Images of Iran in Modern Hebrew Literature
Images of Iran in Modern Hebrew Literature

Author(s): Shoshana Ronen
Subject(s): Cultural history
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Hebrew literature; Judeo-Persian; Iranian Jews; Jewish-Muslim relations; tradition; family saga; women
Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the images of Iran in modern Hebrew literature. From the end of the twentieth century onwards, rich and varied literary works have been written which take place in Iran, portraying the Jewish way of life and culture. The writers are mostly Jewish Iranian immigrants to Israel and their offspring. Therefore, many works of fiction are realistic with biographical components. They are centered around Jewish familial life, both in villages and in big cities, mostly in Teheran, where three-quarters of Iranian Jews lived. The article concentrates on four novels published in the twenty-first century, books that illustrate the life of Jews in Iran from the 1940s till the 1970s before the Islamic revolution. These novels share some common topics. The way of writing is very sensual; colors, smells, sights and voices are in the center of the novels. The characters are emotional and they do not hide it. They love, hate, sing and shout out loud. The power of family bonds is extremely coercive, and the social structure is conservative and patriarchal. The protagonists are proud of their tradition, which also includes Iranian culture, especially Persian poetry and language. The Hebrew prose is saturated with Persian words and idioms. An intricate common issue is Jewish-Muslim relations. The novels describe the complexity and various dimensions of the life of a tolerated but detested minority. Another shared topic is various strategies of women to survive in the ultra conservative and patriarchal community.

• Details
• Contents