Israel-Palestine Divide Tests the Limits of Artistic Free Speech

In bookshops across central London, a quiet disappearance is underway. Works by a once-ubiquitous, award-winning author are being pulled from shelves. At Hatchards on Piccadilly, only a single Sally Rooney novel remains, and staff say no further copies will be ordered.

The reason is Rooney’s announcement that she will donate her royalties to Palestine Action, an organization banned as a terrorist group under UK law.

Her support could expose her to criminal liability. To avoid breaching terrorism legislation, her publisher, Faber, has withdrawn her books from sale in the United Kingdom. Critics have called the move performative posturing by a writer whose decisions ought to be questioned, while others view it as another indication of tightening censorship in Western democracies.

The dispute reveals a widening fissure in the arts over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As authors and musicians leverage their platforms for political positions, publishers, booksellers, and promoters must decide where legitimate expression ends and bias begins—and whether the fallout from taking a stand amounts to censorship.

Amid deep polarization, the boundaries of acceptable speech are increasingly contested, even as many argue that societies most need to hear opposing viewpoints right now.

Jemimah Steinfeld, chief executive of the UK’s Index on Censorship, says restrictions cut both ways and some limits are necessary. Still, she warns that more is at stake than absent books or canceled concerts. “We are living through a period of heightened tension and division. We need more dialogue, not the closing of spaces,” she says.

Alberto Pezzali/AP

Forensic experts prepare to investigate a scene in the Golders Green area of London on March 23, 2026, after an arson attack there destroyed four vehicles belonging to a Jewish ambulance service.

The Rooney affair follows a separate controversy involving American rapper Macklemore, who was removed from British musician Ed Sheeran’s US tour after declaring support for Palestinians. Macklemore previously apologized for wearing a Jewish caricature costume on stage, which many considered antisemitic.

The cases raise distinct questions about free expression. Rooney’s situation concerns the reach of government legislation into literature, even though the dispute involves her financial backing of a political cause rather than her novels’ content. Macklemore’s case involves private organizations deciding which artists to promote. Both have sparked debate over the professional consequences artists face for their political stances.

The string of incidents has put watchdogs on notice.

“We are seeing a deeply troubling erosion of freedom of expression in the United Kingdom,” says Kerry Moscogiuri, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, citing crackdowns on campus protests and street demonstrations as further examples. “The Sally Rooney case shows how far the chilling effect can extend,” she told the Monitor.

Jewish speakers, musicians, and events have also been canceled in the United Kingdom, United States, and elsewhere, sometimes due to fears of violence. UK performances by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, along with British band Oi Va Voi, have been affected.

Some say they feel a chill on speech because they do not belong to the perceived cultural majority backing Palestinian views.

“Jewish and Israeli artists have also been silenced in various ways,” says Steinfeld. “Palestine solidarity groups have pressured venues to cancel performances.”

Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP/File

Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead performs with his band The Smile at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago, Dec. 1, 2022.

“There is also the question of how many artists were never invited in the first place—either because they support Israel, have not spoken out forcefully enough against it, or are simply Israeli,” she adds.

On free speech, few believe it should be absolute. Red lines exist. Members of Irish hip-hop group Kneecap were accused of crossing one by expressing support for Hamas and Hezbollah from the stage—an allegation they deny. Welsh singer Charlotte Church was compelled to deny antisemitism after leading a choir in “From the River to the Sea,” a phrase many understand as rejecting Israel’s right to exist.

Artists do not agree on where those boundaries should fall. Some argue rock concerts should never become political rallies. Metallica frontman James Hetfield recently told fans his band “is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you.”

Veteran British songwriter Billy Bragg contends it is the artist’s role to confront the most pressing issues of the day. “The mainstream has always resisted ideas it deems questionable or inconvenient,” he says.

Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP/File

U.S. rapper Macklemore performs at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, during the South by Southwest Music Festival, March 17, 2023.

“If Macklemore does not feel what is happening in Palestine is receiving sufficient attention, then it is his right to bring that to his performances,” Bragg says. Macklemore has since launched his own “Free Palestine” tour.

Language and the Erosion of Nuance

A central problem with free speech is contested language. Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, society is debating what counts as antisemitism.

The rising number of attacks against Jewish people in the United Kingdom clearly qualifies. But what about criticism of Israel and its military campaign in Gaza? Is it antisemitic to condemn the actions of a country that, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, has killed more than 70,000 people, civilians and combatants alike?

Nicola Pratt, an academic at the University of Warwick in England, says an overly broad definition of antisemitism has driven a widespread crackdown on free expression at UK universities since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Her research has identified more than 100 sweeping restrictions over 18 months.

“Our research was based only on reported incidents,” Dr. Pratt says. “They may be only the tip of the iceberg.”

Mattias Wahlström, a Swedish academic at the University of Gothenburg, notes that protests and speeches often lose nuance—crucial in this conflict.

“Slogans do not include caveats or footnotes,” Wahlström says. “If you shout ‘from the river to the sea,’ the common assumption is that it automatically means eradicating Jewish people in Israel. Some may intend that, but others will not.”

The Right to Voice Unpopular Views

Peter Tatchell, a veteran British activist, perceives a double standard. “Increasingly, free speech ends when people dare to criticize Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians.”

Yet he insists both sides must listen to one another. “Almost any idea could potentially offend someone,” he says. “Freedom of speech includes the right to say disagreeable things that others do not wish to hear.”

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