Sally Rooney to Release Hebrew Translation via BDS-Compliant Publisher

Irish novelist Sally Rooney is releasing a Hebrew translation of her latest novel, “Intermezzo,” through an independent Israeli publisher that supports Palestinian rights, more than four years after she declined a translation offer for an earlier book due to her support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Rooney is publishing the bestselling 2024 novel through November Books, which aligns with BDS conditions and works with +972 Magazine and Local Call, two independent media outlets in Israel and Palestine.

The 35-year-old author has published four wildly popular novels translated into dozens of languages. The first two, “Conversations with Friends” and “Normal People,” were translated into Hebrew by Israeli publisher Modan.

In 2021, Rooney turned down a Hebrew translation offer from Modan for her third novel, “Beautiful World, Where Are You,” citing her desire to support the BDS movement, a Palestinian-led global campaign that seeks to “end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law.”

In a conversation with Irish Palestinian artist and activist Samir Eskanda published Tuesday, Rooney expressed regret about having previously worked with a publisher she later discovered had ties to the Israeli military.

“How could my actions be so inconsistent with my beliefs?” she said. By the time her third book was published, she added, “I had also become something of a public figure, and I felt a greater sense of responsibility in making decisions around my work.”

Modan did not respond to a request for comment.

November Books is the only Israeli publisher that meets conditions the BDS movement has set for exemption from the boycott. It does not operate in illegal Israeli settlements, receives no Israeli state funding, and explicitly recognizes the legal rights of Palestinians, including the right of return for Palestinian refugees, Rooney said.

November Books has also published translations of works by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Naomi Klein, as well as a novel by Irish writer Colum McCann that other Israeli publishers reportedly refused to translate.

Ishai Menuchin, November Books’s director, said in a statement that “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.”

Rooney faced significant backlash when she announced her position, with some, including a senior Israeli official, calling it “the cultural boycott of Israel antisemitism in a new guise.” Others criticized her for refusing a Hebrew translation while allowing her novels to be translated in other countries with records of human rights abuses.

But Rooney said she was boycotting the Israeli cultural sector’s “complicity” in the country’s apartheid system – not the Hebrew language or Israeli readers themselves.

“For me, the act of translation is in itself a beautiful ideal,” Rooney said. “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.”

Eskanda also noted in the conversation that the boycott targets “institutions rather than individuals, and complicity, not identity.” “Our task as a movement is to channel anger at Israel’s genocide in Gaza into the most meaningful initiatives,” he added.

Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS movement has grown exponentially over the past two decades. Since Israel’s war on Gaza in 2023, thousands of artists, musicians and film workers have expressed ethical refusal to work with Israeli cultural institutions deemed complicit in violating Palestinian rights. At least 2,000 arts organizations, including major film festivals, theaters and museums, have signed on, and the boycott of Israeli publishers has received support from more than 7,000 authors and advocacy groups.

Rooney has also expressed support for the group Palestine Action, which has been banned in the UK under the Terrorism Act, drawing widespread criticism for conflating protest with terrorism. Rooney has said it was “almost certain” she would no longer be able to publish new work in the UK while the ban remained in effect. The UK High Court recently ruled the ban unlawful, a decision now under appeal.

Rooney said that when she first spoke out about Palestinian rights and in favor of the BDS movement, she was warned she had “effectively ended” her career. But while acknowledging some backlash, she cautioned against self-censorship and fear. “When I do feel that I’m right, I’m not much bothered by criticism,” she added. “Who has ever stood up against injustice without being criticised? If that’s all I have to endure, then it’s very little.”