Well-known Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury withdrew his participation from the Arabofolies festival organized by the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris after he discovered that the event will showcase an exhibition about Jews and a performance by an Israeli artist.
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Khoury announced his withdrawal from the festival in a Facebook post, saying that he made the decision "as a result of the festival's ambiguity and the air of normalization that surrounds it," reported The New Arab.
Speaking with the Arabic-language Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Khoury explained that he has withdrawn because an Israeli singer is part of one of the participating bands and that there will be a featured exhibition titled "Jews of the Orient."
The IMA has since canceled the symposium that was to feature Khoury as a speaker, according to The New Arab. The rest of the festival's events will take place as scheduled.
Khoury's withdrawal comes after the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel launched an effort to boycott the festival because of its ties to Israeli institutions, including the Museum of Israel and the Ben-Zvi Institute. Two Palestinian artists previously retracted their participation in support of the boycott.
