literature

Graffiti calling to boycott Israel, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, December 17, 2014. (Hadas Parush/Flash 90)

On boycott strategy and publishing Sally Rooney in Hebrew

Boycott exists for one reason: Palestine's liberation from Zionism. Translating novels for Israelis lacks a clear theory of action to help deliver that goal.

By Ahmed Moor June 2, 2026

Sally Rooney. (Kalpesh Lathigra)

We’re publishing Sally Rooney in Hebrew, in line with BDS. Here’s how and why

After the Irish author declined an Israeli deal for a recent novel, we saw a chance to help strengthen the boycott movement — and clarify its aims.

By Haggai Matar May 19, 2026

Palestinians visit the Phoenix Library in central Gaza City, April 29, 2026. (Phoenix Library)

Reviving Gaza’s cultural scene from beneath the rubble

After Israel destroyed the Strip’s literary and arts institutions, Palestinians are launching new initiatives to preserve knowledge and insist on a right to life.

By Ruwaida Amer May 15, 2026

Latest

From the cover of "Daybreak in Gaza." (Courtesy)

Bearing witness to Gaza as a place of life

A new book shows a side of the enclave rarely seen in news reports — its vibrant history, culture, and people — to insist that Gaza speak for itself.

By Mohammed R. Mhawish March 13, 2025

Viet Thanh Nguyen broke a BDS rule. Now he is its vocal advocate

The Vietnamese-American writer reflects on his ‘mea culpa’ with Israeli publishers, the diminishing power of Israeli and U.S. propaganda, and why cultural figures must take a public stance on Palestinian rights.

By Edo Konrad and Alaa Salama December 17, 2024

Palestinians march during a rally marking the anniversary of the Nakba in the West Bank city of Nablus, May 15, 2024. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

How do we tell the story of the Nakba when the plot hasn’t ended?

Elias Khoury’s new book encapsulates the symbiotic relationship between literature and the Nakba, exploring its nature as a continuum of calamities.

By Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani May 15, 2024

Adnan Barq and Faten Elwan speaking at the launch event of Fikra Magazine at the Qattan Foundation, Ramallah, West Bank, August 2, 2023. (Courtesy of Fikra)

Nurturing a new home for Palestinian literature

From photos of Gaza postage stamps to fictional stories about Shakira, Fikra magazine aims to be a creative, uncensored platform for writers and artists.

By Vera Sajrawi September 6, 2023

Palestinian activists around a bonfire in Ein Hijleh protest village, in the Jordan Valley, West Bank January 31, 2014.

Ceding the Palestinian narrative to … Palestinians

Marcello Di Cintio’s book, ‘Pay No Heed to the Rockets,’ ends up revealing something discomforting about us: our notions of Palestinian life may have little to do with how Palestinians experience themselves. Pay No Heed to the Rockets,” Marcello Di Cintio, Counterpoint, 2018. Marcello Di Cintio’s Pay No Heed to the Rockets borrows its title…

By Samer Badawi September 6, 2018

‘Literature’s task is to pose alternatives to political reality’

A conversation, not an agreement. Beth Kissileff talks politics, literature, Israel, Diaspora, conformity, and literature's role in shaping the world with Shimon Adaf and Lavie Tidhar, authors of ‘Art and War.’

By +972 Magazine May 7, 2016

Illustrative photo by Shutterstock.com

The diaspora is an integral part of Hebrew literature

There is a ceaseless movement of Israeli culture — and the diaspora experience is just waking up and testing its global limits. By Mati Shemoelof BERLIN — There is no such thing as “Hebrew literature written outside Israel” because the definition of “outside Israel” cannot address art in general or literature in particular. Literature is created…

By +972 Magazine April 22, 2016