Sally Rooney kicks off book event with impassioned pro-Palestine speech: ‘Keep protesting’

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International bestselling author Sally Rooney kicked off an event about her new book Intermezzo with an impassioned speech about the ongoing crisis in Palestine.

The 33-year-old Irish writer, dubbed the “voice of a generation”, is best known for her romantic fiction novels Conversations with Friends and Beautiful World, Where Are You?, and the TV adaptation of Normal People launched the careers of stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Rooney’s fourth novel, Intermezzo, breaks the format of its predecessors as it follows two brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek, and their very different ways of dealing with the death of their father. The book has been released to critical acclaim.

Opening an event held at the Southbank Centre on Wednesday (26 September), Rooney welcomed audience members, including The Independent, before delivering a speech about the ongoing conflict.

“Before we begin, I want to acknowledge the broader context in which we’re gathered here this evening,” she began, before reading two pages from her book.

“For almost a year, the people of Palestine have faced a military campaign characterised by mass murder and structural devastation. All of this with the support of the European Union and the United Kingdom.”

She continued, referring to the Southbank Centre: “Countless heritage sites, museums, libraries, schools and mosques, as well as art venues and cultural centres, much like this one, have been irretrievably destroyed.”

The author highlighted the death toll from the campaign, which has resulted in over 40,000 people killed since 7 October. Conservative estimates suggest nearly 17,000 of those are children.

“Each one a precious and irreplaceable life. Each one loved and mourned,” she said. “It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that we are witnessing unfolding genocide.”

As Israel’s military action has expanded into Lebanon, with hundreds of civilians already killed as the state attempts to eradicate Hezbollah, Rooney added: “The violent death of any civilian in Israel, in Lebanon, in Palestine, or anywhere is a terrible tragedy and an outrage and the roots of this particular tragedy are in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and the apartheid system under which Palestinians are forced to live.”

Israel has vehemently denied these claims, which have also been made by the UN, Amnesty International, human rights groups and the ICJ, and has said it is eradicating Hamas following the group’s attacks on the state, which killed over 1,139 people including 815 civilians.

“As we are lucky enough to be here tonight in London and beautiful surroundings for what I hope will be an evening of celebration and community, I want to make clear that we are also here in solidarity with the people of Palestine,” Rooney continued.

She urged: “I want to urge you all just as I also urge myself not to turn away, not to give in to despair or fatigue, to keep protesting, to keep speaking out to keep landing an end to this horrifying war. It is the least we can do.”

For the remainder of the event, Rooney engaged in a discussion with author and New Yorker contributor Merve Emre, touching on topics as diverse as the “textual lineage” of a novel, sibling dynamics, language theory and Wittgenstein, Marxism and climate collapse.