Wednesday, February 17, 2016

2016-02-16 Salman Natour, Druz Arabic and Hebrew author passed away yesterday הסופר סלמאן נאטור נפטר אתמול

2016-02-16 Salman Natour, Druz Arabic and Hebrew author passed away yesterday
הסופר סלמאן נאטור נפטר אתמול
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Natour, born in 1949, lived and wrote on the uneasy fault-line between Palestinian and Israeli cultures. He was a prolific author and play-write in both Arabic and Hebrew and also translated between the two languages. Former editor of the Israeli, Arabic language communist daily Al-Itihad, he was Pan-arabist by persuasion, and in clear dissent with the Israeli authorities. In 1982 he was placed under a 6 month home detention. Also in 1982, one of his plays was shut down by the Israeli censors.
He was born and lived in Druz village of Daliat Al-Karmel on the Carmel mountain, and was educated in Jerusalem and Haifa universities.
I had the honor of getting to know Salman in the course of my efforts to produce and Arabic translation of the stories of Yitzhaq Shami (1888-1949), a Jewish Hebrew author, who likewise lived and wrote on the same fault-line... Particularly intriguing for me was Salman's choice to translate from Hebrew into Arabic a collection of philosophical essays by Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), perhaps the most prominent intellectual public figure in the history of the State of Israel. I was even more surprised, when Salman told me that his original intention was to translate into Arabic Leibowitz's book “Maimonides' Faith”, which reviews the religious philosophy of Maimonides (Ibn Maimun) (1138-1204). Maimonides was a native of Spain under Muslim rule, and later lived in Cairo, he is considered the most prominent Jewish philosopher of all times, and he originally wrote in Arabic.
With the passing away of Salman Natour, a large void is left among those who bridge between Palestinian and Israeli cultures, a critical function for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
http://www.haaretz.co.il/…/der…/size_936xAuto/1397131400.jpg
Merey Salman Merey

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