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GHASSAN KANAFANI On Zionist Literature Translated by Mahmoud Najib On Zionist Literature Liberated Texts series Books differ from all other propaganda media, primarily because one book can significantly change the reader’s attitude and action to an extent unmatched by the impact of any other single medium. . . this is, of course, not true of all books at all times and with all readers - but it is true significantly often enough to make books the most impor- tant weapon of strategic (long-range) propaganda. Head of Covert Action, CIA, 1961. This series, a collaboration between Liberated Texts and Ebb Books, is dedicated to re-publishing, or publishing in English for the first time, works of ongoing relevance that have been forgotten, underappreciated, suppressed or misinterpreted in the cultural mainstream since their release. We do so in the belief that despite the dramatic shift in the educational and media landscape that has taken place in the six decades since the statement quoted above was made, books remain powerful tools with the ability to fundamental- ly transform people’s view of the world and spur them into action to change it for the better. Series Editor, Louis Allday On Zionist Literature Ghassan Kanafani Translated by Mahmoud Najib First published in Arabic, 1967 © Copyright by Anni Kanafani All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. First published in English, 2022 Translation © Mahmoud Najib Ebb Books, Unit 241, 266 Banbury Road, Oxford, 0X2 7DL ISBN: 9781739985233 British Library Cataloguingtin-PMcation Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British library. Typeset in Garamond liberatedtexts.com ebb-books.com Front cover artwork by David Bomberg, “Jerusalem, Looking to Mount Scopus” (1925) Contents Ghassan Kanafani (1936-1972) i Translator's Foreword Hi Introduction to the English Translation vi Preface to the First Edition, 1967 xvii Preface to the Current Edition, 2022 xix Introduction 1 1. Zionism Fights on the Linguistic Front 7 2. The Birth of Zionist Literature 16 3. Race and Religion in Zionist Literature Beget 27 Political Zionism 4. The Birth and Development of the Character 44 of the Wandering Jew 5. Zionist Literature Marches in Lockstep with 57 Politics 6. Jewish Infallibility and the Unworthiness of 72 Other Peoples 7. Zionist Rationalizations for the Usurpation of 93 Palestine 8. From the Nobel Prize to the 1967 Aggression 110 References 120 Index 149 Ghassan Kanafani (1936-1972), taken by K. Hover, Denmark Ghassan Kanafani (1936-1972) Ghassan Kanafani is regarded as one of the most well- known Arab writers and journalists of the past century. His Eterary writings, in novels and short stories, are deeply rooted in Arab and Palestinian culture, and have inspired generations during his Hfetime and after his martyrdom - both in word and deed. He was born in Acre in northern Palestine on April 9 th 1936, and Eved in Yaffa until May 1948, when the war that estabEshed Israel compeUed him to flee his homeland with his family to Lebanon and then Syria, after which he Eved and worked in Damascus, Kuwait and finaUy, from 1960, Beirut. Kanafani was martyred on July 8th 1972, in Beirut along with his niece Lamees in a car bomb planted by IsraeE agents. Kanafani pubEshed eighteen books until his untimely death, along with hundreds of articles on culture, poEtics and the struggle of the Palestinian people. AE of his works have been repubEshed in numerous editions in Arabic after his assassination. His novels, short stories, plays and articles have been coEected and pubEshed, the Eterary works of which have been translated into 20 languages. Some of Ghassan’s work has been incorpo- rated into school and university curricula; some of his plays have been made into theatrical productions and radio programs in Arabic and other languages; and two ii On Zionist Literature of his novels have been adapted into cinematic features. His work, written during the period between 1956-1972, continues to enjoy increasing levels of interest to this day. Translator's Foreword This was a rather unorthodox piece to translate because the Arabic text is unlike the literary work for which the author is better known in the Anglosphere. It seems important to underline the fact that this work was clearly an extension of the author’s primary concern of political struggle; and that producing it could not have been a leisurely affair. This was a study motivated not by professional ambition or scholarly pretension, but an urgent desire to understand how the author’s enemies had been able to so thoroughly dominate the narrative and justify their cause. As such, the text is rough at times and required a significant amount of editing to clarify the argument, avoid ambiguities, determine the appropriate length of a given paragraph and so on. This process of refining the text while remaining faithful to it required a deep level of engagement, which was facilitated by Louis Allday’s crucial and generous assistance. The experience of reading the Arabic text for the first time approximates that of reading a classical work of drama, where the dramatispersonae remain nonde- script until one becomes well-acquainted with the entire volume. In a similar sense, On Zionist Uterature contains a number of passages, references, quotations and para- phrases that will not be clear at first glance. It would be unreasonable to expect the English reader to engage with
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