Venske resigns from Pen - criticism of Israel statement
The Hamburg-based writer Regula Venske has resigned from her position as Secretary General of Pen International due to differing positions on the Middle East conflict held by the writers' association Pen. She had asked Pen President Burhan Sönmez to relieve her of her duties with immediate effect, Pen Germany announced in Darmstadt on Monday.
The reason for her resignation were statements from the London Secretariat regarding the current events in the Middle East at the beginning of October. "I was horrified to read the statement, whose lack of empathy for the Israeli victims of the Hamas massacre on October 7 deeply shocked and depressed me."
She also had the feeling that she had little influence on press releases at Pen International. Venske also finds it unacceptable that the processes for the inclusion of Pen Israel were delayed for so long.
According to Pen Germany, it had issued its own press release on the conflict, condemning Hamas' brutal attack on Israel, commemorating the victims of the war and focusing on efforts to bring people together. Venske was President of the Pen Center Germany from 2017 to 2021. She has been Secretary General of Pen International since fall 2022.
Venske's resignation from Pen International was prompted by her disagreement with the association's stance on the Middle East conflict, specifically the associations' literature and associations' positions expressed in statements regarding the Israeli victims of the Hamas massacre. Despite being the Secretary General, she felt her influence on Pen International's press releases was limited and was dismayed by the delay in processing Pen Israel's inclusion.
Source: www.dpa.com
