The Study of Arabic Literature in Israel

The Israel Review of Arts and Letters

The Study of Arabic Literature in Israel

Shmuel Moreh

Hebrew is regarded as one of the ancient Semitic languages of northern Canaan, twin of the young Southern Arabic language of Arabia (excluding Yemen). An Egyptian attorney, Murad Faraj (1869-1959), who is of Karaite Jewish origin, tried to refute the position presented by those who deny the common roots of the two languages. He did so by translating part of the Pentateuch to Arabic so that a Hebrew word was placed next to every Arabic one, using the similar semitic roots, and thus proving the similarity between them. Faraj managed to prove his point, but his translation turned out to be artificial, as can be seen from the first line: "Bereshit bara elohim et hashamayim ve 'et ha 'aretz," and in Arabic, "Fil-ri 'as bara 'a allah al-samawat wa 'l'-ard."

As noted, he managed to demonstrate this through his literal translation. The Jewish nation influenced the Arab one and vice versa in matters of religion, customs, language and tradition. This is because both originate from Abraham. Arab poets and writers stressed this close relationship and lauded the similarity between Arabs and Jews, particularly their common ancestry. They proclaimed that the Arabs and Jews were cousins and, in fact, Arabs are presented in Hebrew literature as "our cousins." The Iraqi poet Ma'arüf al-Rusäfi (1875-1945), in an Arabic poem, addressed his friend, the British High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel, wrote. "We are not as we have been falsely accused, enemies of the Jews, overtly or in secret. The two people are but cousins; in their language is the proof."

This relationship of language and the long history of Jews living among Arabs exerted such a strong influence, to the extent that according to Dr. Israel Wolfson, more than one third of the passages of the Koran referring to Jews, quote expressions of theirs or comment on them.

The Contribution of Jews to Arab Literature

Jews contributed a great deal to Arab poetry during three periods of its evolution: the pre-Islamic period, when the most prominent Jewish poets were Sarah al-Quradiyya, Ka'b Ben al-Ashraf and al-Samaw'al (Samuel) Ben'Adiya. The latter lived in the sixth century and his noble behaviour provided an example of loyalty and devotion to the Arab prince Imru' al-Qays, who entrusted his women and arms to al-Samaw'al's protection. The saying "A loyalty like that of al-Samaw'al" is used in Arabic to this day. His poem, in which he enumerated the noble manners of his tribe is considered by some Arab critics as the Iliad of the Arabs.

The Islamic religion banned minorities (the so-called Ahl-al-dhimma) from learning Arabic grammar, except in Andalusia. This exemption explains the proliferation of Jewish poets and writers in the Islamic Spanish period in Andalusia. Indeed, Arab poetry gained a great deal from the works of those Jewish scholars. Some of them even adopted Arab names together with their Jewish ones. One of the most famous Jewish poets in the Arabic language was Ibrahim Ibn Sahl, the Andalusian, who died in the year 1260. He was imitated by Moslem poets, notably Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib (1313-1374). The following stanza of his strophic verse which is sung to the present day by Arab singers, is but an imitation of Ibn Sahl's verse in its metre, rhyme scheme and motives:

May the rain pour in benevolence, when it falls,
O, the time of our union in Andalusia.
Your union was but a dream,
In slumber, or a stealing by sleight of hand.

Ibn Sahl's poetry won popularity and praise throughout the Arab world. The Jewish poetess Qasmna bint Isma'il was a prominent Andalusian poetess of the time. The historian al-Maqqari (1361) refers to her in his historical work Nafh al-Tib fi Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib ("The Sweet Fragrance from the Green Bough of Andalusia").

During and after the golden era of Arab-Jewish cooperation in Andalusia, Jews in Arab countries wrote books first in Arabic and then translated them into Hebrew, such as Maimonides in his Dalalat al-Hairin ("The Guide to the Perplexed"). Indeed, Jewish writers managed to create Hebrew grammar on the basis of the achievements of Arab grammarians. They followed along the line of Moslem philosophical thinking and imitated the rhetorical embellishment of Arabic poetry and prose, especially in the Maqamas and their strophic lyrical poetry (muwashshahat).

Moreover, Jewish scholars contributed much to the Moslem world in various fields of science, notably medicine, engineering, mathematics, astronomy, logic and philosophy, as well as in religion and political and social science.

