Sally Rooney Confirms Hebrew Publication of Intermezzo With November Books, +972 Magazine

Irish novelist Sally Rooney confirmed that her latest book Intermezzo will be published in Hebrew by the Israeli publisher November Books in collaboration with +972 Magazine and Local Call.

“Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who drew headlines in 2021 for refusing a Hebrew translation of one of her books, is now publishing her latest novel in Hebrew through an Israeli publisher approved by boycott activists”

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The Guardian reported that the Hebrew-language release is set to come out this month, and it framed the move as a decision Rooney made after turning down a translation offer more than four years earlier.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Rooney told The Guardian, “Though my refusal to work with complicit Israeli publishing houses made the contractual side of things more complex, I was, of course, never boycotting the Hebrew language or any language.”

In the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s account, the arrangement is described as an attempt to work within the framework of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and it says the Hebrew translation of Intermezzo is due out next month.

Middle East Eye said the confirmation sparked mixed reactions on social media and described Palestinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd criticizing the decision as “creating loopholes to bypass sanctions,” adding that “the point of sanctions, including cultural, is to create conditions that lead Israelis to pressure their governments and leaders”.

In the same Middle East Eye report, Susan Abulhawa wrote, “I find it inconsistent with their mission that they've been trying for years to find a way around BDS to publish Sally Rooney,” and she questioned whether Rooney’s work aligns with the boycott’s aims.

Middle East Eye

The Guardian’s interview with Rooney also returned to the boycott’s premise, with Rooney saying she had come to understand “the complicity of the Israeli culture sector in that apartheid system.”

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency described +972’s executive director Haggai Matar saying BDS is willing to work with Israeli publishers if they express they are not “complicit” with the Israeli state, do not accept government funding and do not operate within the settlements.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the boycott said it evaluated 98 Israeli publishers and found that only November Books met its conditions for exemption, and it added that since Oct. 28, 2024, more than 7,000 writers have signed onto a boycott of “complicit” Israeli literary institutions.

“Intermezzo, the most recent book by Irish novelist Sally Rooney, will be published in Hebrew this month by the Israeli publisher November Books, in collaboration with +972 Magazine and Local Call”

The Guardian

In the Middle East Eye account, +972 Magazine said its project was “out of a deep commitment to the BDS guidelines, and fully in line with them,” and it said the magazine had been communicating with the author for five years to ensure a translation could be published in a way that honors the principles of the boycott.

The Guardian’s interview also included Rooney’s account of how she first became aware of the cultural boycott in Dublin in 2014, when she said Israeli forces killed more than 2,000 people in Gaza that year, including hundreds of children.

The Guardian further quoted Rooney saying, “The Israeli culture sector is complicit in apartheid,” tying her decision to the broader BDS framing of targets as institutions rather than individuals.