A Presidency Cut Short Amidst Internal Strife
Dinaw Mengestu resigned as president of PEN America, ending his tenure after only seven months. His departure follows an intense internal backlash triggered by the organization’s publication of an article detailing the isolation experienced by Israeli and Jewish writers.
The controversy exposes a deepening ideological fissure within the free-speech organization regarding the Israel-Hamas war and the boundaries of protected expression. At the heart of the dispute were testimonials from Jewish and Israeli authors who reported being blacklisted, boycotted, and pressured to downplay their identities following the October 7, 2023, attacks.
Clashing Perspectives on Free Speech
Mengestu argued that the article could undermine the rights of pro-Palestinian activists, specifically those supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. In internal communications to the board, he claimed the document might be used to justify legislation targeting BDS proponents. He maintained that PEN America’s role is to defend the First Amendment right to boycott, regardless of the organization’s own stance on specific movements.
Many staffers and board members disagreed. They viewed the publication as a fulfillment of the organization’s core mission to protect the freedom to write, arguing that acknowledging the stifling of one group’s expression does not equate to the suppression of another’s rights.
A Year of Mounting Institutional Pressure
PEN America has faced significant internal friction since the start of the war in Gaza. Throughout 2024, the organization dealt with intense pressure from a coalition of writers, including the group Writers Against War on Gaza (WAWOG), who demanded the organization take a stronger stance against Israel and characterize the war as a genocide.
The fallout was immediate and public. Numerous authors withdrew from the organization’s programs, forcing the cancellation of the 2024 World Voices Festival and the annual literary awards. Suzanne Nossel, the organization’s CEO for over a decade, departed in October 2024—a move observers linked to the ongoing internal protests.
The Limits of Neutrality
The organization has struggled to balance its historical commitment to free expression with the demands of an increasingly activist membership. While PEN America “emphatically opposes” efforts to shut down speech, it has updated its guidelines to clarify that it defends the right of individuals to engage in boycotts even while the organization itself does not support them.
During his brief presidency, Mengestu attempted to “mend and rebuild” the organization. PEN America has directed significant resources toward supporting Palestinian writers, including an extensive report titled “All That Is Lost” regarding cultural destruction in Gaza. Despite these efforts, the publication of the testimonials from Israeli and Jewish writers—which included accounts of literary agents refusing to represent Israeli authors—proved to be a flashpoint that the organization’s leadership could not reconcile.
Leadership Void and Philosophical Uncertainty
The organization remains divided. While co-CEOs Summer Lopez and Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf stood by the publication of the article, the resignation of the president underscores the precarity of the group’s liberal principles.
The organization is now tasked with selecting a new leader who can navigate the competing demands of its staff and membership. The internal debate over whether the defense of free speech must be applied universally—or if it is subject to ideological litmus tests—continues to shape the future of the institution.
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