One of the most prominent scholars in Andalusia was Abu Ibrahim Isma'il Ibn Naghrila Is-ma'il, also known as Shmuel Hanagid (933-1056). He wrote his poems in Hebrew and was fluent in eight languages, and made significant contributions to mathematics, financial management, literature, theosophy, military organization and foreign policy, under Caliph Habus and his son Caliph Badis, who were the kings of Granada. He also led the armies of these two kings in many wars against the enemies of Moslem Granada.

When the Jews were expelled from Andalusia in 1492, Sultan Bayazid II (1447-1513), opened the gates of his kingdom to the Jews persecuted by the inquisitions in Spain and other Catholic countries. To the present day, Jews remember the tolerance of Islam, in contrast to the persecution of Christian Europe.

Hebrew literature, grammar and philosophy attained a peak during the Andalusian era. There is no way of understanding these achievements except by means of the Arabic language, literature and philosophy. These achievements were reflected in the personality of Maimonides, physician and philosopher, and one of the greatest scholars in Jewish history, who wrote his philosophy books in the Arabic language but using Hebrew characters.

Sa'id lbn Yusuf al-Fayyumi (Sa'adia Gaon) translated the Torah into Arabic. He was one of the greatest Jewish religious scholars and he opposed the position of 'Anan Ibn Dawud (Ben David) who rejected Oral Law and caused a schism in Judaism. He was also influenced by the religious concepts of Abu Hanifa (699-767). The Swiss novelist Friedrich Dürrenmatt, in 1921, described the encounter between 'Anan Ibn Dawud and Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi Moslem sect in a Baghdad jail, in his play "Connections," published in 1976. The two mutually influenced each other in matters of thinking and tradition.

Jews in Arab countries would read the Torah and the Passover Haggadah with translations and a commentary in colloquial Arabic written in Hebrew letters. Science books were written in Arabic, and books such as "1001 Nights" were converted into demotic Arabic written in Hebrew letters. Thus everyday Arabic, and in some cases even the literary language, became the means of communication between Jews in Arab countries.

The third era during which the Jews contributed to Arabic literature, is known as the Renaissance era ('asr al-mahda), and especially refers to the period when Arab countries gained independence during the 20th century. Educated Jews in these countries switched to literary Arabic and cooperated with their Moslem and Christian colleagues in literature and journalism. A clear picture of the extent of cooperation during this era of reawakening can be found in the book, "Bibliography of Arabic Publications Written by Jewish Scholars (1863-1970)" published in Jerusalem in 1972 and edited by the present writer. These publications formed the basis of research on the contribution made in Arab countries by Jewish writers, scientists and journalists. Among these writers were Esther (Lazari) Azhari-Moyal, the poet and lawyer Murad Faraj, and Dr. Hillel Farhi in Egypt. In their book entitled "Jewish Contributions to 19th Century Arabic Theatre" (Oxford, 1996), Prof. Shmuel Moreh and Dr. Philip Sadgrove from Manchester University, deal with Esther Azhari-Moyal and the contribution of Jews in Arab countries to the development of Arabic theatre and drama. Other writers include Abraham Danios, who wrote his theatrical work "Nazahat al-Mushtaq wa-Ghussat al-'Ushshaq fi Madinat Tiryaq bi-'I-'Iraq" ("The Pleasure Trip of the Enamoured and the Agony of Lovers in the City of Tiryaq in Iraq"), published in Algeria in 1847. Ya'qub Sanuwa' (James Sanua 1839-1912) is considered the father of Egyptian theatre and of satirical periodicals in Egypt. Antoine Shihaybar, Salim Cohen and Shimon Moyal, were teachers in the Jewish school in Beirut in the last quarter of the 19th century, where the Arabic language served as a tool for study, in contrast to other Jewish schools where the main language was French.

As for Iraq, the literary renaissance began under the Hashemite dynasty of King Faisal I (1883-1933), when the entire people enjoyed equality, democracy, and economic prosperity according to the dictum: "Religion is for God, the Fatherland is for everyone" (al-din lil-Lah wal-watan lil-Jami). Some of the prominent Jewish poets of the time were Anwar Shaul, Mikhael Murad, Meir Basri, Abraham Obadia, David Semah, Sasson Somekh, Shalom Katab, Salim Sha`shu, Zaki Aharon, Murad al-'Imari, Yacob Bilbul, etc. The list of major writers includes Anwar Shaul, Ezra Haddad, Meir Basri, Shalom Darwish, Maliha Sehayyiq. Menashe Za`rur, Murad al-`Imari, Salim Bassun and Saleh Tweg were among the important journalists of the time. These and other Jewish poets, writers and journalists played an integral part in the Arabic literature of Iraq in the 20th century.

