Sayed Kashua, an Arab Israeli journalist, novelist and creator of a popular sitcom on Israeli television, is giving a special lecture at Syracuse University. The event is Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life (102 Walnut Place), and is part of the B.G. Rudolph Lecture Series in The College of Arts and Sciences’ Judaic Studies Program. For more information, call (315) 443-5671.
Kashua’s lecture, “Jewish Humor and the Palestinian Ghetto in Israel,” is free and open to the public. The program includes author readings and a Q-and-A session, and is followed by a book signing and reception.
“Kashua novels are engaging and perceptive, expressing the complex position of Palestinians in Israel,” says event organizer Ken Frieden, holder of the B.G. Rudolph Chair in Judaic Studies. “In a humorous vein, Kashua’s television program, ‘Arab Labor,’ confronts issues of assimilation and discrimination that are familiar to many American Jews. The show navigates a narrow course between assuming one’s Israeli identity and retaining one’s ethnic distinctiveness.” Frieden also serves as professor in the departments of English; religion; and languages, literatures and linguistics.
A Palestinian citizen of Israel who writes in Hebrew, Kashua has been dubbed a “walking oxymoron.” Two of his novels—“Dancing Arabs” (Grove Press, 2002) and “Let It Be Morning” (Grove Press, 2006)—were published to critical acclaim in English. “Second Person” (2010), a biting commentary on Arabic society, is his latest novel. Kashua also contributes satiric columns in Hebrew to Haaretz, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper.
Kashua is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s Freedom of Expression Award (2010), Germany’s Lessing Prize (2006) and the Prime Minister’s Israel Prize (2005).
Kashua’s visit is made possible by a variety of sponsors at SU and Le Moyne College. SU sponsors are the Judaic Studies Program, the Carnegie Religion and Media Program, the SU Humanities Center, the Middle Eastern Studies Program, the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing and the Winnick Hillel Center. Le Moyne’s sponsors are the Department of Communications and Film Studies, and the Peace and Global Studies Program.
