A prominent Canadian literary award has removed its sponsor, Scotiabank, from its title after months of protests related to the bank’s investments in an Israeli arms manufacturer, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
The Giller Prize, previously known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize, will continue to have the bank as its primary sponsor despite the name change, the report said.
Scotiabank’s asset management subsidiary holds shares in Elbit Systems, a company that provides military equipment such as artillery, munitions, and electronic warfare systems to Israel’s defense ministry.
“The decision to remove [Scotiabank’s] name was made so that the focus would be on these exceptional authors and their achievements, and to give the stage to Canada’s best storytellers of today and tomorrow,” Elana Rabinovitch, executive director of the Giller Foundation, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
In November 2023, protests against Scotiabank and Elbit Systems disrupted the Giller Prize ceremony twice. Following those protests, more than 2,000 writers and publishers signed an open letter calling for charges against the protesters to be dropped.
Sarah Bernstein, the 2023 Giller Prize winner, withdrew from a scheduled Giller Book Club event after learning that questions from the audience about Gaza or the protests might be censored, according to The Guardian.
In addition, more than 30 authors, whose works would have been eligible for the 2024 Giller Prize, withdrew their submissions and signed a public statement in July.
Earlier this year, Scotiabank began reducing its stake in Elbit Systems, though the bank remains the largest non-Israeli shareholder of Elbit. The bank has denied the protests had any effect on the decision to reduce stakes in Elbit.