Nearly 380 writers from the UK and Ireland—including celebrated authors Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Elif Shafak, and Hanif Kureishi—have signed an open letter condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Published on Medium, the letter urges the global community to break its “collective silence and inaction in the face of horror,” stating, “The use of the words ‘genocide’ or ‘acts of genocide’ to describe what is happening in Gaza is no longer debated by international legal experts or human rights organisations.”
The statement adds:
“Palestinians are not the abstract victims of an abstract war. Too often, words have been used to justify the unjustifiable, deny the undeniable, defend the indefensible.”
The authors, along with the Scottish and Welsh PEN centres, are calling for:
An immediate ceasefire
Unrestricted delivery of food and medical aid to Gaza
The imposition of sanctions on Israel
This appeal comes just a day after 300 French-language writers—including Nobel laureates Annie Ernaux and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio—issued a similar condemnation.
International outrage has continued to mount as Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid and relentless military bombardment have intensified following the end of a ceasefire in March.
The letter closes with a powerful moral call:
“This is not only about our common humanity and all human rights; this is about our moral fitness as the writers of our time.”
Source: Dawn Images