The Study of Arabic in Israel

During the Ottoman era in Palestine, Arabic was taught in the schools of the Sephardic Jewish community of Jerusalem from the middle of the 19th century, but it was only during the early 20th century that the leaders of the Zionist movement decided that Jewish youth should learn Arabic in the modern schools, in addition to Turkish, although the latter was the official language. This was so that Jewish pupils could maintain their daily contacts with the Arab citizens of the country, strengthen their business ties with the local population and study their history, customs and traditions, especially in schools founded by Jews from France, Britain and Germany - people who had brought their European languages with them.

As for the conservative Ashkenazi Jewish schools, where the teaching style was largely religious in nature, the teachers opposed the study of Arabic, Turkish, European languages, and mathematics. In the course of time, largely as a result of pressure exerted by both parents and the founders of these schools, Arabic was included in the curriculum (5-6 hours per week) in the majority of Jewish schools in Palestine from 1911 onwards, especially those studying in schools of the Alliance Israëlite Française.

The Zionist leaders varied in their attitude towards the study of Arabic. Some of them. such as the scholars Ahad Ha'am and Joseph Klausner, opposed the study of Arabic in Jewish schools on the grounds that such study at a time of cultural stagnation under Turkish rule would lead to a cultural superficiality among the Jewish population.

Teachers such as Yosef Luria and Yitzhak Epstein supported the need for the study of Arabic as a means of rapprochement between Jews and Arabs and as a way of learning Arab customs and culture. In 1905, Epstein called for a closer acquaintance with the Arab people and its character, strivings, and literature; he noted that it was a shame that intellectuals did nothing to further this. At the first Jewish teachers' convention in Palestine in 1927, some teachers proposed the study of Arabic language and Turkish literature in order to familiarize the students with the historic events in the region. After the Turkish revolution of 1908, some senior teachers were in favour of people obtaining Ottoman citizenship and participating in the political life of the country, so as to form ties with the Arab masses and thus achieve peaceful coexistence in Palestine.

Among the factors in favour of promoting the study of Arabic was the romantic image of the Arabs, especially among members of the Bilu movement (the first Ashkenazi group to immigrate to Eretz-Israel, in 1882). The Bilu movement regarded the return to the Land of Israel as a historic meeting between Semitic brethren, the children of Abraham. David Ben Gurion, who saw the Arabs as an offspring of the Jews, similarly supported the view of those teachers, who regarded the Arabs in Palestine as Jews who had converted to Islam and remained there after the destruction of the Temple. Ben-Gurion said further that the students must study the reason and become acclimatized to it; he also stressed the close relationship between the Hebrew and Arabic languages.

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the British conquest of Palestine in 1917, study of the Turkish language began to fade. The study of Arabic in Jewish schools developed mainly in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv by leading teachers of Arabic such as Avraham Biran and Avinoam Yellin, though English or French became the language of second choice in most Jewish schools.

Dr. Israel Wolfson ('Abu Dhu'ayb as he called himself in Arabic, or Ben-Ze'ev in Hebrew), a teacher of Semitic languages in Egyptian universities and schools and a close friend of the writer Taha Hussein, was author of an Arabic book "History of the Jews in Arab Countries During the Pre-Islamic Era," and who had a doctoral degree from an Egyptian university, supervised and promoted the study of Arabic in Palestine during the British Mandate.

Today Arabic is taught in about 600 Israeli schools. About 2,000 pupils take the matriculation examinations in Arabic each year. The curriculum comprises grammar, syntax, expression, reading and study of classical and modern Arabic literature, reading from newspapers, and learning about the Moslem world.

Moreover, most teacher-training colleges have Arabic departments for the training of teachers; examples are the David Yellin Teachers Seminary in Jerusalem, Ahava College in Be'er Tuvia, Beit Berl College, Levinsky College, Oranim College, the Kaye Seminar in Beersheba, and the Kibbutz Movement Seminary. There are nearly 1,300 teachers of Arabic in Hebrew schools, most of them are Jews, some are Arabs.

In the Arab schools, all subjects are taught in Arabic and most teachers are Arabs. The teachers of Arabic in Hebrew schools have a professional organ, Majallat al-Mu'allim ("The Teacher"), published by the Giv'at Haviva Institute of Arabic Studies.

