Author Sally Rooney announced in a statement on October 12 that she will allow her upcoming novel to be published in Hebrew only if a publisher is “compliant” with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Rooney came under fire after an October 11 op-ed from The Forward went viral, alleging that the author wouldn’t allow her book to be published in Hebrew, citing a report from Haaretz. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Stop Antisemitism all denounced Rooney on Twitter.
Shameful #SallyRooney is embracing #BDS’s hateful tactics by refusing to publish her latest book in Hebrew. Literature is a space for opening minds, not for closing them. She should reverse this decision and find constructive ways to promote coexistence.https://t.co/T2h0Teoenv
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 11, 2021
20 Century, Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, Maoist China decided what ideas could be read; 21 Century Ireland #sallyrooney follows #Antisemitic #BDS boycotting Hebrew-official Jewish language. Rooney debases herself/greases wheels of fascism to darkness https://t.co/3vTO4quH85
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) October 11, 2021
White supremacists on 4chan are cheerleading Sally Rooney's antisemitic decision to not translate her book into Hebrew.
Birds of a feather – https://t.co/XyawBo7h3C https://t.co/dmmZOG920r
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 12, 2021
Jewish Telegraphic Agency reporter Ben Sales posted a statement from Rooney to Twitter saying her first two books were translated to Hebrew, but she did turn down an Israeli-based publisher’s offer to translate her upcoming book. Rooney said her reason for doing so is because Israel is an apartheid state, citing reports from Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem published earlier in the year. She then called BDS a “Palestinian-led, antiracist and nonviolent grassroots campaign” to boycott those “complicit” with Israeli apartheid.
Rooney acknowledged that “many states other than Israel are guilty of grievous human rights abuses. This was also true of South Africa during the campaign against apartheid there. In this particular case, I am responding to the call from Palestinian, including all major Palestinian trade unions and writers’ unions.”
She added that it didn’t feel “right” for her “to accept a new contract with an Israeli company that does not publicly distance itself from apartheid.” “The Hebrew-language translation rights to my new novel are still available, and if I can find a way to sell these rights that is compliant with the BDS movement’s institutional boycott guidelines, I would be very pleased to do so. In the meantime I would like to express once again my solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, justice and equality.”
A statement from Sally Rooney on Israel pic.twitter.com/74OrYFHnQI
— Ben Sales (@BenjaminSales) October 12, 2021
Some on Twitter criticized Rooney’s statement.
“Oh take a walk,” Washington Examiner Magazine Executive Editor Seth Mandel tweeted, arguing that Rooney’s statement amounted to saying “I will pull back my war on Jewish language and culture if a racist Palestinian group approves of a method to do so.”
"If I can find a way to sell these [Hebrew translation] rights that is compliant with the BDS movement’s institutional boycott guidelines"
Oh take a walk. "I will pull back my war on Jewish language and culture if a racist Palestinian group approves of a method to do so." https://t.co/ae5ygeq1F7
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) October 12, 2021
The American Jewish Committee tweeted, “There’s nothing ‘anti-racist’ about the BDS movement. It’s a movement built on antisemitism, calling for the total elimination of Israel. Not only does Sally Rooney’s participation in the BDS movement push peace further away – it normalizes Jew-hatred.”
There's nothing "anti-racist" about the BDS movement.
It's a movement built on antisemitism, calling for the total elimination of Israel.
Not only does Sally Rooney's participation in the BDS movement push peace further away – it normalizes Jew-hatred.https://t.co/3jBxy8vfFF
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) October 12, 2021
Richard Goldberg, senior adviser to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, also tweeted: “The cognitive dissonance that allows people to truly believe they like Jews while supporting policies that lead to Jewish demonization, death and destruction is a reminder of how it was allowed to happen in the past and how it can be allowed to happen again.”
The cognitive dissonance that allows people to truly believe they like Jews while supporting policies that lead to Jewish demonization, death and destruction is a reminder of how it was allowed to happen in the past and how it can be allowed to happen again. https://t.co/sSwAlDnFYF
— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) October 12, 2021
Writer and activist Yoni Michanie tweeted that he viewed Rooney’s statement as saying, “Okay Jews, just give up your inherent right to self-determination and you’ll get to read my book.”
"Okay Jews, just give up your inherent right to self-determination and you'll get to read my book." https://t.co/khgssp9Y9u
— Yoni Michanie (@YoniMichanie) October 12, 2021
The anonymous Twitter account known as GnasherJew also tweeted, “Which other country does Sally Rooney boycott? I bet none. Is she going to stop writing in English because of the behaviour of the British [government]? No of course not, because she’s an antisemite.”
Which other country does Sally Rooney boycott? I bet none. Is she going to stop writing in English because of the behaviour of the British Gov? No of course not, because she’s an antisemite. #boycottSallyRooney https://t.co/evyN8Ub3wZ
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) October 12, 2021
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a pro-BDS organization, defended Rooney in a tweet. “This is not a fight about Hebrew as Rooney said herself she’d be willing to be published in Hebrew by a BDS compliant publishing house. This is about throwing sand in the wheels of Israel’s apartheid system which normalizes its abuse of Palestinians through cultural works.”
This is not a fight about Hebrew as Rooney said herself she'd be willing to be published in Hebrew by a BDS compliant publishing house.
This is about throwing sand in the wheels of Israel's apartheid system which normalizes its abuse of Palestinians through cultural works.
— Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) October 12, 2021
IfNotNow also tweeted, “There is no excuse for yesterday’s relentless smear campaign that deliberately twisted the facts in order to make it seem as if Sally Rooney’s legitimate political decision not to work with an Israeli publishing house was an antisemitic refusal to translate her novel into Hebrew.”
There is no excuse for yesterday’s relentless smear campaign that deliberately twisted the facts in order to make it seem as if Sally Rooney’s legitimate political decision not to work with an Israeli publishing house was an antisemitic refusal to translate her novel into Hebrew. https://t.co/yXa071A5i3
— IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) October 12, 2021
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