Boycott Dispute Triggers Resignation of PEN America President Over Article Detailing Hostility Against Jewish Authors

The literary world is facing renewed turmoil following the abrupt resignation of novelist Dinaw Mengestu as president of PEN America. Mengestu stepped down in protest over an article published by his own organization that detailed growing discrimination and "cultural isolation" faced by Jewish and Israeli authors.

The internal rift erupted after PEN America released a report titled "A Silent Moratorium." The piece highlighted targeted harassment campaigns against Jewish writers, including coordinated online "review bombing" and instances where authors were pressured to scrub Jewish cultural references from their manuscripts. While the report took no political stance on the ongoing Middle East conflict, it reiterated PEN's institutional opposition to cultural boycotts.

Mengestu, who took office just seven months ago promising to heal the fractured free-expression group, publicly broke with the organization over its stance. In a statement to The New York Times, Mengestu defended cultural boycotts against Israeli institutions, calling them a legitimate "form of dialogue" rather than censorship. He accused PEN America of failing to defend free expression equitably and harming pro-Palestinian voices by opposing the boycott movement.

The resignation has been celebrated by activist groups like Writers Against the War in Gaza, who declared that the "normalization of Zionism will never again be tolerated by the literary community."

The departure marks a severe blow to PEN America’s leadership, which has struggled to navigate intense internal division since the October 2023 Hamas attacks. The organization was previously forced to cancel its 2024 literary awards following widespread author boycotts, leading to the resignation of its long-standing CEO, Suzanne Nossel, later that year.