When the Horrors of War Meet the Power of Literature: Reactions and Transformations

Two writers - an Arab and a Jew, who are also literary editors - joined forces to edit a multilingual anthology of short stories written by authors from both sides of the divide, addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The work on this unique collection was complex, filled with challenges, and enlightening, with the primary goal of fostering understanding. However, with the outbreak of the October War, the project changed for good.           

Inspired by the renowned Hebrew writer A.B. Yehoshua, who claimed that the only way to understand the Palestinian nation is to read its literature, as well as the assertion by Druze writer Salman Natour, who claims that literature is the "black box" of every culture, the editors will reveal in a joint lecture the process of construction, creation, and closeness between the two cultures, along with the special nature of fiction as a tool, capable of crossing historical and contemporary narratives, fences, or borders.

Rawya Burbara holds a Ph.D. in Arabic language and literature from the University of Haifa. She is a writer and editor, recipient of the Minister of Culture Award for Short Stories and the "Personality of the Year Award" from the institution honouring personalities in Arab society. She serves as the central supervisor for teaching Arabic language in the Ministry of Education in the Arab sector, a board member of the "Maktub" publishing house and the Van-Leer Translators' Circle, and a member of the committee for the preservation of sites in the Arab sector. She is a lecturer at Oranim Academic College.

Sarai Shavit is a poet, writer, and literary editor. She is a co-editor of the Hebrew journal "Moznayim." She has published two works of prose and three poetry collections. Her poetry has been translated into German, French, Malayalam, Portuguese and Italian. She is a recipient of the "Poetry on the Road" award, the Rabinovich Foundation Award, and the "Common Ground" award for fiction. She is the recipient of the Eddi-WIZO Adelina Della Pergola Award for translated literature for 2023. Shavit teaches literature and creative writing at Tel Aviv University and a research fellow at this university.