Mohammed El-Kurd in Austria: Hope is a political obligation. Optimism is a political obligation.
Vienna, October 1st, 2026 – Before a packed audience at the Blumenfabrik in Vienna’s 7th district, Palestinian journalist and writer Mohammed El-Kurd spoke yesterday to a young, engaged and inquisitive crowd, eager to listen, debate and question. He also came to Vienna for a reading. He read passages from his latest book, Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal, and later signed copies. The evening was brilliantly hosted by Miryam Tuma.
Organised by the international bookstore bibliobox the event proved a remarkable success, despite the difficulties involved in securing a venue.
Yet in Austria, a country that defines itself as a democracy, an uncomfortable question persists: why is it so difficult to create spaces for open discussion when the subject is Palestine? Why should one of the cornerstones of democratic life, freedom of expression, inspire such apprehension?
Yet there was nothing gloomy about the evening. It was elegant, anecdotal, lively and, above all, immensely entertaining. Mohammed El-Kurd did not come to lament. He came to tell stories, to challenge, to critique and to urge young people to take action.
And not only for Palestine. His message extends to the broader challenges facing our societies, challenges that demand community, solidarity and collective responsibility.
Ultimately, Mohammed El-Kurd is a journalist who speaks with optimism and hope. Near the end of the presentation, he summed it up in one powerful sentence: “Hope is a political obligation. Optimism is a political obligation.”