Exclusive: pro-Israel campaign seeks removal of Palestinian DJ from WOMADelaide
After ruining the Adelaide and Bendigo writers festivals, pro-Israel supporters are now targeting WOMADelaide’s inclusion of Sama’ Abdulhadi
A fresh pro-Israel campaign to remove a Palestinian artist at WOMADelaide has emerged, only days after Adelaide Festival controversially cancelled a Palestinian-Australian author from its lineup.
Deepcut has seen two emails automatically composed on mass email platform, Activism Mailer, regarding the March 7 performance of Sama’ Abdulhadi, a prominent Palestinian DJ, at WOMADelaide.
One email is directed to WOMADelaide organisers as well as Andrea Michaels, South Australia’s arts minister, and councillors at the City of Adelaide.
It “urgently request(s) the removal of Sama Abdulhadi from the 2026 festival line-up. This request is based on her documented history of hateful rhetoric against Israel, Jews, Zionists, and their allies”. The email called Abdulhadi’s presence at WOMADelaide “particularly troubling in light of the recent Bondi Beach Terrorist attack”.
A second email campaign targeted federal government ministers and Coalition MPs, including Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, calling for the cancellation of Abdulhadi’s visa.
Among the allegations listed in the email, it includes labelling “Israel as an illegitimate ‘settler colony’ that must be dismantled ‘from the river to the sea’”.
In response to questions from Deepcut, a spokesperson for WOMADelaide said “these questions aren’t really relevant for us right now”. They also said:
“WOMADelaide is a festival that celebrates cultural diversity, artistic excellence, and the power of music to connect people across borders and beliefs. Artists are invited to perform on the basis of their musical achievements and contributions to global contemporary culture, not for their political views or affiliations.”
A Christian Zionist Facebook page
A search on Facebook revealed a public post dated January 10 in a group titled “AUSSIE CHRISTIANS UNITED WITH ISRAEL” with a link to an email campaign to cancel Abdulhadi’s visa and a WhatsApp group.
Deepcut has also seen a third email campaign using the same Activism Mailer platform thanking Adelaide Festival organisers for their “principled decision to withdraw Dr. Randa Abdul-Fattah’s (SIC) invitation”.
Abdel-Fattah, a Palestinian-Australian author and academic, was sensationally cancelled by Adelaide Festival on January 8, prompting the withdrawal of at least 114 artists as well as the resignation of the festival’s chair and three board members. The world-renowned Adelaide Festival now stands on the brink of collapse.
The fallout has raised questions regarding the involvement of South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, and whether he pressured the board to cancel Abdel-Fattah’s appearance in response to a pro-Israel campaign.
The premier on January 10 denied directing the board but made “it clear that the state government did not support the inclusion of Dr Abdel-Fattah”.
Amid a furious backlash after Abdel-Fattah’s dumping, the pro-Israel email is warning against reversing the decision, saying it would “only reward the agitators” and excuse “terror groups dedicated to chaos and destruction”.
Trying to ‘destroy festivals’
Professor Clare Wright, an award-winning author and professor of history at La Trobe University, was among the high-profile names to withdraw from Adelaide Festival in solidarity with Abdel-Fattah.
She says she is “dismayed but not surprised to hear that there is a pro-Israel campaign to target a Palestinian artist at WOMAD, if that is true”.
Wright also curated the Bendigo Writers Festival, which fell apart last August after Abdel-Fattah was similarly cancelled from the lineup – again, as Deepcut revealed, due to a pro-Israel campaign.
She says that “following the mass boycotting of authors in solidarity with free speech and against censorship and racial profiling at Bendigo Writers Festival and Adelaide Writers’ Week, I believe one of the objectives of the pro-Israel campaigning is to destroy festivals”.
Wright, who is a member of the Jewish Council of Australia’s advisory panel, says the pro-Israel campaigns are “censorship by stealth”.
“The fallout – in reputational and financial terms – is meant to act as a warning to other festival directors that it would be in their best and vested interests not to invite Palestinian artists to participate in their programs,” she told Deepcut.
Arts sector called to ‘defend itself’
Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), says it is another example of “anti-Palestinian racism in this country running unchecked and with no consequence”.
The APAN head says pro-Israel supporters have been “emboldened by people like Peter Malinauskas, who give them cover as they ruin one prestigious Australian festival after another”.
But Mashni has been heartened by the “brilliant solidarity” shown by writers and artists with Abdel-Fattah, calling on the arts sector to “rally and defend itself from this relentless onslaught”.
“Pro-Israel supporters don’t care that they’re ruining arts festivals. These extremists will stop at nothing to run cover for genocide and ensure no one in this country dares to criticise Israel again.”
Deepcut fielded questions to the SA arts minister and the home affairs minister – neither replied in time for publication.
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