Poetics of Palestinian Literature in Hebrew Translation

Between Appropriation and Resistance

Abstract

This article addresses the question of translating Palestinian literature from Arabic to Hebrew, looking at issues related to the political and cultural context from a Palestinian perspective. In the process, I focus on the translation of literature by Palestinian citizens of Israel through the analysis of a translation model that its founders consider a form of cultural resistance in which Palestinian literature penetrates into the Hebrew cultural consciousness. This translation model, which involves a dialogue with the author, is used by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute Maktoob series. In the article, I analyze the translation discourse in the novel Burduqana by Palestinian writer Eyad Barghuthy (which was translated to Hebrew as “An Acre-Esque Tale”). I examine the nature of this type of translation, highlighting its processes, goals, and methods of operation.