Behind the initiative stands the non-profit organization Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), which describes it as a response to "continued efforts to boycott, harass, and blame Jewish and Israeli authors and literary institutions".
The letter is a response to another appeal, which was published the other day. It called on, among others, authors such as Sally Rooney and Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux to boycott Israeli cultural institutions – an appeal initiated by the Palestinian literature festival Palfest.
"The exclusion of all who do not unilaterally condemn Israel distorts morality and reality", write the signatories of the new open letter, including author Lee Child, who already on Tuesday criticized the previous appeal.
Authors should not attack "their Israeli counterparts with their hearts in the right place", he said to the British The Times then.
