I just read Dina Kraft's great story on the JTA site about the recent Kissufim conference in Jerusalem at which Jewish writers debated what it means to be "a Jewish writer." It's noteworthy that this conference
was held in Israel. On the one hand, of course, it makes sense. Israel is the Jewish state, where else would such a gathering be more appropriate?
On the other, though, Israeli writers must have a very different experience of what it means to be a "Jewish writer" than do writers elsewhere. In Israel, almost all writing is, by definition, "Jewish." Whether it is actually about anything specifically Jewish – or about love, families, politics, war – it is Jewish because it's in Hebrew and because it's written in or about the Jewish state. Of course, this is a very Diaspora point of view, and certainly within the Israeli literary community some authors are considered more Jewish than others.
But I wonder if the identities of Israeli authors as "Jewish writers" are heightened or dulled by the fact that they live and write in Israel. Here's what I mean: In the United States, for example, being a Jewish writer sets one apart from the rest of the pack. In Israel it means being like the majority of the other writers. Indeed, in America, one rarely hears references to "the Christian writer" or "the Muslim author." The Irish writer Frank McCourt, yes. The Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, sure. Even the Israeli writer Etgar Keret. But in the U.S. and elsewhere, though not Israel, Judaism is essentially unique today in having its writers -- people like Chaim Potok and Philip Roth – referred to by their religious background.
That being said, being Jewish and a writer in America doesn't necessarily make one a Jewish writer. Of course, most people would agree that Potok was a Jewish writer because he dealt with very specifically Jewish stories and themes, albeit in a universal way that appealed to people far beyond the Jewish community. Roth, too, is generally regarded as a Jewish writer. His depictions of Jews have upset some in the Jewish community, but for years he has taken on Jewish characters and themes in his work.
But what about someone like Norman Mailer? Or Nathaniel West? Jews both, but Jewish writers? I think the answer is less clear. Is a Jewish writer simply someone who's Jewish? Someone who writes about Jews? Someone who writes about the Jewish religion rather than simply about Jewish people?
These questions aren't easily answered. I'm happy to see they are being discussed -- and in Israel no less.
