Writers, artists sign open letter denouncing war in Gaza

LONDON

A group of 380 writers and cultural figures, including Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Hanif Kureishi and George Monbiot, have signed an open letter condemning the Israeli government's actions in Gaza as “genocidal,” calling for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian aid.

The letter states that describing Israel’s actions as “genocide” is no longer debated among legal experts or human rights organizations. Signatories include William Dalrymple, Jeanette Winterson, Brian Eno, Kate Mosse, Irvine Welsh and Elif Shafak.

Major international groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the U.N. Human Rights Council have identified acts of genocide by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the letter says. Statements made by Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir are cited as examples of “openly expressed genocidal intentions.”

The letter urges the U.N. to ensure immediate and unrestricted distribution of food and medical aid in Gaza. It also calls for a ceasefire that ensures justice and safety for Palestinians, the release of Israeli hostages and thousands of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. Sanctions are demanded should the Israeli government fail to act.

The statement opens with a poem by Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023. The poem imagines Gaza’s people in cosmic exile: “Enter my heart, / There you will finally be safe.”

Writers Horatio Clare, Kapka Kassabova and Monique Roffey organized the initiative. “Palestinians are not abstract victims,” the letter reads. “Too often, language has been used to obscure, not clarify, the scale of suffering.”

The term “genocide,” it says, is not rhetorical: “It carries legal, political and moral weight.”

Quoting a U.N. human rights statement, the letter criticizes the global inaction: “While States debate terminology, Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza.”

“We denounce all atrocities,” the letter says. “This is not only about justice but about our moral fitness as the writers of our time.”

The letter affirms opposition to antisemitism and all forms of hate, and declares solidarity with Palestinian, Jewish and Israeli individuals resisting the current Israeli government's policies.

“This genocide implicates us all,” it concludes. “We bear witness — and we will not be silent.”