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Israel's largest book stores boycott Rooney after author's BDS stand
Last month Rooney made headlines for boycotting the Jewish state
November 8, 2021 15:22
Last month Rooney made headlines for boycotting the Jewish state
November 8, 2021 15:22Two of Israel’s biggest bookshop chains have stopped selling work by Sally Rooney in the wake of her refusal to have her new novel translated into Hebrew by her previous Israeli publisher.
Steimatzky and Tzomet Sefarim have both taken books by the best-selling Irish writer off the shelves of their 200-plus retail outlets and also removed them from sale online.
The decision comes after Ms Rooney, 30 followed the demands of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for a boycott of Israel.
It emerged last month that she had declined to have “Beautiful World, Where Are You” published in Hebrew by Israeli imprint Modan, which had translated her previous two novels, “Conversations With Friends” and “Normal People”.
At the time, she said: “For the moment, I have chosen not to sell these translation rights to an Israeli-based publishing house.”
She explained: “I simply do not feel it would be right for me under the present circumstances to accept a new contract with an Israeli company that does not publicly distance itself from apartheid and support the UN-stipulated rights of the Palestinian people.”
After a furious reaction, Ms Rooney said “The Hebrew-language translation rights to my new novel are still available” but only “if I can find a way to sell these rights that is compliant with the BDS movement’s institutional boycott guidelines”.
Pro-Israel campaigners have questioned where Ms Rooney will find a Hebrew translator outside Israel.
Rooney's decision was condemned by Israel's Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai, who described "the cultural boycott” as “anti-Semitism in a new guise".
But sales of Ms Rooney’s work have risen in Palestinian bookshops. The manager of the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem, Ahmad Muna, said he had had to put in a new order for her book because of increased demand.
He told AFP: “We have had a lot of demand since Sally Rooney made the announcement. The problem is we’re not getting them as fast as we’d like to.
“I think the statement she made about not wanting to be published by an Israeli publisher has opened a lot of interest.
“We have stocked her books before but there was really limited demand since our bookshop primarily stocks books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, people were just not that interested.
“After she made the announcement that she would not translate the book into Hebrew, we have had a huge demand. Almost every day someone comes in wanting to buy the book.”
Modan Publishing House said they will continue to sell Ms Rooney's books despite her support for BDS.
A company spokeswoman explained: "We do not support a cultural boycott, and therefore we will continue to sell Sally Rooney's works as usual.”
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