The Histadrut (Israel Federation of Trade Unions) attaches particular attention to Arabic culture and literature. It founded the Jewish-Arab Institute in Beit Berl which publishes Mifgash L'iqa ("Encounter"), a bilingual literary magazine containing articles, poems and short stories in the authors' original language, together with a translation into the other language, for the purpose of strengthening the ties between the two peoples and promoting the study of each other's language. The Histadrut also founded The Arab Writers' House for the dissemination of novels and other books, including textbooks, in order to compensate readers of Arabic for the shortage of books caused by the Arab embargo against Israel. Finally, various newspapers and monthly periodicals were published, such as Haqiqat al-Amr, al-Yawm, Al-Naba, etc.

To quote Professor Menachem Milson, dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University: "For the founders of the Hebrew University there was yet another incentive for cultivating Arabic and Islamic studies: the desire to establish bridges of understanding with their Arab neighbours. A closer examination reveals a mixture of motives: on the one hand, lofty ideals of peace and brotherhood - there was even a naïve belief that Arabs and Moslems would be deeply moved when they saw Jews immersed in the study of their culture and would, in consequence, view them with confidence and sympathy - and on the other, a pragmatic desire to enable young Jews to study the languages of the surrounding countries and become familiar with their society, economy and culture."

The approach adopted by scholars in Arabic literature at the Hebrew University, was that of the orientalists among German Jews who had immigrated to Palestine and founded the School of Oriental Studies of Jerusalem in 1926. These scholars advocated a thorough reading of Arabic texts in order to achieve a better understanding, rather than summarizing other scholars' research or entering into literary theories or the frequently changing criticism of modern literature.

Israeli scholars are constantly trying to find rare and unpublished manuscripts and use them in their research. This has led the scholars of the Institute of Asian and African Studies of the Hebrew University, notably Profs. David Ayalon and M.J. Kister, to publish a classic series of publications which deals with the propagation and editing of Arabic manuscripts in a scientific and methodical manner.

At Tel Aviv University, some of the scholars and lecturers who did not graduate from the Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Hebrew University, tend to rely more on theory. The most prominent scholar in modern Arabic literature at Tel Aviv University is Prof. Sasson Somekh. Prof. Joseph Sadan is particularly interested in mediaeval Arabic culture and devotes his time to discovering rare or lost Arabic manuscripts. Their Arabic Department publishes Israel Oriental Studies, which deals mainly with mediaeval Arabic literature and culture.

There is great interest in Arabic literature in the Israeli media, notably in the Ha'aretz daily, the Voice of Israel radio, and Israel Television. These are the major media for the propagation of news, translations and the proceedings of conventions. The mass-circulation dailies Ma'ariv and Yediot Aharonot, publish stories and poems translated from Arabic into Hebrew, as well as critical reviews on books translated from Arabic and published by leading Israeli publishers, such as Kibbutz Hameuhad, Sifriat Poalim and Mifras. Most of these books tend to have a nationalist and leftist outlook. Keter Publishing House has published a series of novels and collected stories translated from Arabic, edited by Dr. Ami Elad-Buskila, head of the Arabic Department of Beit Berl College.

Among Israeli quarterlies dealing with modern Arab literature is Mizrah Hadash ("New East"), published by the Israel Oriental Society and formerly edited by Prof. Jacob M. Landau, an expert in Arab theatre and Arabic shadow plays and cinema, as well as on minorities and politics in the Arab world and Turkey. This magazine publishes important articles in Hebrew on Arabic literature, society, politics and economics well as literary and scholarly reviews of books published in the Arab world. Special issues are devoted to modern Arabic literature in the Arab countries and Israel.

The Association published a magazine entitled "Asian and African Studies," founded by the late Prof. G. Baer, which is now edited at Haifa University and contains important studies on modern Arab literature, as well as articles on Arab society, history, politics, culture and religion in the new Middle East. Ben-Gurion University publishes a periodical in Hebrew entitled Jama'a.

Many Israeli academic institutions publish scientific journals on the history of Arab and Moslem literature and culture. The foremost of these is the journal of the Institute of Asian and African Studies. The Institute also publishes "The Max Schlesinger Memorial Series,"and "Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam," an international journal devoted to the study of classical Islam, Arabic language and literature, the origins of Islamic institutions and the interaction between Islam and other civilizations.

The Institute organizes an international colloquium entitled "From Jahiliyya to Islam," which is held every few years at the Institute for Asian and African Studies and at the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew University. It is attended by specialists from all over the world who are interested in the religious, cultural, scientific and literary aspects of this period.

