A workshop entitled Literary Translation from Hebrew at the Faculty of Arts

Under the patronage of Prof. Hanan Kamel Metwally, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University, the Department of Hebrew Language and Literature, headed by Prof. Samia Gumaa Ali Mansour, held today a workshop entitled: “Literary Translation from Hebrew,” lectured by Dr. Ahmed Shams El-Din, lecturer of modern and contemporary Hebrew literature in the department, and at the beginning of the workshop, Dr. Ahmed Shams thanked Prof. Hanan Kamel Metwally, Dean of the Faculty, and Prof. Samia Gomaa, Head of the Department, for their remarkable efforts in developing the educational process in the Faculty and the Department.

At the beginning of the workshop, Dr. Ahmed Shams explained the concept of literary translation, which is considered the highest type of specialized translation, and explained the difference between it and other types of specialized translation. Then Dr. Ahmed Shams pointed out the importance of translating Hebrew literature specifically, as it is a literature of conflict through which one can learn about the reality of the Arab-Israeli conflict and anticipate its future. There are some Hebrew literary works that contain a vision that precedes the times and anticipates the future of the conflict.

Dr. Ahmed Shams pointed out that the project of Prof. Ibrahim Al-Bahrawi, in his doctoral thesis, was based on anticipating the future of the conflict after the setback of June 1967 AD. The Israeli society was immersed in the euphoria of victory, pride, and pride in the sweeping victory, and the Hebrew newspapers were full of this picture, while Prof. Al-Bahrawi studied the literary supplements that were issued by these newspapers, whose vision was different from what was published in the newspapers. It expressed concern and fear of Arab revenge, which actually happened in the October War of 1973.

As Dr. Ahmed Shams pointed out that the internal division in Israel and the judicial revolution led by secularists before the outbreak of the October 7, 2023 war is a revolution that Hebrew literary works expected decades ago. For example, the writer Avivit Mishmari predicted in a novel of hers published in 2013 that a secular revolution would take place against the religious rule of Israel, and that secularists would become a minority within Israeli society, which is what actually happened before the outbreak of the recent October 7 war.

The lecturer mentioned seven difficulties facing those who undertake literary translation, and pointed out the conditions that must be met by a literary translator. Then the lecturer explained some general terms in literature and some concepts specific to Hebrew literature specifically, including clarifying the fundamental differences between the concepts of “Zionist literature.” “Jewish Literature,” Hebrew Literature, and “Israeli Literature.”

One of the most important topics of the workshop was the topic related to the movement of literary translation from and into Hebrew. The lecturer pointed out that the beginning of translation activity from and into Hebrew began after the establishment of Israel in 1948 AD, and the activity increased significantly in the wake of the setback of June 1967, but the translation activity focused on partially translating the Hebrew novel in newspapers and magazines, and the lecturer pointed out that there was a clear deficiency. In the process of translation from Hebrew, the number of novels translated from Hebrew into Arabic reached only thirty novels, and more than half of this number was published in Israeli publishing houses. This demonstrates a major shortcoming in the translation process from Hebrew.

Dr. Ahmed Shams pointed out that we are missing in the Arab countries a translation project adopted by one of the cultural institutions so that it is possible to select the works that are translated from Hebrew literature, in contrast to what Israel does, which has multiple cultural institutions that undertake the publication of works translated from Arabic literature, for example. “Al-Andalus” Publishing House, which is responsible for translating Arabic literary works into the Hebrew language, especially collections of Arabic poetry by poets such as: Mahmoud Darwish, Taha Muhammad Ali, and others. The Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem also owns a publishing house that issues a series of translations under the name “Maktoob,” and this series is responsible for issuing translations. Hebrew for Arabic Literature, in addition to the “Hebrew Literature Translation Institute,” whose mission is to translate Hebrew literary works into approximately 82 languages of the world, including Arabic; This indicates institutional interest in the process of literary translation in Israel.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the attendees were divided into working groups to translate applied examples of Hebrew poetry and prose. The audience participated in translating the models, while reviewing the translation that was closest to transferring the source text at the end.