Sally Rooney confirms 'Intermezzo' to be published in Hebrew, sparking online backlash

Irish author Sally Rooney, whose stance in support of Palestine has earned international attention, has confirmed that her latest book Intermezzo will be published in Hebrew, causing mixed reactions on social media. A supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for several years, Rooney first gained attention for her stance to join the cultural boycott of Israeli institutions after turning down an offer from Israeli publisher Modan to have her third book translated into Heb

In an interview with the Guardian published to time with the announcement, 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. I’m very pleased that Intermezzo will soon be available in Hebrew with November Books.” Explaining why the publisher was deemed BDS-compliant, she said: “November Books does not operate in illegal Israeli settlements, receives no state funding and explicitly recognises the international legal rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return. I also kept in touch with PACBI [Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel] along the way to try to ensure that I was upholding both the letter and the spirit of the institutional boycott.” Haggai Matar, executive director of +972, also clarified on X that PACBI, one of the founding members of the BDS movement, was consulted throughout the process. In the announcement, the magazine referred to the PACBI guidelines , which state: “mere affiliation of Israeli cultural workers to an Israeli cultural institution is therefore not grounds for applying the boycott”. In 2024, the Palestine Festival of Literature announced that over 1,000 authors had joined a pledge not to work with Israeli cultural institutions that are "silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians ," of which Rooney was a signatory. After investigating 98 Israeli publishers, they found that November Books was the only one that was exempt from the boycott since it did not meet the criteria, which include being "complicit in violating Palestinian rights," such as through "whitewashing and justifying Israel's occupation" or "having never publically recognised the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people". Reacting to the news on X, however, several users expressed their confusion at the decision, citing concerns over whether the book centres Palestinian voices and suggesting that the publication of Rooney's novel in Hebrew does not align with the general purpose of boycotting Israeli cultural institutions. I find this a genuinely baffling move by Rooney, even if, technically, it’s BDS compliant. It clearly runs against a spirit of culturally isolating “Israel”. At this point positing a “dissident” “Israeli” public or public sphere does normalisation work & mystifies. Palestinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd took to the platform to express criticism of the decision, describing it as “creating loopholes to bypass sanctions," adding that "the point of sanctions, including cultural, is to create conditions that lead Israelis to pressure their governments and leaders". Explaining further, he questioned the tone of the announcement, which underscored the non-discriminatory and anti-racist nature of the BDS movement.

Key points

• In an interview with the Guardian published to time with the announcement, Rooney said: “Though my refusal to work with complicit Israeli publishing houses made the contractual side of things more…
• I’m very pleased that Intermezzo will soon be available in Hebrew with November Books.” Explaining why the publisher was deemed BDS-compliant, she said: “November Books does not operate in illegal…
• I also kept in touch with PACBI [Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel] along the way to try to ensure that I was upholding both the letter and the spirit of the inst…
• In the announcement, the magazine referred to the PACBI guidelines , which state: “mere affiliation of Israeli cultural workers to an Israeli cultural institution is therefore not grounds for apply…
• In 2024, the Palestine Festival of Literature announced that over 1,000 authors had joined a pledge not to work with Israeli cultural institutions that are "silent observers of the overwhelming opp…