A group of Canadian authors is calling for charges to be dropped against a trio of protesters who interrupted the 2023 Giller Prize gala.

Protesters took to the stage at the Nov. 13 event to protest Scotiabank’s stake in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems Inc. Scotiabank is the lead sponsor of the Giller. Scotiabank 1832 Asset Management held 5 per cent of Elbit in June 2023, according to a U.S. Securities filing. Three people in their 20s were arrested at the Giller event and face two charges, including using a forged document, according to police.

In an open letter shared on X the following day, the authors expressed their support for the protesters and called on “all of our literary institutions to be loud where our governments and news outlets have been silent: to call for a ceasefire; to express condemnation for the collective punishment of Palestinians and the war crimes being enacted by the Israeli government; to exert pressure on the Canadian government to stop its military funding to, and diplomatic support for, the Israeli government; to call for a release of all hostages: Israeli hostages and the 5000 Palestinian civilians (including 170 children) who are illegally incarcerated in Israeli prisons; and to urge Israel to end the 75-year occupation of Palestine.”

In a statement shared with Q&Q by novelist Farzana Doctor, one of the letter’s creators, the authors said that they were moved to support the protesters after learning about Scotiabank’s asset management investment in Elbit Systems.

“Writers and arts organizations must rely on outside funding,” the authors said. “To learn that some of that funding includes weapons manufacturing, specifically directed towards Gaza, where over 12,000 civilians have been killed in the last six weeks, is beyond distressing.”

More than 1,700 people have signed the letter, including this year’s Giller winner, Sarah Bernstein, and previous winners Omar El Akkad and Sean Michaels.

The creators of the letter say they hope that everyone involved will appeal to the Crown and that the charges against the protesters will be dropped.

“As writers and artists we welcome questioning, discomfort, courage, and dissent,” they said. “And during this historic and terrible moment, it cannot be business as usual in CanLit. We hope that everyone involved will appeal to the Crown to withdraw the charges.”

Scotiabank did not respond to requests for comment.