Exile from Exile: Israeli Writers from Iraq

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Many people helped me in the writing of this book and I would like to express my gratitude and thank those who helped me the most. My interest in this topic began years ago, when Professor Edna Amir Coffin introducted me to Sami Michael through his novel FJasut in a Hebrew literature course. A few years later Gaby and Ral).el Warburg , then directors of the Israeli Academic Center in Cairo, introduced me to the author himself on one of his first visits to Egypt. By then I had already serendipitously bought Shmuel Moreh's anthology Short Stories by Jewish Writers from Iraq (and shelved it until I had the necessary language ability). Later I benefitted from his generosity with time and materials. Through the Association for Israeli Academics from Iraq he supplied me with many of the books otherwise unavailable in the bookstores. Roger Allen read multiple drafts beginning with the initial proposal . Yael Zerubavel exhibited similar patience and encouraged me with her enthusiasm. Their close readings, constructive criticisms, and hours of consultation helped me from getting lost in the detail. Without their comments, and those of others who read the manuscript-in whole or in part-it would be a different book. I am grateful to Dan Laor and Walter Zenner who encouraged me with their comments and gifts of relevant publications, Dick Davis for his feedback on style, and Peter Heath and Robert Hegel for their suggestions on content and form. Anonymous reviewers have helped me to clarify and improve the original manuscript; I am particularly grateful to Ammiel Alcalay for his careful reading and generosity in sharing his views. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many in Israel helped me by sharing their homes, friendship, enthusiasm, contacts, and personal archives. Nitza Ben Dov introduced me to Sasson Somekh who probably knows more about this topic than anyone else, both on the personal and academic level. He gave me much of his valuable time while taking a sabbatical at the Annenberg Institute; and since then he has made himself available whether in the States, in Tel Aviv, in Jerusalem, or in Cairo. In addition to his direct help, he also made many opportunities available to me, from access to the excellent library at the Annenberg to providing me with an introduction to the writer SamIr Naqqash. Alex Zehavi helped me formulate some of the ideas about literary exile that underlie this study as well as introduced me to members of the Iraqi Jewish community. These included David Sagiv and Nissim Rejwan, who offered a personal perspective on the history and literature of the Jewish community in Iraq. I look forward to the day Nissim publishes his memoirs. The writers Eli Amir, Shimon Ballas, Yitzhak Bar-Moshe, Shalom DarwIsh, Yaakov (Bi.lbul) Lev, Sami Michael, and SamIr Naqqash (as prolific in his correspondence as in his writing) and David (Rabi) Rabeeya (in the US) were wonderfully forthcoming-and patient-to a novice interviewer. During the process of revision I had several opportunities to discuss different sections of this work. The most fruitful of these were at Beit Berl College and the University of Haifa. I am especially thankful to David Semach, Shimon Ballas, and Reuven Snir for thdr continuing support, interest, and feedback. Many of my friends and colleagues, especially Rosanna Perotti AIBusaidi , Chris Ruanl;!, and the late Nancy Grant, have b(!en helpful in many ways. Marc Saperstein was the first to recognize a book in the penultimate draft, tracked down bibliographic details, smoothed over infelicities of language, and kept me from committing more egregious errors than might be found. My thanks are also due to Yo:ssi Galron for prompt and precise bibliographic aid. Any errors or oversights in this area or others, however, are fully my responsibility. The largesse of the Mellon Foundation and the Lady Davis Fund supported me during the research phases; the Yad HaNadiv/Barecha Foundation was truly generous and a blessing for the final states of writing. I am grateful to the staff members of the Annenberg Research Institute library, the Museum of Babylonian Jewry in Or Yehudah, the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi Jewish National Library, the Van Pelt library at the University of Pennsalvania, and the archives of the Tchemikhovsky Bet HaSofer in Tel Aviv. For kindly granting permission to reprint from their publications, thanks to the following: From the essay "Exile and European Thought: Heine, Marx and Michiewicz in July Monarcy Paris...