7722

Magazine of Modern Arab Literature

Shimon Ballas

Special Feature Iraqi Jewish Writers

Eli Amir,

Shimon Ballas, Ya‘qub Balbul, Ishaq Bar-Moshe, Almog Behar, The Mani brothers, Shalom Darwish, Amira Hess, Sami Michael, Maryam al-Mulla, Samir Naqqash, Haviva Pedaya, David Semah, Anwar Sha’ul, Mati Shemoelof, Ronny Someck, Mona Yahia GUEST EDITORS: Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani and Yuval Evri

Amira Hess

Samir Naqqash

Mona Yahia

Ronny Someck

11 Editor’s Foreword

IRAQI JEWISH WRITERS 12 Guest editors Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani and

Yuval Evri: Introduction 16 Haviva Pedaya: The Iraqi Jewish Literary Networks 21 Ammiel Alcalay: In & Out of Place – Memories of

Nissim Rejwan, Shimon Ballas, and Samir Naqqash 26 Yuval Evri: Shimon Ballas, Exile by Choice 32 Shimon Ballas: The Imagined Childhood, translated from the Hebrew by Eran Edry 40 Shimon Ballas: He Loved Life (Ahabba al-Hayat), a short story translated from the Arabic by Hana Morgenstern 48 Uri Horesh and Orit Bashkin: Communism,

Commitment and Humanity: David Semah 50 David Semah: He shall return, a poem translated from the Arabic by Uri Horesh 56 Ryan Zohar: Reading Sami Michael 61 Sami Michael: Blessed Is the Lord (Tabarak al-Rabb),

translated from the Arabic by Ryan Zohar 65 Sami Michael: Two Women (Imra’ataan), translated from the Arabic by Hana Morgenstern 68 Tami Israeli: The Round Dove of Baghdad: The Poetry of Amira Hess in Context 74 Amira Hess: How Long Must We Be Remade, poems translated from the Hebrew by Eran Edry 77 Reuven Snir: Maryam al-Mulla, as an Iraqi-Jewish

Feminist Activist 82 Maryam al-Mulla: His Tragedy, a Proverb, translated from the Arabic by Aviva Butt and Reuven Snir

8 BANIPAL 72 – AUTUMN/WINTER 2021