Intellectual Boycots

Signing letters of support for boycotting intellectual institutions, and academic cooperations is essentially anti-intellectual. The last twelve months were just an opportunity for many people sharing more or less loudly radical anti-Israel opinions to raise them at the level of open statements. In a way, it is a good way as it offers to people the chance to show what they think. Psychologically and not only, it releases them of the pressure of saying - or rather not saying at all - things they were thinking about. 

The list shared by LitHub, which is slightly growing by the day, appealing for a boycott of Israel cultural institutions, was created around voices like Sally Rooney who already announced very proud at the beginning of the year that she does not allow her books to be translated into Hebrew. (Nothing about Russian, or other languages of countries where people are really opressed by their own governments). Some of the people who signed are famous in the literary world for their works, some for being vocal. Some are writers or poets, some are just translators. Some are just names that hopefully will sign one day more than just a protest for a far away cause they are trying to get advantage of from the comfort of their lofts. Some authors I may know, some I really like, some are just as toxic as what they claim they believe in.

I think is everyone´s right to have an opinion, also a wrong one. We expect too much from intellectuals, but as history showed already, they are humans as everyone of us. They need to pay bills, sign political protests in the hope to get some points for their portfolio always in the making. Totalitarian regimes were supported by intellectuals, created by intellectuals, fuelled with ideological content by intellectuals. Sometimes they have no idea what they are getting into, but sometimes they are fully aware as they are widespreading lies and old libels.

This letter, in addition to many other moves that happened since 7/10 do not talk about peace, do not want to build bridges with intellectuals in Israel who do share critical points of view towards their government, as shared in their books and public statements. The letter is just building a wall, aimed at pressuring the public opinion in a direction that does not have nothing to do with being an intellectual. Also, not with intelligence, in the genuine sense of the world.

I would have been really empathic to the interest of the signatories if they will be so acribic vested in, for instance, cutting any cultural ties with Russian institutions - as we speak, Russia is attacking Ukraine; Chinese cultural institutions - Uyghurs are opressed, intellectuals are not free, the authors allowed outside do share propaganda messages; Islamic Republic of Iran - who brutally murdered intellectualls, among many other things against freedom of thinking and women rights; and so on, and so on...

In free countries, people are free to be wrong and long for propaganda vitamins and wear keffiyeh or for anything they wish for some or the others. But also in a free country, they may not be out of criticism for their childish or well-funded/intentional misleading investment in a cause obsessively taking ovet any others, with a not so humanistic intention.

On Cultural Boycotts

Cultural boycotts, of any kind, are idiotic. Exactly, you´ve read the word right. There is nothing more lame and anti-intellectual and the opposite of being intelligent in general as a cultural boycott. It denies automatically the mission of writing and culture in general, which is, in my opinion, to open minds and hearts through ideas and words.

The media is lately mentioning how Sally Rooney, an Irish bestseller author famous for books like Beautiful World and Normal People and latest Beautiful World, Where are You? is definitely against her last book being translated into Hebrew. Her first books were published by Modan Publishing House into Hebrew but now, her agent confirmed that she opposes a further translation. 

Sally Rooney is a popular Millennial author, writing in a simple way about issues Millenials may deal with. In one of her books a character is going to a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Recently, she signed together with other authors and public intellectuals, a letter accusing Israel of apartheid and called for her (Israel´s) international isolation. 

In fact, Israel´s publishing industry, one of the most vibrant in the Middle East, is doing well, with or without Rooney´s books, that I bet are a favorite read among Palestinian millennials as well, many of them perfectly fluent in Hebrew. 

But people like Rooney do not have - and sometimes do not want it either - time and energy for such subtelties. By embracing the BDS they seems to be happy for apparently fulfilling a role of public intellectuals. Rooney is not the first and probably not the last author with such a stance. In 2012, Alice Walker also refused her book The Color Purple - to be translated into Hebrew. Her bad, but in fact, readers, smart readers in Israel can and will read their books, in many other international translations because eventually they will want being informed, including about those who really don´t want them to exist. Israel is a country where there are many people native-level fluent in many languages, covering, among others, various Arab dialects, Amharic, Persian, French, Russian, German etc.

This is not a literary post where I will evaluate the literary value of Rooney´s books. It does not matter at all, in fact. The decision of boycotting a language - and not other languages from countries where, for instance, women are sent to prison for not being in line with a strict religious interpretation or for their private life choices - is a cheap, very cheap manifestation of a so-called public opinion makers. 

By using her temporary status of literary star for uttering an international politics stance, Rooney is not doing anything outstanding. She is not a hero or a writer turned overnight into an opinion maker. She is a person of temporary talent who is keen to get more points for supporting a very controversial and anti-intellectual movement. It´s not mainstream, it is not bravery. It is intellectual opportunism which is, in fact, nothing close to public awareness or the weight of an intellectual mission. What she - and maybe others - does not help anyone. It´s just an intellectual parody.