The Feminist Collective pens open letter decrying inclusion of pro-Israel speaker at Karachi Literature Festival

The Feminist Collective, a leftist feminist group, has penned an open letter protesting the Karachi Literature Festival’s (KLF) decision to invite Germany-based author Ronya Othmann — a known supporter of the state of Israel — as a guest speaker to its 15th iteration. The festival has since removed her name from the list of speakers mentioned on its website.

Othmann, who has a history of problematic, anti-Islam and anti-Palestine comments, was invited for two talks, the first on February 17 for her book The Summers, and again on February 18 for a poetry reading titled “Beyond the Seas”.

In their open letter — which at the time of publishing was signed by 199 signatories, including actors Sarwat Gillani and Rasti Farooq — The Feminist Collective highlighted that during a panel by the German newspaper TAZ, Othmann, along a fellow panellist and the interviewer, claimed that Muslim immigrants, including Palestinians, are “jihadists” and “terrorists” for expressing sympathy with Palestinian resistance to a 75-year-long occupation.

Other instances, as detailed in the letter, include an article written by Othmann wherein she targeted German-Palestinian journalist Alena Jabarine “as well as other writers of colour for pointing out that what Israel is doing to Palestinians in Gaza is a genocide”.

The Collective also maintained that Othmann attacked the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to “end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law”. The Feminist Collective stated that Othmann claimed the BDS was “a form of violence against the state of Israel, and was lacking political legitimacy” as well as “global support for terror”.

On her X (formerly Twitter) account, Othmann has reshared several tweets likening support for the Palestinian resistance to anti-semitism and calling for its penalisation. Her tweets against pro-Palestinian rallies include claims that there is an “Islamism problem”.

Moreover, the author has perpetuated Israeli narratives that Hamas uses Gazans as human shields. Her language and sentiments are described by The Feminist Collective as “in essence a right-wing dog-whistle targeting vulnerable Muslim and Arab immigrant populations in Europe, especially Palestinians”.

Othmann also has a history of sharing content that is Islamaphobic, including a tweet that states: “If you as a Muslim do not get involved in Islamist ideologies…you will pay for it with your life”.

“As Pakistanis, we find KLF’s choice of Othmann as a speaker unacceptable — indeed, obscene — and especially so given that the Israeli genocide of Palestinians is in its 6th month, with over 28,000 Palestinians dead, more than 10,000 of them children,” the Collective stated in their letter. They maintained that “the International Court of Justice, in its provisional measures order, has declared that the South African case charging Israel with genocide has validity”.

The Feminist Collective demanded that “KLF immediately cancel this event and issue a public apology to the Palestinian people and to all Pakistanis of conscience”. They further asked the festival to “stop engaging in ‘two-siderism’ when it comes to the 75+ year occupation of Palestine by Israel and the current genocide and refrain from inviting Zionists and giving legitimacy to Zionist discourse under the false premise of ‘neutrality’.”

They further said that “if KLF does not cancel this event, and issue a public apology, we [the Collective] will mobilise a boycott of its festival this year and in the years to come”.

In an exclusive comment to Images, a spokesperson for the Feminist Collective said they were “horrified that they [KLF] invited someone like this, especially at this particular moment in history”.

“They should do their due diligence and make sure they are not inviting people whose views are abhorrent. There is this unfortunate tendency that not taking sides is the more progressive and evolved position… I’m not saying that is the case here, I’m just saying that is something we often see in Pakistan,” the spokesperson added.

They said, “We felt it was so important to write this letter to put KLF on notice and to ensure this speaker is disinvited, but also to send a general message to educate our own public about why we are taking this stand and why it is important to take a stand against people who have zionist views. To ensure that people understand that when we say Zionism we don’t mean Jewish people, we mean a particular ideology”.

Othmann’s name has been removed from the official speaker list on the festival’s official website as well as the online schedule for the event.

UPDATE: On Saturday, the KLF added a banner to its website stating, “Ronya Othman will not be attending KLF and her sessions, therefore, have been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience caused”.