Critics of Israel boycott PEN America festival
The Pen America Festival (PEN America) has been canceled due to the strong criticism of the writers invited to the festival against the crime and crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.
In an open letter to the literary and human rights group PEN America, several prominent writers have announced their decision to boycott this year's PEN World Voices festival citing the group's failure to properly address Israel's war in Gaza.
Part of the letter reads: "In the context of Israel's war on Gaza, we believe that PEN America has betrayed this organization's mission to bring peace and equality for all, and freedom and security for writers everywhere."
The letter also criticizes PEN America for its reluctance to join other human rights organizations in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
In an open letter published last month as well, the signatories criticized PEN America for not mobilizing "any significant support" for the Palestinian people and for not emphasizing the institution's mission to "oppose hatred of all kinds and support the human aspiration to live in peace and balance."
Now the army of the illegal Israeli regime has killed more than 34 Palestinians and injured more than 76 thousand others.
