Normal People author Sally Rooney pledges TV royalties to pro-Palestinian group
London, UK - Irish author Sally Rooney has vowed to give fees generated by two BBC adaptations of her books to support the recently proscribed Palestine Action group.
The writer, whose second novel Normal People (2018) and its 2020 BBC television adaptation won her international acclaim, announced her plans in the Irish Times.
Rooney said she had chosen the Dublin-based newspaper to publicize her intention rather than a UK one as doing so "would now be illegal" after the government banned Palestine Action as a terrorist group in early July.
"The UK's state broadcaster... 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," she wrote.
More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the group was outlawed under the Terrorism Act 2000.
"I feel obliged to state once more that like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend, I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a 'supporter of terror' under UK law, so be it," Rooney said.
The government ban on Palestine Action came into force on July 5, days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated $9.3 million of damage to two aircraft.
The group said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel amid its assault on Gaza, which numerous human rights experts and organizations have deemed genocidal.
UK has designated Palestine Action a terrorist group
Being a member of Palestine Action or supporting the group is now a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Over 500 people were arrested at a protest in London's Parliament Square on August 9 for displaying placards backing the group. The number is thought to be the highest-ever recorded number of detentions at a single protest in the capital.
At least 60 of them are due to face prosecution, police said.
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Newscom World & TT