Sally Rooney refuses to allow Israeli publisher to translate her new book

Irish author Sally Rooney is refusing to allow an Israeli company to translate her new book into Hebrew in protest of the country’s policies toward Palestine, according to BBC News. 

The acclaimed author has said “it would be an honor” to have her new book, “Beautiful World, Where Are You,” translated into Hebrew by a company that shares her political position on Palestine and Israel.

Rooney has said that while she was “very proud” that her previous novels — “Conversations with Friends” and “Normal People” — had been translated into Hebrew, she has “chosen not to sell these translation rights to an Israeli-based publishing house”. 

A recent report by Human Rights Watch accused Israel of practicing apartheid and Rooney has stated that her decision was in support of Palestine and the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for a complete boycott of Israel. 

Rooney’s move was met with criticism by some; Israel’s Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai tweeted in Hebrew, “The cultural boycott of Israel, anti-Semitism in a new guise, is a certificate of poor conduct for her and others who behave like her.” 

Israel Boycott: Sally Rooney won’t let novel be published in Hebrew – The Jerusalem Postאם סאלי רוני, סופרת, אינה רוצה שיתרגמו אותה לעברית, למה לקרא אותה בכלל? החרם התרבותי על ישראל, אנטישמיות במעטפת חדשה, הוא תעודת עניות לה ולאחרים שנוהגים כמוה. https://t.co/M2SjPuhRUW

— נחמן שי- Nachman Shai (@DrNachmanShai) October 12, 2021

Rooney previously signed an open letter in support of Palestinian artists and writers, accusing Israel of crimes against the Palestinian people. 

Rooney is an award-wining author in the U.K., where she has achieved The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and a Costa Book Award.