The German city of Dortmund has withdrawn its decision to award a British Pakistani writer a literature prize, citing her support for the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The British Pakistani author was announced as this year’s winner of the Nelly Sachs Prize (named after a Jewish poet and Nobel Laureate) earlier this month.
However, in a statement yesterday, the organisers shared that the eight-member jury has reversed its decision and that the 2019 award will not be handed to any author.
“Despite prior research, the members of the jury were not aware that the author has been participating in the boycott measures against the Israeli government for its Palestinian policies since 2014,” the statement said.
Shamsie condemned the decision in her response and wrote on Twitter “It is a matter of great sadness to me that a jury should bow to pressure and withdraw a prize from a writer who is exercising her freedom of conscience and freedom of expression,”
Many came forward in support of Shamsie on social media.
Shamsie, who was born and grew up in the Pakistani city of Karachi before moving to London, has written multiple fiction novels, including Broken Verses, Burnt Shadows and House Fire.
In May, the German parliament passed a motion condemning the BDS movement as antisemitic. The movement was launched in 2005 by Palestinians to generate international pressure on Israel to respect Palestinian human rights.
