Overview
- Novelist Dinaw Mengestu resigned in mid‑July, saying PEN’s recent report showed the group would not defend free expression fairly and that the work could be used to curb protected boycott speech.
- The July 9 report, titled “A Silent Moratorium,” drew on interviews with more than 30 Israeli and Jewish writers who said they faced lost opportunities, reputational harm, and self‑censorship since October 2023.
- The report was authored by PEN staff members including editorial director Lisa Tobin and communications chief Geraldine Baum, a fact that intensified scrutiny over the organization’s role in producing the findings.
- PEN named board EVP Tracy Higgins as interim president and said the board will select a new president for member vote, while the organization defended publishing difficult stories about writers’ experiences.
- The resignation has sharply divided writers and groups, reopened questions from a 2024 leadership crisis and a 2024–2025 boycott, and could reshape debate over how free‑expression groups treat cultural boycotts and Israel–Palestine conflicts.