On Tuesday (24 September), Sally Rooney’s highly anticipated fourth book, Intermezzo, was released. Last night, while celebrating the release of her novel at the Southbank Centre, the critically acclaimed Irish writer described as “the voice of the millennial generation” used her platform to ​​condemn the ongoing genocide in Palestine by Israel.

Before the event began, Rooney reminded the audience: “Countless heritage sites, museums, libraries, schools, mosques, as well as arts venues and cultural centres such as this one, have been irretrievably destroyed. And that is not even to speak of the over 40,000 people confirmed dead, each one a precious and irreplaceable life, each one loved and mourned.”

She continued: “It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that we are witnessing an unfolding genocide. The violent death of any civilian in Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, or anywhere is a terrible tragedy and an outrage, and the roots of this particular tragedy lie in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and the apartheid system under which Palestinians are forced to live.”

Rooney has consistently been vocal about Palestinian liberation. In 2021, the writer refused to allow an Israeli company to translate her book Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) into Hebrew. In a statement clarifying her position, she asserted that her decision was in support of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for a complete boycott of Israel.

“I cannot 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,” Rooney wrote. “The Hebrew-language translation rights to my new novel are still available, and if I can find a way to sell these rights in a manner compliant with the BDS movement’s institutional boycott guidelines, I will be very pleased and proud to do so.”

Rooney, a feminist and Marxist, ended her speech last night urging her audience “not to turn away, not to give in to despair or fatigue. To keep protesting, to keep speaking out, to keep demanding an end to this horrifying war. It is the least we can do.”