Translations

Translation Conventions

All references to “Palestine” and/or “Mandate Palestine” refer to what is now known as the State of Israel.

All references to “Palestinians” refer to Jews who were living in the area prior to 1948. If there is a reference to an Arab, he or she will be referred to as an “Arab.” This is not a political statement. Prior to 1948, Jews were referred to as “Palestinians” and Arabs were referred to as “Arabs”.

A word-for-word translation of the following translations would be incomprehensible to the non-Yiddish speaking reader; the true meaning can only be understood within the cultural context, i.e., pre-1939 Europe. I have therefore translated the text to clarify the concepts because “… when in doubt, translators are well advised to tilt to the target audience and its expectations, not to the source text”. Lefevere, André, Translating Literature: Practice and Theory in a Comparative Literature Context.

What I have not done, except where indicated, was to translate the text with knowledge of what was to come because of democracy’s defeat in the Spanish Civil War. I have tried to keep the translations faithful to the original text but have made changes where necessary to maintain comprehension and narrative flow. All translations and endnotes are my own except where attribution is made.