Prominent Irish novelist andvehement anti-Israel activist Sally Rooney has agreed to allow a Hebrew translation of her fourth and most recent book, “Intermezzo", according to a report in The Guardian.
The move comes after she selected an Israeli publishing house that explicitly aligns itself with the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, following a highly publicized 2021 incident where she refused to allow her work to be translated into the language of the Jewish State.
Rooney, whose first two mainstream bestsellers, “Conversations with Friends" and “Normal People", were translated and released in Israel by the mainstream Modan Publishing House, triggered widespread outrage five years ago. At the time, she rejected an offer from Modan to publish her third novel, “Beautiful World, Where Are You", citing her adherence to the cultural boycott of Israel. Following that refusal, Israeli booksellers Tzomet Sefarim and Steimatzky announced they will no longer sell books by Rooney.
For her latest project, however, Rooney bypassed mainstream Israeli institutions to partner with a fringe, far-left domestic publisher named November Books, which The Guardian reported is fully compliant with BDS guidelines. November Books frequently specializes in translating works by vocal international critics of the Jewish State.
The radical initiative is being executed as a joint venture with the left-wing online publication +972 Magazine and its Hebrew-language sister site, Local Call, the report said.
According to the publishing group, the novel has been made available for preorder under strict political parameters, noting it is accessible “only for readers in Israel-Palestine, with the exception of West Bank settlements."
Rooney defended her selective boycott of Israeli businesses while speaking to The Guardian, attempting to decouple her anti-Israel activism from the Hebrew language itself.
“For me, the act of translation is in itself a beautiful ideal," Rooney claimed. “Though my refusal to work with complicit Israeli publishing houses made the contractual side of things more complex, I was, of course, never boycotting the Hebrew language or any language."
November Books director Ishai Menuchin issued a statement to The Guardian confirming that the publication of Rooney's book is being weaponized as an ideological tool to legitimize the isolation of Israel.
“Publishing books by authors associated with the boycott movement demonstrates to Israeli readers that opposition to occupation, apartheid and genocide is what lies at the heart of the boycott - a clearly legitimate form of political protest," Menuchin stated.
More recently, Rooney publicly stated her intention to donate book and adaptation earnings to Palestine Action. As a result, the British government warned that Rooney could be facing legal repercussions in the United Kingdom as Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the UK government.