Hebrew-to-Arabic translation still controversial among Arabs (Feature)

By Abdul Jalil Mustafa Nov 11, 2009, 1:08 GMT

Amman/Cairo - The translation of Hebrew-language books into Arabic is a controversial issue in the Arab world, with intellectuals divided whether it plays a role in 'getting to know the enemy' or serves to 'normalize' relations with Israel.

A host of Hebrew books have been made available to an Arab audience, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's A Place under the Sun, outlining his political ideology. The book was published in 1995 - the year before he became premier for the first time.

The controversy over Hebrew-to-Arabic books is building up in Jordan as more experts on Israeli affairs back a selective translation as a window on Israel's leadership and its 'Zionist ideology'.

They contend that a translation across the board from Hebrew into Arabic could turn out to be 'a bridge for cultural penetration and normalization' between Israel and the Arab world - something opposed by many Arabs.

Zionism was founded as a political movement by the Austro- Hungarian Theodor Herzl and led to the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in what was then Palestine in 1948.

Arabs had rejected the United Nations resolution that approved the creation of independent Jewish and Arab states in Palestine and came to view Israel as occupying Arab Land.

Ghazi Saadi, head of the Dar al-Galil bureau for research and publication in Amman, says he supports the 'selective' translation from Hebrew into Arabic, 'so that the Arab public and decision-makers become aware of the Zionist ideology and thought, which has profound influence on Israeli politics and way of thinking.'

'This objective was behind our centre's translation of about 100 books from Hebrew into Arabic over the past 15 years,' Saadi, who is also a prominent expert on Israeli affairs, told the German Press Agency dpa.

One of these Hebrew works was Netanyahu's book.

'The translation provided Arab statesmen with an early opportunity to understand Netanyahu's dangerous schemes towards the Palestinian land and people which now find expression in his insistence on continuation of settlement building and the Judaizing of East Jerusalem,' Saadi said.

He criticized Arab governments 'for failure to live up to their responsibilities by ignoring the contents of Netanyahu's book and falling easy prey to his time-buying tactics.'

Some Jordanian academics however support the concept of translation without restrictions, viewing it as an opportunity to have full access to the Israeli culture and ways of thinking.

'I believe all Hebrew books should be translated into Arabic without limitations in order to be well aware of all that is published in Israel,' said Mahmoud Amrat, Professor of Hebrew Literature at Yarmouk University.

'This will enable us to be in permanent touch with the Zionist thought and prepare ourselves to deal with it,' he added.

For Nawaf Zaro, the head of the Israeli Studies Section at ad- Dustour daily newspaper, 'turning one's back on Hebrew literature is no longer justifiable in view of the prolonged conflict with Israel.'

Similar debate regularly crops up in Egypt, where earlier this year, the National Translation Centre said it would stop translating books from Hebrew in order to avoid dealing with Israeli publishers.

The translations of works by Israeli authors David Grossman and Amos Oz were outsourced to a European publishing house.

Culture Minister Farouk Hosny's threat to burn Israeli books found in Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandria cost him the top job at the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization recently.

Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, while Jordan became the second Arab country to do so in 1994. Although full diplomatic relations exist with these two countries, when it comes to cultural and social ties, Arabs still largely reject the idea of normalization.

'Translation from foreign languages to Arabic was the cornerstone of the Islamic civilization for centuries,' says Ibrahim Kilani, head of the fatwa committee at Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF).

'We support translation of Hebrew works that benefit our quest and avoid others which undermine our interests and societies,' he told