Malaysia pulls out of German book fair over pro-Israel stance

Frankfurt Book Fair says it ‘stands with complete solidarity on the side of Israel’

Malaysia’s education ministry has opted out of participating in the Frankfurt Book Fair after the world’s largest trade fair of books was accused of suppressing Palestinian voices and taking a pro-Israel stand amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The education ministry of the Muslim-majority country said it will “not compromise with Israel’s violence in Palestine”.

The annual Frankfurt Book Fair, starting from Wednesday and going on till Sunday, came under fire after the literary association Litprom’s announcement that it would postpone an award ceremony for a novel by a Palestinian author due to the 7 October attack by the militant group Hamas in Israel.

The fair’s organisers said in a Facebook post that it would be specially making Jewish and Israeli voices “visible” at this year’s 75^th edition.

The Frankfurt Book Fair “stands with complete solidarity on the side of Israel”, said director Juergen Boos.

"The decision (to withdraw) is in line with the government’s stand to be in solidarity and offer full support for Palestine,” the Malaysian education ministry said.

Malaysia, which has more than 75 per cent of Muslim population, had a longstanding and consistent policy in support of the Palestinian cause. Malaysia has historically expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with an independent and sovereign Palestinian state coexisting alongside Israel.

On Monday, president Anwar Ibrahim said Kuala Lumpur does not agree with Western pressure to condemn Palestinian militant group Hamas.

"I said that we, as a policy, have a relationship with Hamas from before and this will continue," Mr Anwar told parliament.

"As such, we don’t agree with their pressuring attitude, as Hamas too won in Gaza freely through elections and Gazans chose them to lead."

Under a barrage of rockets, hundreds of Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip in the early hours of 7 October on motorbikes, paragliders and four-wheel drives, unleashing death, destruction and despair on nearby towns and villages.

Gangs of militants appeared suddenly in the heart of small Israeli communities, shattering the calm of daily life, killing and kidnapping stunned residents as others cowered for hours in safe rooms until Israeli soldiers liberated them. Fierce gun battles raged, in some cases for days, before Israeli forces finally took back control.

Many traumatised survivors emerged only to find the bodies of loved ones, neighbours and gunmen strewn across their roads, gardens and fields. In response to the attack, Israel has put Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, under siege and launched the most powerful bombing campaign in the 75-year-old history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, destroying whole neighbourhoods.

In total, at least 2,808 Palestinians have been killed and 10,850 injured since Israel unleashed its heaviest-ever bombardment of Gaza.

Included in that figure are more than 1,000 children, according to Defense for Children Palestine, an international monitoring group, who said that this means one child is killed approximately “every 15 minutes”.

Mr Ibrahim demanded an immediate end to bombings in Gaza by Israeli forces and called for  the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, following a phone conversation with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Amid growing global divisions over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, some Arab publishing industry groups also said they will be withdrawing from the fair.

Sharjah Book Authority, a UAE government entity, said “we champion the role of culture and books to encourage dialogue and understanding between people.

“We believe that this role is more important than ever.”

(With inputs from agencies)