Beersheba Cancels Arab-Hebrew Book Fair After Right-Wing Pressure

Beersheba city officials canceled an Arab-Hebrew book fair scheduled for June 18 to 19, 2026, after pressure from right-wing activists. The organizers said they will go to court and accused the municipality of surrendering to political pressure in a way that harms free expression.

According to a legal warning letter sent on Tuesday by the Negev Coexistence Forum and November Books, through the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the fair had been planned for two months and received final approval on June 12. It was to take place in the covered courtyard of the Artists’ House, with book displays, joint music by Arab and Jewish musicians, and access to exhibitions at the venue.

The organizers said the city reversed course after the group B’Tsalmo appealed on June 15, claiming the event violated the anti-boycott law. The letter said that claim was baseless, but it still prompted the municipality to ask the Artists’ House to cancel the fair. The cancellation notice cited the “sensitive security and public situation” and “special sensitivity to the feelings and complex circumstances of all participants and the community.”

The organizers argued that a local authority should allow public cultural spaces to host a range of views, including political expression, without limiting content. They said the cancellation was a “shameful weakness” and an improper capitulation to B’Tsalmo, and called on the city to reverse the decision. B’Tsalmo’s director, Shay Glick, said there is no place in Israel for groups that discriminate against citizens and said the fair could take place in Ramallah or the European Union, not in Israel. The municipality declined to comment.