"We want to make Jewish and Israeli voices especially visible at the book fair"

“We strongly condemn Hamas’s barbaric terror war against Israel. And we are horrified,” said Juergen Boos, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all the people suffering in Israel and Palestine because of this war. The terror war against Israel contradicts all the values that Frankfurter Buchmesse stands for. Frankfurter Buchmesse has always been about humanity, its focus has always been on peaceful and democratic discourse. This humanity has been shattered once again by the attack on Israel by Hamas’s terrorists.”

Looking ahead to the book fair next week, Boos added, “The war against Israel, the resulting suffering and the travel restrictions have had an impact on our programme. The planned concerts with the singers Liraz and Rita from Israel cannot take place, much to our regret. Terror, however, can never be allowed to win, which is why we want to make Jewish and Israeli voices especially visible at the book fair. Together with Meron Mendel, one of the leading representatives of the Jewish community in Germany, we will address the attack against Israel during a panel discussion. The author Lizzie Doron, who lives in Tel Aviv and Berlin, will also discuss the current happenings in Israel during the Literary Gala on the Saturday of the fair. We have spontaneously decided to give Israeli and Jewish voices additional time on our stages as well. On the first day of the fair, we are collaborating with PEN Berlin to organise the event “Out of Concern for Israel”, which will take place in the Frankfurt Pavilion, the fair’s cultural and political stage. I very much hope we will be able to organise additional events before the fair begins. Frankfurter Buchmesse stands with complete solidarity on the side of Israel.”

Commenting on the media reports about the awarding of the LiBeraturpreis to Palestinian author Adania Shibli during the book fair, Boos said, “The LiBeraturpreis is a prize given each year by Litprom e.V. to women writers from the Global South. The recipient is chosen by an independent jury. Litprom is the organiser and solely responsible for awarding the prize. In light of the terror against Israel, Litprom is looking for a suitable format and setting for the event after the book fair.”

Please find here the information about the LiBeraturpreis by the organiser Litprom: Preisträgerin 2023 / Litprom