Abstract
This thesis examines the first Hebrew works of fiction by three Iraqi-Jewish authors, all immigrants to Israel. HaMa'abarah (The Transit Camp) by Shimon Ballas, Shavim veShavim Yoter (Some Are Equal and Others Are More) by Sami Mikhael, and Tarnegol Caparot (Scapegoat) by Eli Amir are three fictional works that focus on the experience of Iraqi-Jewish immigrants who were sent to live in transit camps upon arrival in Israel during 1950-51. This paper will analyze the complex representation of the transit camp in these texts as both a transitory and permanent space. The transit camp will be considered as a simultaneously symbolic and physical "contact space" in which the past, present, and future collide leading to a conflict that is in many instances intractable. The framework of the "contact space" is an adoption or Mary Louise Pratt's "contact zone," or space where disparate cultures meet. The narratives, while divergent in structure and style, share the common thread of the transit camp as a focal point, not only a symbolic focal point but a concrete one as well. The general orientation of scholarship and criticism of these texts has been relegated to a dichotomous discourse that consistently views the texts as facilitating a subversive dialogue opposing the dominant Zionist narrative. This paper does not claim that such an element is not present in the narratives, but rather looks to engage the texts without adhering specifically to the purview of Mizrahi identity politics and post-Zionist discourse. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the significance of these works as marking the entry point of the Iraqi-Jewish voice into Modern Hebrew writing, as well as the manner by and degree to which this is achieved.