{"id":63860,"date":"2021-10-12T12:59:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T17:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=63860"},"modified":"2021-10-12T13:08:56","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T18:08:56","slug":"sally-rooney-wont-let-her-new-novel-beautiful-world-where-are-you-be-published-by-an-israeli-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/sally-rooney-wont-let-her-new-novel-beautiful-world-where-are-you-be-published-by-an-israeli-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Sally Rooney won\u2019t let her new novel \u2018Beautiful World, Where Are You?\u2019 be published by an Israeli press"},"content":{"rendered":"

By BEN SALES<\/p>\n

(JTA) \u2014 Bestselling author Sally Rooney won\u2019t allow her recently published novel, \u201cBeautiful World, Where Are You?\u201d to be published in Hebrew by an Israeli press because she supports a cultural boycott of Israel.<\/p>\n

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That publicity campaign, however, will not be reaching Israel. The Hebrew-language publisher of Rooney\u2019s first two books, Modan Publishing House, told Haaretz last month that Rooney did not give it the rights to her new book because she supports an Israel boycott.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Tuesday, Rooney said that while she would not sell the Hebrew-language rights to an Israel-based publisher, she would be open to publishing it in Hebrew with a non-Israeli press or one that complies with the boycott\u2019s guidelines. Whether that is possible is unclear, as the Hebrew publishing industry is centered in Israel, the only country where Hebrew is an official language.<\/p>\n

Rooney, 30, has been open about her opposition to Israel. In July, soon after the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Rooney was one of thousands of artists to sign a letter accusing Israel of apartheid and calling for its international isolation. The letter called for \u201can end to the support provided by global powers to Israel and its military; especially the United States,\u201d and for governments to \u201ccut trade, economic and cultural relations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rooney\u2019s characters generally have leftist politics, and her books invoke Israel in that context. In \u201cNormal People,\u201d the main characters attend a protest against Israel during the 2014 Gaza War. And in Rooney\u2019s debut novel, \u201cConversations with Friends,\u201d a character named Bobbi talks about how relationships are about power, but people instead focus on \u201cniceness.\u201d She then says, \u201cI mean this is an issue in public discourse. We end up asking like, is Israel \u2018nicer\u2019 than Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rooney is not the first prominent author to refuse to publish a book with an Israeli press. In 2012, Alice Walker, who also supports the movement to boycott Israel, would not allow \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d to be translated by an Israeli publisher.<\/p>\n

Ireland has a history of pro-Palestinian sentiment, owing to what many Irish citizens see as a cultural link to their struggles against the British. This summer, the country passed a motion condemning \u201cde facto annexation\u201d of Palestinian land. In 2018, Dublin\u2019s city council passed resolutions endorsing a boycott of Israel and calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland.<\/p>\n

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