The Hay Literary Festival has been accused of breaching  Arts Council grant conditions and undermining its charitable objects after suspending a major sponsor in part because it invests in companies operating in or trading with Israel.

The Hay Festival Foundation Ltd is a registered charity which organises the annual Hay Literary Festival and receives Arts Council funding via Arts Council England and Arts Council Wales.

Activist group, Fossil Free Books, campaigned to pressure speakers and artists to withdraw from the Hay Festival while the investment management company, Baillie Gifford, was a sponsor, objecting to its investments in fossil fuel firms and “companies that profit from Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocide”. 

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) have written to the Arts Council, pointing out that the Hay Festival must comply with all relevant laws and government requirements, including the Arts Council’s standard terms. However, the Hay Festival’s decision to suspend the sponsorship by Baillie Gifford, in part over investment in companies operating in or trading with Israel, discriminates because of the protected characteristic of nationality. This contravenes section 29 of the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination because of a protected characteristic in the provision of a service, in this case providing publicity to a sponsor. 

The Hay Festival’s conduct also contributes to exacerbating a hostile environment for Jews and Israelis, particularly at a time when anti-Semitism has seen a massive increase in the United Kingdon following the 7 October 2023 massacre of Israelis by Hamas. 

By publicly suspending its sponsorship with Baillie Gifford under pressure from the BDS movement, the Hay Festival has endorsed and promoted BDS targeting Israel.  This is likely to contravene the Charity Commission’s guidelines on political activity by charities.

Supporting the BDS movement also undermines the Hay Festival’s charitable object of promoting freedom of artistic expression. The BDS movement aims to stifle, suppress and delegitimise Jewish and Israeli voices with which it does not agree. Such a boycott does the opposite of furthering education and learning in the art and science of literature, which is another of the Hay Festival’s charitable objects.

Fossil Free Books had also targeted the Society of Authors, putting forward separate motions for divestment from fossil fuels and for an end to alleged genocide in Gaza. The former was passed, but the latter was defeated, partly over concerns raised by UKLFI that it was outwith the Society’s objects.

A spokesperson for UKLFI commented:  “ We are concerned that the Hay Festival and its trustees have not only breached their own charitable objects, but have also discriminated on grounds of nationality in breach of the law.  In trying to appease the Israel haters, they have harmed their own organisation.

Fossil Free Books is also undermining legitimate environmental concerns by associating them with blood libels and racist boycotts of the Jewish State.”