To bin the latest Sally Rooney?

[JumperandJacket]

Genuinely shocked by the news she has banned the translation of her book into Hebrew. I can see no reading of this that isn’t straightforward antisemitism. She may claim it’s a protest against the Israeli government but to equate Hebrew speakers with the government of Israel is in itself deeply racist. The only other writer I know of to have done this is Icke-fancier, Alice Walker.

Plus the book is boring as shit.

Good for her. About time Palestinians were treated like human beings.

Some of the comments here are incredibly vitriolic, as is so much of what is written about Rooney. It's appalling how much people are willing to express their hate of a young, successful Irish woman's work and her taking a clearly explained stand involving a long-standing boycott that is supported in many quarters including many Irish universities. You don't like reading her books? Big deal! So much of what is written about her can be put down to sexism, ageism, anti-Irish racism and plain old jealousy. She was a champion debater and her statement really does anticipate so many of these tired arguments: www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/1012/1253298-sally-rooney-hebrew/

@Ledition

It's just that knee jerk Irish thing of equating Israel to the UK. Irish nationalists see the Palestinian struggle the same as their own and see Israel as the land grabber the UK was/is. It won't have come from a place of hatred of Jews per se, just a cultural norm that the state of Israel is a big meaney! The book is tripe anyway OP so you won't be missing much.

'Knee jerk Irish thing'? Oh please. Irish people have brains and can think for themselves you know. Don't you understand that as a colony, Irish people may have a desire to understand the plight of other colonised peoples? Calling Israel 'a big meany' is seriously down-playing consistent human rights abuses of the Palestinian people as defined by many human rights agencies and as explored by the UN.

[quote justmaybenot]Some of the comments here are incredibly vitriolic, as is so much of what is written about Rooney. It's appalling how much people are willing to express their hate of a young, successful Irish woman's work and her taking a clearly explained stand involving a long-standing boycott that is supported in many quarters including many Irish universities. You don't like reading her books? Big deal! So much of what is written about her can be put down to sexism, ageism, anti-Irish racism and plain old jealousy. She was a champion debater and her statement really does anticipate so many of these tired arguments: www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/1012/1253298-sally-rooney-hebrew/[/quote]
I agree. Seems rooted in misogyny tbh.

No misogyny at all - someone who calls themselves a Marxist deserves all the abuse they get. And what she's saying is totally illogical - her book can only be translated into Hebrew by a business that has no commercial dealings with Israel or Israelis. This would make it a tad difficult as a venture, of course.

Next - my book's translation into Vietnamese can only be carried by a business without absolutely no connections to Vietnam. People don't do this with any other country because it would be seen as the nonsense that it is. If a book has some message for Israelis, then let them read it.

I'm not going to judge her decision without reading more into it but, based on the brilliant TV version of Normal People, I bought Conversations with Friends and unfortunately gave up after about ten pages, as it was so dull!

This is what Sally Rooney wrote about her decision yesterday:

"Firstly, I was very proud to have my previous two novels translated into Hebrew by Katyah Benovits. I would like to thank everyone involved in the publication of those books for supporting my work.

Likewise, it would be an honour for me to have my latest novel translated into Hebrew and available to Hebrew-language readers. But for the moment, I have chosen not to sell these translation rights to an Israeli-based publishing house.

Earlier this year, the international campaign group Human Rights Watch published a report entitled 'A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution'. That report, coming on the heels of a similarly damning report by Israel's most prominent human rights organization B'Tselem, confirmed what Palestinian human rights groups have long been saying: Israel’s system of racial domination and segregation against Palestinians meets the definition of apartheid under international law.

The Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a Palestinian-led, anti-racist and nonviolent grassroots campaign calling for an economic and cultural boycott of complicit Israeli companies and institutions in response to the apartheid system and other grave human rights violations. It is modelled on the economic and cultural boycott that helped to end apartheid in South Africa.

Of course, many states other than Israel are guilty of grievous human rights abuses. This was also true of South Africa during the campaign against apartheid there. In this particular case, I am responding to the call from Palestinian civil society, including all major Palestinian trade unions and writers’ unions.

I understand that not everyone will agree with my decision, but 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.

The Hebrew-language translation rights to my new novel are still available, and if I can find a way to sell these rights that is compliant with the BDS movement’s institutional boycott guidelines, I will be very pleased and proud to do so. In the meantime I would like to express once again my solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, justice and equality. Thank you."

