On Zionist Literature

Paperback, 188 pages

Published July 8, 2022 by Ebb Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-7399852-3-3

(1 review)

Translated into English for the first time after its publication in 1967, Ghassan Kanafani's On Zionist Literature makes an incisive analysis of the body of literary fiction written in support of the Zionist colonization of Palestine.

Interweaving his literary criticism of works by George Eliot, Arthur Koestler, and many others with a historical materialist narrative, Kanafani identifies the political intent and ideology of Zionist literature, demonstrating how the myths used to justify the Zionist-imperialist domination of Palestine first emerged and were repeatedly propagated in popular literary works in order to generate support for Zionism and shape the Western public’s understanding of it.

The new preface by Anni Kanafani and an introduction by Steven Salaita place On Zionist Literature in its broader historical context and make a compelling case for its ongoing significance more than five decades since its original publication, illustrating the extent to which “Kanafani was a searing and …

Translated into English for the first time after its publication in 1967, Ghassan Kanafani's On Zionist Literature makes an incisive analysis of the body of literary fiction written in support of the Zionist colonization of Palestine.

Interweaving his literary criticism of works by George Eliot, Arthur Koestler, and many others with a historical materialist narrative, Kanafani identifies the political intent and ideology of Zionist literature, demonstrating how the myths used to justify the Zionist-imperialist domination of Palestine first emerged and were repeatedly propagated in popular literary works in order to generate support for Zionism and shape the Western public’s understanding of it.

The new preface by Anni Kanafani and an introduction by Steven Salaita place On Zionist Literature in its broader historical context and make a compelling case for its ongoing significance more than five decades since its original publication, illustrating the extent to which “Kanafani was a searing and incisive critic, at once generous in his understanding of emotion and form and unsparing in his assessment of politics and myth.”

Ghassan Kanafani is regarded as one of the most well-known Arab writers and journalists of the past century. Born in Palestine in 1936, Kanafani and his family were forced to flee his homeland during the Nakba – after which he lived and worked in Damascus, Kuwait and finally, from 1960, Beirut. Kanafani was martyred on July 8th, 1972, along with his niece Lamees, in a car bomb planted by Israeli agents. His writings have inspired entire generations of Palestinians and those in solidarity with their cause.

1 edition

ilchinealach reviewed On Zionist Literature by Ghassan Kanafani (Liberated Texts)

Review of 'On Zionist Literature' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

On Zionist Literature is a polemic work of literary criticism in the best sense. it is short, sharp and focused on the political requirements of the moment in which it was published, namely, to the end of an anti-imperialist struggle for the liberation of Palestine. In this way Kanafani sets out to challenge the racism and anti-Arab tropes of Zionist literature, particularly in the West.

Kanafani begins in (early) early modernity, with Hebrew literature, Maimonides and the Psalms, though the bulk of the study concentrates on thirty or forty novels published from the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, from Benjamin Disraeli to Arthur Koestler. Kanafani’s central argument is that these authors repudiated an internationalist or positive vision of Judaism, preferring to lay the foundation for a supremacist and chauvinistic ideology whose moment came in securing a garrison state shaped to the ends of Western imperialism in the years after …

On Zionist Literature is a polemic work of literary criticism in the best sense. it is short, sharp and focused on the political requirements of the moment in which it was published, namely, to the end of an anti-imperialist struggle for the liberation of Palestine. In this way Kanafani sets out to challenge the racism and anti-Arab tropes of Zionist literature, particularly in the West.

Kanafani begins in (early) early modernity, with Hebrew literature, Maimonides and the Psalms, though the bulk of the study concentrates on thirty or forty novels published from the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, from Benjamin Disraeli to Arthur Koestler. Kanafani’s central argument is that these authors repudiated an internationalist or positive vision of Judaism, preferring to lay the foundation for a supremacist and chauvinistic ideology whose moment came in securing a garrison state shaped to the ends of Western imperialism in the years after the second world war. In a manner that corresponds very closely with the stated aim of its publishing house, Liberated Texts, Kanafani also condemns the Western literary critical establishment in elevating works which play a propagandistic role, awarding prizes and places in the canon to self-evidently inferior or didactic works, solely because they can be relied upon to follow a particular political line and denigrate the social customs, political demands and or humanity of the Arab peoples.

The only critique I have of this work is that I wish it were longer, what material is directed towards the early history of Judaic cultural production is fascinating and I would have loved to read more on an argument which is only touched upon here, namely that that particular literary tropes regarding Jewishness pass in and out of fashion according to trends in modern state formation. Critical apparatus, contextual materials, references and footnotes are comprehensive.