Sally Rooney Defies UK Ban, Vows Continued Backing for Palestine Action

Acclaimed novelist Sally Rooney pledges ongoing financial and public support for proscribed group Palestine Action, declaring she accepts being labeled a terror supporter under UK law. Her stance comes as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defends the ban citing the group's alleged extremist activities.

By Mukasa Shafik

August 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM

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Award-winning Irish author Sally Rooney has publicly declared her intention to continue supporting the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action, despite the UK government designating it a terrorist organisation in July. Rooney stated she will use earnings from her literary work and her public platform to support "direct action against genocide".

Writing in the Irish Times, Rooney asserted, "if this makes me a supporter of terror under UK law, so be it." Her comments directly challenge the UK Home Office's recent proscription of Palestine Action, a group known for targeting arms companies linked to Israel since the Gaza conflict began.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper reiterated the government's position in the Observer, arguing Palestine Action exceeds "a regular protest group known for occasional stunts". She cited evidence including an alleged "Underground Manual" providing guidance on target identification and evading law enforcement, alongside "disturbing information" about future attack planning.

Rooney, author of bestsellers like Normal People, has a history of supporting Palestine Action. In June, she wrote in the Guardian that proscription would constitute an "alarming attack on free speech". Her support includes redirecting residuals from BBC adaptations of her work to the group, though she currently has no BBC projects.

The backdrop includes significant enforcement: over 700 arrests linked to the group since the ban, including 500 at a recent London demonstration. Cooper highlighted incidents beyond the widely reported £7m damage at RAF Brize Norton, referencing an August 2024 break-in at Elbit Systems UK in Bristol involving 18 defendants.

Rooney criticized the UK government, claiming it has "willingly stripped its own citizens of basic rights and freedoms... to protect its relationship with Israel," warning of "profound" ramifications for UK cultural and intellectual life. She previously refused an Israeli Hebrew translation of her book Beautiful World, Where Are You in solidarity with the Palestinian-led BDS movement.

The dispute unfolds amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis. Israel's subsequent offensive has resulted in over 61,000 Palestinian deaths according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, figures considered reliable by the UN. Israel rejects genocide accusations, while major human rights groups contest its conduct.