Emeritus Professor Henry Reynolds confirmed to AAP on Sunday his withdrawal from Adelaide Writer's Week after the board dumped academic and novelist Randa Abdel-Fattah citing "cultural sensitivity".
The festival board said "national grief" and "community tensions" triggered by the Bondi mass shooting on December 14, where 15 people were gunned down, prompted its decision to remove the author.
The Tasmanian historian described the festival's turn-about as short-sighted, prompting him to take the difficult decision to not appear in March.
"A very stupid decision coming after the collapse of a previous writers festival and an inexcusable surrender to Zionist pressure," he told AAP on Sunday.
"It's such a foolish thing to invite someone then un-invite them - no matter what."
Dr Abdel-Fattah was also removed from the Bendigo Writers Festival in 2025 for her pro-Palestine stances.
Dr Reynolds was due to appear alongside acclaimed Indigenous film director Rachel Perkins at the Adelaide event in March but pulled out in the wake of nearly 100 speakers, including award-winning authors Trent Dalton and Helen Garner, withdrawing from the line up. Â
Writing extensively about the massacre of indigenous people in several books, he convinced indigenous rights activist Eddie Mabo to take his case of land ownership to the High Court.
The infamous 1992 verdict paved the way for Native Title claims since.
Dr Reynolds' research, along with other prominent historians, also triggered the "culture wars" of the 1990s, with former prime minister John Howard describing critical writing on the topic as "black armband history".
The historian sent a letter to the festival board, which includes former coalition immigration minister Amanda Vanstone, on Friday through his lawyers demanding a thorough explanation for the termination of Dr Abdel-Fattah's presence.
"What is the board's definition of 'culturally sensitive' as that term is referred to in this statement?," he wrote in the letter.
"Is this definition one that has broader application, or is it solely circumscribed by the human tragedy that took place at Bondi Beach in December?"
AAP contacted the Adelaide Festival for comment on Sunday.
The board said in a statement on Thursday, "given her past statements, we have formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi".
Dr Abdel-Fattah has been accused by conservative Jewish groups of sharing posts critical of Israel's war crimes in Gaza and purported support for Hamas.
The board has not made clear which specific statements were inflammatory.
But it noted it "did not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah's or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi".
She was one of a few speakers of Palestinian heritage on the bill.
The growing list of international guests who have withdrawn include keynote speaker British novelist Zadie Smith, Russian-American journalist M Gessen and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.
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