Sally Rooney: ‘I intend to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide’

Best-selling novelist Sally Rooney has pledged to donate the royalties from her work to Palestine Action, the activist network banned and branded a terrorist organisation by the UK government on 5 July.

Writing in the Irish Times on 16 August, Rooney declared that if her support for Palestine Action makes her “a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it”. The prime minister’s office said on Monday that “support for a proscribed organisation is an offence under the Terrorism Act” and warned against backing such organisations.

Under the UK Terrorism Act, she could face arrest for financially supporting the group. More than 700 people have already been detained for their association with Palestine Action, many of them during peaceful protests.

I intend to use these proceeds of my work … to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can

Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation after activists broke into an RAF base in Oxfordshire and spray-painted two planes. In a June article for The Guardian, Rooney reflected: “[They] knew, of course, that their actions were illegal. From the suffragettes to the gay rights movement to the anti-apartheid struggle, genuine political resistance has always involved intentional law-breaking.”

In her latest statement declaring her support for Palestine Action, she writes: “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 WHSmith and the BBC.”

“My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets,” wrote Rooney on Saturday. “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.”

Rooney’s act of solidarity is now treated as a criminal offence

Lawyer and writer Sadakat Kadri explained: “Receiving money with the intention of using it to support terrorism is an offence under section 15 of the 2000 Act. That means Rooney could be arrested without a warrant as a ‘terrorist’.” He added that “the absurdities don’t end there”, arguing that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to bracket Palestine Action with groups such as Islamic State meant the BBC would also be criminally liable if it continued paying Rooney royalties.

In her opinion piece, Rooney further condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza: “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’s act of solidarity is now treated as a criminal offence. She wrote: “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.”