Irish novelist will publish Intermezzo through November Books after rejecting translation offer from publisher with ties to Israeli military
Sally Rooney on a new Hebrew translation of Intermezzo: ‘The Israeli culture sector is complicit in apartheid’
The Irish novelist Sally Rooney is releasing a Hebrew translation of her latest novel more than four years after she turned down a translation of an earlier novel, citing her support for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Rooney is publishing her bestselling 2024 novel, Intermezzo, through November Books, an independent Israeli publisher that supports Palestinian rights, with +972 Magazine and Local Call, two independent media outlets in Israel and Palestine.
The 35-year-old has published four wildly popular novels that have been translated into dozens of languages. The first two – Conversations with Friends and Normal People – were translated into Hebrew by the Israeli publisher Modan. But in 2021, Rooney turned down a translation offer from the publisher for her third novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, citing her desire to support the BDS movement, a Palestinian-led, global campaign that seeks to “end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law”.