This lady is standing up against the apartheid which exists in Israel . Palestinians are treated very badly in Israel and she is making a statement by refusing to work with Israeli publishers . Many did this against South Africa and were congratulated . The situation for Palestinians in Israel is not discussed enough and without it being shown for what it is , this will never change . Good for her for making a stand

I wish more people in the public eye would make a stand like Rooney. The anti Semitic charges levelled at her are so tediously predictable,

Potofjoy - Palestinians are treated far better in Israel than in surrounding states. For example, in Lebanon Palestinians aren't allowed to take jobs in the public sector, nor enter the professions, nor even access public hospitals. It is quite obvious apartheid - he don't need Human Rights organizations to tell us this. If Sally had boycotted Lebanese publishers, that would have been brave, but of course she prefers to boycott Israel, for reasons that we can speculate on.

@samG76 do you think the treatment of Palestinians in Israel (which was once their country after all) is comparable to the treatment of other Israelis? And have you ever wondered why so many Palestinians are living in Lebanon when their country of origin is right there?

And the defamation continues unchecked. You don’t have to like her books but calling her an antisemite is plain wrong.

someone who calls themselves a Marxist deserves all the abuse they get.

So immature.

When did we start thinking it was fine to abuse someone we have an ideological difference of opinion with.

@Porcupineintherough sorry, I only just saw your question. I meant campaigning in the UK; I don't know what happens in other countries. I really don't agree with you that people here feel more strongly about human rights abuses in Israel than elsewhere because of our Government's role in the creation of the state. I mean, that could conceivably be the case. But it seems far-fetched.

Tillysfad - I disagree completely. If she ties her flag to that mast then she has to put up with people commenting unfavourably. Ditto if she said she was a fascist or a Stalinist or a Maoist it would be reasonable to wonder whether she knew how many 10s of millions of people had been murdered by her ideological heroes eg

"Hello - I'm a follower of of Pol Pot"
"Really - you do know he murdered a third of the population of Cambodia, including for the crime of wearing glasses?"
"How immature - how dare you abuse me for our ideological difference of opinion"

Porcupine - remind me when Israel was the Palestinians' country? It was part of the Ottoman empire until 1917, then the British Mandate until 1947/8, then partitioned by the UN. The Palestinians rejected their own state, fought, and lost.

@samG76 it may not have been called Palestine but it was their land and they had lived on it for generations. It wasnt uninhabited when the British took control, nor when it was handed over by the UN.

I disagree completely. If she ties her flag to that mast then she has to put up with people commenting unfavourably

Bit of a leap from there to abuse and a civilized society relies on our knowing the difference.

@samG76

Potofjoy - Palestinians are treated far better in Israel than in surrounding states. For example, in Lebanon Palestinians aren't allowed to take jobs in the public sector, nor enter the professions, nor even access public hospitals. It is quite obvious apartheid - he don't need Human Rights organizations to tell us this. If Sally had boycotted Lebanese publishers, that would have been brave, but of course she prefers to boycott Israel, for reasons that we can speculate on.

You cite the example of the Lebanese denying Palestinian immigrants and refugees rights, but do you know why this is? It’s a deliberate power play by the right wing Christian factions in Lebanese government to avoid an Islamic stronghold by refusing more rights to arriving Muslim refugees. Saying that the Palestinians enjoy more rights in Israel than they do in neighbouring countries is unbelievably glib. It is their home country, after all, yet they are being subjected to horrific practices of ethnic cleansing and apartheid. As for your equally dim comment to “remind me when Israel was Palestinian’s country?” I can only guess you’re being deliberately obtuse - surely you must know that Arabs have lived there before the state of Israel was created in 1947? I really hate that crap and tired Mumsnet phrase “educate yourself OP”, but in this case, @samG76 - educate yourself.

remind me when Israel was the Palestinians' country? It was part of the Ottoman empire until 1917, then the British Mandate until 1947/8, then partitioned by the UN. The Palestinians rejected their own state, fought, and lost.

There is so much dishonest inaccurate fake info there I don't know where to start. Do you actually believe that and if so, who told you?

Goodo the MN anti semites are out in force as usual.

Clearly a few people on this thread would have disapproved of the anti-apartheid movement back in the day.

@Rummikubfan

Goodo the MN anti semites are out in force as usual.

Surely anti-Semitism is best squashed by society as a whole agreeing that oppression against an individual or race is always wrong. Without that moral absolute it will always have the potential to rise up.

And if we agree that on the need for that, then surely we can agree that any government perpetrating oppression should be penalised in some way, no exemptions.

One would hope that those who are disgusted by how Palestinians are treated would also be the first to protest against discrimination against those who are Jewish. I have no skin in the game apart from this moral outlook and I find it disingenuous to have anti-Semitism mentioned in this context.