The Institute for Asian and African Studies of the Hebrew University is engaged in a major project on the study of ancient Arabic literature - a bibliography of Arabic poetry, arranged according to the first letters of each poem, from pre-Islamic and Islamic times. Prof. Albert Arazi is in charge of this project; assisted by the poet Suleyman Masalha.

Tel Aviv University publishes a periodical in English, "Israel Oriental Studies," which contains articles on ancient and modern Arab and Islamic culture, history, art, and the Semitic languages.

The Arabic language department of Haifa University publishes al-Carmel, which deals with the study of ancient and modern Arabic. The current editors are George Qanazi, head of the Arabic department of Haifa University, Shimon Ballas and Reuven Snir.

Arabic literature is taught in four universities: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Haifa University Tel Aviv University and Bar Ilan University. These universities prepare their students for specialization in Arabic literature, and the various dialects of the language, toward first and advanced. degrees. Students can specialize in the field of Arab culture and also obtain a diploma that qualifies them to teach Arabic.

Israeli scholars in Arabic literature usually publish their research in English, French or German, mostly because they regard themselves as an integral part of universal Oriental studies and in order to enable researchers world-wide to study their work.

At the Haifa Technion, Arabic language and literature are taught as part of general studies. At the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, Arabic is a subject supplementary to Oriental studies and to studies on the Beduin of the Negev.

It is evident, therefore, that Arabic literature occupies an important place in Israeli society and academic life. Students can major in classical or modern Arabic literature starting from the BA degree. In Israel, teachers of Arabic literature teach both classical and modern literature in a very thorough and scientific manner. These teachers are guided by a striving to become more acquainted with the soul, thinking, literature and religion of Israel's Arab neighbours. Arabic literature is also taught at Tel Aviv University, within the framework of the College of Cultural Studies. At the Hebrew University, students are presumed to be unable to understand modern Arabic literature without a thorough study of ancient Arabic poetry, the Koran, Islamic history, and other religious writings.

Several Arab lecturers teach Arabic language and literature alongside their Jewish colleagues, notably in Haifa University, where the Arabic Department is headed by Prof. George Qanazi. Ibrahim Gerries teaches Arabic prose of the 'Abbasi period. At Tel Aviv University, Dr. Suleyman Jabran, an expert in al-Shidyaq literature and the poems of Al-Jawahiri and Al-Bayati, teaches modern Arabic literature. Dr. Mahmoud Ghanaim teaches modern literary criticism, Nasser Bassal teaches the history of Hebrew literature written in Arabic in Hebrew letters in Andalusia and the Arab countries.

In Israel, scholars devote great attention to modern Egyptian literature and especially to the works of Nobel laureate Najib Mahfuz, who described the life of Egyptian society and the interconnections between its layers, generational conflicts and religious, political and spiritual trends in Egyptian society.

Another Egyptian writer highly regarded by Israeli scholars is the novelist and playwright Yusef Adris. Other scholars show a particular interest in the Arabic literature of Palestine since the onset of the British mandate in 1917. Some have studied the literature, poetry and folklore of Arab refugees, notably the works of Ghassan Kanfani, and Arabic writers in Israel, particularly Emil Habibi, whose novels have been translated into Hebrew. The poet Mahmud Darwish occupies a respected place among Arab writers in Israel. His poem "Passing Talk" aroused great interest and argument in the Israeli press and was widely translated.

Among eminent Israeli Arab poets translated into Hebrew are Michel Haddad, Samih al-Qassim, Nazih Kahyhr, Siham Daoud and Nida Khuri.

Anton Shamas, Naim 'Araide and Salman Masalha are prominent Arab poets who also write in Hebrew. Palestinian literature is discussed in Shimon Balas' book entitled "Arab Literature in the Shadow of War, " originally written in French and translated into Hebrew and Arabic.

Works by literary scholars in Jordanian universities on the history of Arab literature and Islamic culture arouse great interest in Israel. This applies in particular to the works of Nasir al-Din al Assad, Dr. Yaghi al-Sawafiri, to name but a few.

Arabic literature in Jordan and Saudia Arabia has yet to attract the interest of literary scholars here. This is mainly because of the unavailability of these works in Israel. We hope that proper initiatives will be taken so as to obtain this literary material so that it can be studied and taught here.

Shmuel Moreh is professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1933, and arrived in Israel in 1951. His MA is from the Hebrew University and his PhD from the School of African and Oriental Studies at London University. He was awarded the Israel Prize in 1999.