Scholars to explore Israeli literature

Beginning Sunday afternoon, UCLA will host a conference titled “History as Reflected in Israeli Literature,” drawing 30 scholars from universities all over the world.

The conference aims to explore the extent to which Israeli literature reflects Israeli history, said Arnold Band, professor emeritus of comparative literature and Near Eastern languages and culture, and the director of the UCLA Israel Studies Program.

The conference, which is sponsored by the UCLA Israel Studies Program and the UCLA Center for Jewish Studies, is scheduled to continue through Tuesday morning.

According to the event’s agenda, the conference features scholars from universities all over the world, including Israel, to speak about this interdisciplinary topic.

Lecture topics range from the founding of Israeli literature to works describing soldiers’ perspectives during the Six Day War.

“I think (Israeli literature) is a neglected area (of research), because it is a broader topic,” Band said.

He said scholars traditionally do not look at Israeli literature when writing about Israeli history but that literature should play an integral role.

“Israel’s literature describes (the country’s) inner life,” he said.

The conference draws scholars from many different disciplines, such as comparative literature, Jewish history, Hebrew language and Asian and African studies, according to event sponsors.

“It’s rare that we can get scholars of such renown together in one place. … We feel honored to host this conference,” said David Myers, a professor of history and the director of the UCLA Center for Jewish Studies.

Conference panelists plan to discuss various Israeli literary works.

“Our discussion will include fiction, film, songs, some poetry … and historical narratives, which are historians’ treatments of the past, which in this case are recent Israeli events,” Myers said.

Band said he and Myers looked for the most interesting and provocative topics when selecting panelists.

At the conference, scheduled panelists plan to discuss literature concerning the Arab-Israeli Six Day War, the Holocaust and Israel’s War of Independence, among other assorted topics of interest.

A.B. Yehoshua, an Israeli novelist and professor at Haifa University, plans to speak at the keynote session Sunday night.

“Yehoshua is one of the most important contemporary Israeli writers, and we are pleased that he will be speaking,” Band said.

Yehoshua has written many novels, including “A Journey to the End of the Millennium” and “Mr. Mani,” which are both historical fiction.

“Yehoshua makes considerable use of historical material in his novels,” Myers said.

Panelists will present their research and then open the floor for discussion, Band said.

“I think some of the papers will elicit animated conversations, … especially about conflicts between Jews and Arabs over historic Palestine,” Myers said.

The conference is free and open to the public. Pre-register by calling 310-267-5327. Registration is required.

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