With the conflict between Palestine and Israel at the forefront of all our minds, we can only wait for more news and more stories. The more points of view and experiences that are exposed, written down, and publicised, the better we can understand the conflict as well as the surrounding cultural and political context - and this goes for all conflicts that are happening globally. Literature is the first step towards activism, and, ultimately (hopefully), social change.
Furthermore, there is more than one way to combat violence with literature - introducing: Sally Rooney’s publishing boycott. Since 2021, she has refused to let Israeli publishers, Modan translate and publish her most recent novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You?, into Hebrew. Consequently, two Israeli bookstore chains have removed her from their bookshelves. And yet Rooney has not stopped her boycott, which she initiated as a part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS), a campaign that works to “end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law”. Whilst she stated that she was proud to have her previous works translated into Hebrew, she would not sell to an Israeli-based publishing house as a protest against the horrors that are currently occurring in Gaza and the West Bank.
And it is not only authors and writers that can fight for peace. We, as readers, also have power. The current boycott of St Martin’s Press and their imprint Wednesday Books, only shows the choice that we have over the books we consume, as well as where those books come from. An employee of Wednesday Books has been spewing out racist and Islamaphobic content across their social media, as well as refusing to send out requested books to black and Muslim influencers. The boycott of these companies will last until they crack down on this employee, and reassess their values surrounding these issues. These hateful actions, stemming from a divisive, prejudiced ideology that contributes to and leads to war and genocide, should not be tolerated at any level, and as readers, we have the power to stamp it out within the literature sphere.
Literature offers us so much on so many fronts. Although we can't stop bombs with books, it certainly allows us the opportunity to fight, peacefully, in our own small ways.