Malinda Words: Who bombed Frankfurter Buchmesse?

['The Morning Inspection' is the title of a column I wrote for the Daily News from 2009 to 2011, one article a day, Monday through Saturday. This is the 245th article in the new series that began in December 2022. Links to previous articles are given below]

Human beings are frail creatures. Human collectives are no better. And yet, there are people and groups who we hold to above average standards, let’s say. Longevity, the kind of work done and consistent adherence to laudable principles are what generate high expectations.

Consider an event that is advertised as ‘a meeting place for publishers, authors, literature and culture fans and personalities from politics and culture from all over the world’ where ‘people from over 100 countries come together in a peaceful and secure environment.’ Consider the organiser of that event claiming to ‘stand for diversity,’ and that it ‘thrives on the diversity and internationality of its exhibitors and visitors, as well as the exchange among these in an open dialogue.’

Take note of the fact that the organisers want everyone to obtain from the event ‘a good experience – regardless of their gender and gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual identity, disabilities, ethnic origin, nationality, age, language, religion or world view,’ and that they ‘do not tolerate any harassment, assault or inappropriate comments towards our visitors, exhibitors, partners or team members.’

There’s more. The organization has a self-image and describes it as a forum where people from over 100 countries can meet each other in peace and security - despite the current strained world situation, and reiterates that the event thrives ‘on diversity of opinion and content, as well as on exchange at eye level.’

It is all about books and I will come to that. A book fair, in fact, which is claimed to constitute ‘places of gathering where book people - publishers, authors, readers, as well as political and cultural representatives - can meet in a secure framework, even in difficult times as the one we experience globally at the moment.’

High standards of course but these are almost givens in the arts or so we would like to believe. Freedom of expression, free flow of ideas, clashes of opinion, different schools of thought and art — it’s all cross-fertilisation. Learning. Appreciating others. Respecting differences. As laid out in the ‘manifesto,’ as described in vision-mission statements, as detailed in the code of conduct. All in the public domain. Nothing to hide.

For many reasons, Frankfurter Buchmesse or the Frankfurt Book Fair is a standard bearer for such events. It is the world’s largest trade fair for books, simply going by the number of publishing companies represented.

Then there’s history. It is a tradition that is more than 500 years old. Apparently, before there was printing, the general trade fair in Frankfurt was the place to sell handwritten books. That’s as early as the 12th century.

It is not just the brag in terms of ideals and purposes (which is not necessarily unwarranted) but the stature that makes me write this note.

Frankfurter Buchmesse has decided to postpone the conferring of an award to Palestinian author Adania Shibli. Shibli was scheduled to accept the LiBeraturpreis of the LitProm association on October 20 for ‘Minor Detail.’ It is an award that honors women writers from the Global South for a work newly published in German. The book’s English translation, by Elisabeth Jaquette, was published in 2020 and was shortlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature, and longlisted for the International Booker Prize the following year.

Those agitating for the postponement claim that the book was ‘antisemetic,’ which of course is silly considering that there are no anti semites as barbaric as Israel (Arabs are Semites, note).
Apparently, Zurich newspaper Tagesanzeiger had asked, ‘In these times, can a novel that depicts Israel as a killing machine be honored with awards?’ That’s better than the antisemite claim, but marginally, for the ‘killing machine’ description certainly fits.

It is heartening to note that the Association for the Promotion of Literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America has insisted that it still wants to award its prize to Adania Shibli's novel, despite the criticism. PEN Berlin’s observation on these developments is certainly valid: ‘No book becomes different, better, worse or more dangerous because the news situation changes.’

Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse, Juergen Boos, has condemned ‘the barbaric terror of Hamas against Israel in the strongest possible terms.’ Who doesn’t? And yet, he goes on to say that Frankfurter Buchmesse stands in ‘full solidarity at Israel's side.’

In other words, Boos condones the firing of white phosphorus, dropping bombs, bulldozing schools, hospitals and homes, and treating each and every Palestinian as a legitimate target.

But that’s not enough. Boos states that Frankfurter Buchmesse wants to ‘make Jewish and Israeli voices particularly visible.’ The victims of Israel’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank have not been offered the privilege of voice or at least there’s no mention of it.

Someone has bombed the Frankfurter Buchmesse I feel. Juergen Boos would know the name of the terrorist.

16 October 2023

Who bombed Frankfurter Buchmesse?

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