Sally Rooney Backs Hebrew Release of Intermezzo Through BDS-Compliant Publisher, Says Israeli Cultural Institutions Are ‘Complicit in Apartheid

“Israeli cultural organisations, companies and institutions are overwhelmingly complicit in whitewashing and justifying Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.” — Samir Eskanda

Irish novelist Sally Rooney has defended her decision to publish a Hebrew translation of her novel Intermezzo through an Israeli publisher deemed compliant with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, marking a significant development in the long-running debate over cultural boycotts linked to Israel and Palestine.

The Hebrew edition of Intermezzo is scheduled for release later this month through November Books in collaboration with +972 Magazine and Local Call. The announcement comes more than four years after Rooney declined to sell Hebrew translation rights for an earlier novel to another Israeli publisher, citing her support for the Palestinian-led BDS campaign.

Rooney discussed the decision in an email exchange published Tuesday with Irish Palestinian activist Samir Eskanda. The discussion focused on the role of writers and cultural institutions in the international boycott movement targeting Israeli state-linked institutions and businesses.

Eskanda said the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a founding member of the BDS movement established in 2005, has for years called on artists and cultural workers to avoid cooperation with Israeli institutions viewed as complicit in state policies toward Palestinians.

He said the campaign targets institutional involvement rather than individuals and argued that Israeli cultural organisations have played a role in legitimising Israeli government policies.Rooney said her awareness of the movement deepened during protests in Dublin in 2014 against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

According to United Nations estimates, more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed during the 2014 conflict, including hundreds of children. Rooney described the protests as politically formative and said they later influenced scenes in her novel Normal People.“At that time, I tried to comply with the boycott in my role as a consumer,” Rooney said.

She added, however, that she had sold Hebrew translation rights for her first two novels to an Israeli publisher before later learning of what she described as links between the company and the Israeli military.

Rooney said she had initially struggled to interpret how BDS principles applied within the publishing industry and noted that many internationally recognised authors continued to publish translations in Israel through mainstream publishers.

She said she did not seek guidance from PACBI at the time because she believed literary publishing may not have fallen within the movement’s institutional boycott framework.

The issue first drew international attention in 2021 when Rooney declined to work with Israeli publisher Modan on a Hebrew translation of her novel Beautiful World, Where Are You. At the time, Rooney said she supported the BDS movement and would be willing to authorise a Hebrew translation if it complied with the movement’s institutional boycott guidelines.Her decision generated widespread debate across literary and political circles.

Supporters described the move as a legitimate form of political protest aligned with broader international boycott campaigns. Critics accused Rooney of excluding Israeli readers and politicising literary translation.The BDS movement, launched in 2005 by Palestinian civil society organisations, advocates economic, cultural and academic pressure on Israel until it meets demands related to Palestinian rights, including ending occupation of territories captured in 1967 and recognising what the movement describes as equal rights for Palestinians.

Israel has strongly opposed the movement, describing some of its goals as aimed at delegitimising the state.Israeli officials and several Western governments have criticised aspects of BDS, while supporters argue the campaign mirrors earlier international boycott movements directed at apartheid-era South Africa.

The movement has gained backing from sections of the international arts community, including academics, musicians, filmmakers and writers.Rooney said her latest arrangement with November Books was designed specifically to ensure compliance with boycott principles outlined by PACBI.

She characterised the project as distinct from previous publishing agreements because it involved collaboration with organisations she said aligned with anti-occupation and anti-apartheid positions.November Books has been presented by supporters as an independent publishing initiative operating outside institutions viewed by BDS advocates as complicit in Israeli state policies. The project’s collaboration with +972 Magazine and Local Call, both known for investigative reporting critical of Israeli government policy, has been cited by organisers as evidence of alignment with boycott guidelines.

The debate comes amid heightened global scrutiny of Israel’s military operations in Gaza following the war that began after the October 2023 Hamas attacks on southern Israel. International legal and diplomatic pressure on Israel has intensified in recent months, including proceedings before the International Court of Justice concerning allegations related to genocide.

Israel has rejected accusations of genocide and said its military operations are directed against Hamas and other armed groups.In the published discussion, Eskanda argued that public awareness alone was insufficient and said artists and cultural workers should actively support accountability measures advocated by Palestinian civil society groups.

He framed cultural boycotts as part of a broader international pressure campaign directed at Israeli institutions.Rooney said her understanding of institutional complicity evolved over time and acknowledged what she described as inconsistencies in her earlier publishing decisions.

She said the process of navigating boycott principles as a novelist had involved reassessing assumptions about how international publishing relationships operate within broader political structures.The publication of Intermezzo in Hebrew through a BDS-compliant framework is likely to renew debate over the relationship between literature, translation rights and political activism.

Rooney remains one of the most internationally recognised contemporary Irish novelists, with her work translated into multiple languages and adapted for television.The new Hebrew edition is expected to circulate primarily through independent distribution networks associated with the collaborating organisations.