intensified following the October

2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel On 7 October 2023, the paramilitary wings of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, and the DFLP launched a series of coordinated armed incursions into the Gaza envelope of neighboring Israeli territory, the first invasion of Israel s ...

References

{{reflist Literary festivals in North America 2020 establishments in Pennsylvania