PEN America President resigns in protest at article describing cultural boycott of Israelis

The President of PEN America has resigned in protest after the group, which is dedicated to free expression, posted an article which described the “isolation and exclusion” of Israeli and Jewish writers since 7 October 2023.

Dinaw Mengistu, who headed the organisation for 7 months, told the New York Times that the article, which opposed the cultural boycott of Israeli writers, was “unethical”, claiming that it was discriminatory against the BDS movement.

The article published by PEN, titled “A Silent Moratorium”, spoke to more than 30 Jewish and Israeli writers, translators and literary agents, who described “event disinvitations and cancellations, and new and growing barriers to publication. They also recounted being harassed on social media, review-bombed on Goodreads, and subjected to online calls not to be read, platformed, or engaged with if they had ever shown support for Israel or Zionism. Some writers described being ignored by agents, publishers, literary journals, and magazines. Many requested anonymity to protect their safety and careers.”

In the article description, PEN America described how “the mainstream literary world is increasingly shutting them out because of their identity, nationality, or views. They describe an environment that has impacted their reputations and livelihoods, led people to self-censor, and created an overall chilling of their ability to write and create freely.

“This silencing and exclusion of writers is a threat to what PEN America is fundamentally committed to defending: a culture of free expression for all.”

Mengistu, an Ethiopian American author who is Program Director of Written Arts at Bard College, New York, told the New York Times that the article “continues this approach toward defending some rights while not defending others.” He also said some members of staff at PEN America had expressed “anger and frustration that they were kept entirely in the dark about the publication” of the article about Jewish writers. According to the American publication, he claimed that the article was the most recent in a series of moves by the nonprofit organisation that he felt were counter to its values and could harm broader efforts to preserve freedom of expression.

PEN America, like many prestigious organisations, has experienced a significant shake-up in recent years. In 2024 its longtime Chief Executive, Suzanne Nossel, was forced out of her position after a group of prominent far-left authors demanded that the organisation publicly take a vocally anti-Israel position. According to a Tablet magazine article from February titled “PEN America’s Jewish Exception”, her departure came after she was labelled a “Zionist” and refused to have the organization publicly declare that Israel was committing genocide.