Irish author Sally Rooney pledges support for Palestine Action

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Irish novelist Sally Rooney has continued in her outspoken support of Palestine Action, a UK-based protest and solidarity group that was recently outrageously proscribed as a terrorist organization under the UK’s Terrorism Act by Keir Starmer's government.

This proscription has resulted in the arrests of hundreds of peaceful protesters -- one instance being the largest single-day mass arrest in recent UK history -- who now face prison sentences of up to 14 years.

In an op-ed for The Irish Times, Rooney declared she would donate proceeds from her BBC-adapted novels -- Normal People and Conversations with Friends -- to Palestine Action, a highly symbolic and ironic move. She stated: “If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it.”

In recent years the UK’s state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees. I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can. If the British state considers this “terrorism”, then perhaps it should investigate the shady organisations that continue to promote my work and fund my activities, such as WH Smith and the BBC.

She further stated:

While protesters are labelled terrorists in the UK, Palestinian civilians are, of course, labelled terrorists by Israeli forces. But where UK protesters face trumped-up charges and prison sentences, Palestinians face violent death. Last weekend Israeli forces assassinated a team of Al Jazeera reporters in Gaza, including the renowned journalist Anas al-Sharif, whose work with Reuters was awarded the Pulitzer Prize last year. Rather than denying responsibility for this appalling war crime, Israel openly took credit for the assassination, claiming – with no credible evidence – that Anas al-Sharif, an accomplished and beloved reporter, was in fact a “terrorist”. This claim, though baseless, has been repeated widely in western media in the days since. Once the special word “terrorist” is invoked, it seems, all laws melt into air and everything is permitted.

Rooney noted that not a single person has been harmed by any of Palestine Action's alleged "terrorist" acts.

The government of the UK issued a warning to Rooney on Monday stating that “support for a proscribed organisation is an offence under the Terrorism Act”, a threat that Rooney has stated she will ignore.

She has also noted the profoundly anti-democratic nature of the UK's moves:

To ensure that the British public is made aware of my position, I would happily publish this statement in a UK newspaper – but that would now be illegal. The present UK Government has willingly stripped its own citizens of basic rights and freedoms, including the right to express and read dissenting opinions, in order to protect its relationship with Israel.

Rooney has long been vocal about Palestinian rights. In 2021, she refused to allow her novel Beautiful World, Where Are You? to be published by an Israeli publisher, citing support for the cultural boycott of Israel.

Her recent statements align with her broader critique of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the complicity of Western institutions.