Ex-Labour MP to ‘boycott’ Sally Rooney after she refuses Hebrew translation of new novel

A former Labour MP has said he will “boycott” the work of Irish novelist Sally Rooney after it was revealed she will not allow her latest novel to be published in Hebrew.

Lord Austin, who served as MP for Dudley North from 2005 until the 2019 general election, said in reaction to the news via Twitter: “I’ve never read anything by Sally Rooney and will be maintaining my cultural boycott.”

Her two previous novels were both published in Hebrew by the Modan Publishing House in Israel.

The liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that when Modan contacted Rooney’s agent about a further translation deal, it was shared that Rooney supports a cultural boycott of Israel and would henceforth deny a Hebrew language translation of her new novel.

Lord Austin left the Labour party in February 2019, citing his concerns over an increasing culture of antisemitism.

He was raised by adopted parents, and his adoptive father was a Czech-born Jew who was himself adopted by an English family after the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia.