Andalus, the site of the "golden age" of Islamic and Jewish thought, where Arabic and Jewish cultures fed and fertilized one another was also an epoch known for its literary and intellectual output by some of the greatest Muslim and Jewish philosophers, theologians, and poets. It was a period during which texts were translated and ideas exchanged freely from Arabic to Hebrew and vice versa.

Despite Israel's location in the heart of the Arab world, Hebrew-reading Israelis remain, for the most part, unexposed to Arabic culture in general, and Arabic literature and thought in particular. It is nearly impossible to find translations of narratives that might enable the Hebrew reader to understand Arab societies and the various, complex experiences that shape the lives of the people who comprise them. This lack can be felt on two levels: literature, poetry, and prose rooted in the personal and existential questions faced by individuals living in the Arab world, and critical analysis and research by Arab academics, activists, and intellectuals on the Arab world. The quantity and variety of existing translations is insufficient, especially as compared with the wealth of works translated into Hebrew from European languages.

Andalus Publishing seeks to fill this vacuum by translating books that will cover social, cultural, and political issues as expressed through Arabic literary, poetic, and expository writings.

Andalus is of the opinion that since the advent of the (now defunct) peace process almost a decade ago a meaningful shift occurred in the pattern of Israeli cultural consumption. This shift was especially pronounced among young Israelis (of both European/American and North African/Middle Eastern origins), whose openness toward, and curiosity about, the Arab world reached an all time high. Thus, it follows that if a decade ago it was nearly impossible to purchase Arabic music in Israeli stores, today any self-respecting Israeli music shop carries a wide variety of classical and modern Arabic music from Morocco to Iraq, Lebanon to Sudan. In the realm of literature, however, things are more difficult since the number of Arabic-reading Israeli Jews has decreased rather than increased over the years (to listen to Arabic music one need not understand the lyrics to enjoy the experience. A book on the other hand, is an entirely different story).

Unfortunately, the past year has seen this positive trend come to a halt; Israeli attitudes about Arabs (across the political spectrum) have regressed into the basest forms of racism and xenophobia (nonetheless, at Andalus we refuse to capitulate to such negative forces, and remain committed to providing the goods, even if interest in these imperative cultural products has waned).

Those new generations of Israelis who have made a concerted effort to specialize in the Arabic language tend to focus their interests on religion and politics rather than literature, art, and social and cultural criticism. Very few Arabic language experts in Israel today apply their skills to the translation of contemporary literature.

The greatest lack can be felt in the realm of modern Arabic novels. Arabic poetry and short stories can, on occasion, be found in Hebrew literary magazines, newspaper supplements, and anthologies. The translation of novels, however, is a far more costly and laborious task.

Since the 1930's just over 30 Arabic language fiction titles have been translated into Hebrew, most of them authored by Egyptians and Palestinians (before Andalus Publishing began operating, not a single Syrian, Iraqi, or North African writer was translated to Hebrew from Arabic - the Moroccan Taher Ben Jaloun was translated from French as were a number of others). Of these, only three are women: the Palestinians Sahar Khalife and Fadwa Tuqan, and the Egyptian Nawal al-Sa'adawi.

Contemporary Arabic writers who have been translated into many languages, and, needless to say, are well known to every literate Arab, remain unknown to the Hebrew reader, save for the Egyptian Nobel laureate Nagib Mahfouz. The names of authors such as the Egyptian Sunallah Ibrahim, the Syrian Zakaria Tamer, the Lebanese Hanan al-Sheikh and Elias Khoury, not to mention the Iraqi Jew Samir Naqash who writes and publishes in Arabic from his home in Petach Tiqva, Israel are not familiar to the Israeli public, nor is their extensive body of literary work

Andalus' goal is to translate a dozen titles each year, representing a variety of styles: classical and modern literature, journalistic and academic research, poetry, plays, satires, theory, and criticism. By so doing, Andalus Publishing hopes to act as a catalyst for other Israeli publishing houses to join in the massive project of making Arabic language books available to the Israeli Hebrew-reading public.

To date Andalus has published six titles (the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish's Why Have You Left the Horse Alone and State of Siege, the Moroccan Muhammad Choukri's For Bread Alone, the Sudanese Al-Tayyeb Saleh's The Wedding of Zein and the Lebanese Elias Khoury's Bab al-Shams), and a catalog of work by nine Palestinian women artists titled Self Portrait; translated five titles (Mahmoud Darwish, Mural, the Lebanese Hoda Barakat's The Stone of Laughter, Hanan al-Shaykh's The Story of Zahra, Al-Tayyeb Saleh's Bandar Sah, and the Palestinian Jabra Ibrahim Jabra's The First Well); and acquired the rights to translate and publish works by the Palestinian Taha Muhammad `Ali (poetry anthology translated by Anton Shammas), Muhammad Choukri's Streetwise, and more.

Andalus Consultants

Andalus Publishing has selected a group of consultants responsible for suggesting titles for translation, identifying the right translators, and conceptualizing the appropriate balances and variety among titles.

Prof. Anton Shamas, born in Fasouta, of Palestinian origin. Professor of Middle Eastern Literature in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan. Author of novels, prose, poetry, and criticism in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, among them the novel Arabesque, chosen in 1988 as one of the year's best novels by the New York Times Review of Books. Translator of many works from Hebrew to Arabic and Arabic to Hebrew, including three novels by Palestinian author Emil Habibi.

Prof. Shimon Balas, born in Baghdad, of Jewish origin. Author of over a dozen novels in Hebrew, among them The Last Winter, as well as research and analysis on Arabic literature and modernism. Professor of Arabic literature at Haifa University. Former editor at Mifras Publications.

Muhammad Hamza Ghaneim, born in Baq'a al-Gharbiye, of Palestinian origin. Poet, translator, and editor, published four collections of poetry in Arabic. Translated many books from Arabic to Hebrew and Hebrew to Arabic, among them Mahmoud Darwish's latest collection of poems titled Bed of a Stranger.

Publisher

Yael Lerer, born in Tel Aviv, of European-Jewish origin. Former spokesperson of Palestinian philosopher and Member of Knesset Dr. Azmi Bishara. Studied in the Interdisciplinary Program for Fostering Excellence at Tel Aviv University where she specialized in Israeli culture, critical theory, women's studies, and the history of ideas. Studied at the American University in Cairo where she completed advanced levels in both Egyptian Colloquial Arabic and Modern Literary Arabic. Founder and former editor of the Hebrew monthly magazine Mitsad Sheni on contemporary political, social, cultural, and economic issues in Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world. Has worked extensively as a freelance researcher, writer, editor, and translator for documentary films (including Mahmoud Darwish: As the Land is the Language directed by Simone Bitton, Workplace directed by Nurith Aviv, and 500 Dunam on the Moon directed by Rachel Leah Jones), newspapers (including Ha'aretz, Hadashot, Ha'ir, and Politika), and academic journals (including Adalah's Review).

Translators

Andalus Publishing employs a pool of professional Arabic-Hebrew translators, both Jewish and Palestinian, male and female, including: Anton Shammas, Rahel Halabe, Muhammad Hamza Ghanaim, Moshe Hakham, Nawaf Athamneh, Liat Kozma, Raviv Anin, and Rina Pleser.

Editors

Andalus Publishing employs several editors and proofreaders; foremost among them are Yempa Buloslavsky (literary editor) and Yoram Verete (language editor).

Andalus Designer

Sharif Waked, born in Nazareth, of Palestinian origin. Artist and Graphic Designer. Illustrated, designed, and brought to print scores of books, catalogues, and publications in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. Studied Philosophy and Fine Arts at Haifa University. Curated and participated in many exhibits locally and internationally, including the one-man show "Melancholy" exhibited in Haifa, Ramallah, the exhibitions "Markers" and "No Human" during Venice Biennale, 2001, and Ars Electronica in Linz, 2002.

Contact us: info@andalus.co.il