Summary of "Israeli Fantasy and Science Fiction: Fantastical Time Space and the Modern Promised Land Vered Weiss"

Overview

Summary of the lecture “Israeli Fantasy and Science Fiction: Fantastical Time, Space, and the Modern Promised Land” by Dr. Vered Weiss. The talk maps central trends in 21st‑century Israeli fantasy and science fiction (works written in Hebrew and published in Israel), argues that these works repeatedly reconfigure time and space because of modern physics and the cultural‑political idea of Israel as the Promised Land, and proposes a three‑part subdivision for contemporary Israeli SF&F.

Israeli SF&F repeatedly reconfigures time and space because of two special complications: modern physics (which complicates “reality”) and the cultural‑political idea of Israel as the Promised Land (a mythic chronotope).

Main ideas and concepts

Purpose of the talk
- Map central trends in 21st‑century Israeli SF&F (Hebrew, published in Israel).
- Show how modern physics and the Promised Land chronotope complicate “reality” and shape narrative strategies.
- Propose a three‑part generic subdivision (Judaic, Universalist, Hybrid) to explain themes and reader expectations.
Key theoretical tools
- Defamiliarization (Victor Shklovsky): fantasy/SF makes familiar things feel new; depends on an agreed boundary between “real” and “fantastic.”
- Chronotope (Mikhail Bakhtin): unity of time, space and character in narrative; SF & fantasy manipulate chronotopes as a genre hallmark.
- Ilana Gomel’s formulation: SF as projection/elaboration of alternative worlds—used to frame Israeli examples.
The central problem in Israeli SF&F
- Time‑space instability: modern Israel is constructed out of ancient myth (the Promised Land) plus contested, shifting borders and histories; this instability becomes a recurring narrative resource.
- Reader engagement: readers must adopt the text’s chronotope to enjoy SF/fantasy; in Israel that chronotope often interacts with biblical/mythic material and Zionist utopian imaginations.

Genre taxonomy (methodology / classification)

Dr. Weiss divides contemporary Israeli SF&F (Hebrew, published in Israel) into three sub‑genres. Each is defined and illustrated with features and examples.

Judaic Israeli SF&F
- Definition: Texts that explicitly engage Jewish/Judaic traditions, historical events, religious myth, and formative Israeli locations.
- Central chronotope: the Promised Land as a mythic/ideological Place—either a yearning to return or a struggle to escape that call.
- Characteristics:
  - Heavy biblical allusion and Jewish historical memory (e.g., Babylonian exile).
  - Merging of ancient mythic time‑spaces with contemporary Israeli settings/sensibilities.
  - Exploration of religious, national, ethical dilemmas through fantastical devices.
- Examples:
  - Leviathan Trilogy — Leviathan of Babylon; The Water Between the Worlds; Journey to the Heart of the Abyss (author cited as “Yanai”/“Yennai”): protagonists move between contemporary Israel and ancient Babylonia; Babylon functions as metaphor for exile/yearning.
  - Works by Shimon Adaf (Judea/Rose trilogy; Under Cities): futuristic Tel Aviv fused with Kabbalah, mysticism, Zionist imagery; Jewish placenames become symbolic gates between worlds.
Universalist Israeli SF&F
- Definition: Texts that avoid specific Judaic/Israeli cultural markers and use broadly recognizable or invented worlds; written in Hebrew by Israeli authors but aimed at universal themes/readers.
- Characteristics:
  - Settings do not evoke the Promised Land or overt Jewish ritual/history.
  - Plots address universal ethical/philosophical questions (gender, death, consumerism, virtuality, etc.).
  - Greater likelihood of cross‑cultural translation and international readership.
- Examples:
  - The Winter Bloop series (children’s/YA fantasy about a fairy child—setting not recognizably Israeli).
  - Short stories such as “The Harbinger” (Yael Foreman) — fantasy kingdom exploring gender/social roles.
  - “Birthday Experience From Another World” (Lily Day) — futuristic service that lets customers “buy” interactions with dead celebrities; meditation on death and consumption.
Hybrid Judaic–Universalist SF&F
- Definition: Texts that blend universal speculative tropes with distinctively Jewish/Israeli spatial, historical, or cultural references.
- Characteristics:
  - Local Israeli referents (cities, political events, Holocaust echoes) alongside global SF/fantasy concerns (genetic engineering, climate change, class/caste metaphors).
  - Often interrogate Israeli social issues (occupation, resource struggles, marginalization) through speculative scenarios.
- Examples:
  - The Heart of the Circle (translated into English): set in Tel Aviv; marginalized people with magical abilities; explicit references anchoring it in Israeli culture.
  - Asaf/Asaph Gavron’s Hydromania: cli‑fi/dystopia set in a future Israel reduced by water scarcity and conflict; combines Israeli place‑names/history with global corporate/climate themes.
  - YA novels by Yael Foreman (Glass House Children; World Fragments): set in Israel while exploring genetic engineering, virtual reality, and adolescent concerns.
  - Short story “Twinskoli”: genetic replication tale invoking Holocaust references (Mengele) within a contemporary Israeli social/military setting.

Recurring themes and narrative functions

Promised Land chronotope
- Functions as both literal place and mythic, unattainable ideal. SF&F literalize or question the promise; exile metaphors (e.g., Babylon) appear for personal or national nostalgia.
Yearning vs. inhabitation
- Jewish/Israeli identity in these texts often shows the paradox of being commanded to inhabit the land while always yearning for it; fantasy stages that paradox as literal time/space dislocation.
Social critique through speculative devices
- Common topics: exclusion and segregation (magical “othering”), gender and sexuality, genetic engineering and bodily difference, climate change and resource wars, corporate exploitation, Holocaust memory, militarization.
Linguistic play
- Hebrew’s layered, allusive nature is a creative resource; however, it complicates translation because many puns and allusions are culturally dense.

Publishing, translation, and audience issues (Q&A highlights)

Translation and translatability
- Many authors do not write with translation in mind; Hebrew’s linguistic density and embedded cultural/historical allusions make some works hard to translate without loss or extensive annotation.
- Some hybrid and universalist works have been translated (e.g., Hydromania, The Heart of the Circle), which helps reach global readers.
Market and audience constraints
- Israeli authors primarily write for a smaller domestic readership; commercial considerations matter, but many prioritize artistic integrity over designing works for export.
Cross‑cultural influences
- Israeli SF&F is part of global conversations: Anglo‑American and Russian/Soviet SF traditions influence Israeli writers. Large immigrant waves (e.g., 1990s from the former USSR) boosted local SF fandom and production.
Film and TV
- Some Israeli speculative TV/film exist (e.g., the YA series Infinity — a teen SF/time‑travel/mystery show). Many literary works had not (as of the talk) been adapted, though adaptation remains an area of interest.

Notable lessons / takeaways

The Promised Land myth (biblical and Zionist) is a persistent chronotope shaping Israeli SF&F; recognizing it clarifies how time and space are reworked in Israeli imaginative literature.
The Judaic / Universalist / Hybrid classification helps readers and scholars see both local specificity and global generic continuities.
Israeli SF&F participates in global genre conventions while offering perspectives shaped by biblical memory, Zionist utopianism, Hebrew language play, and contemporary Israeli sociopolitical realities.
Translations and adaptations could widen readership but must negotiate dense linguistic and cultural references.

Examples and texts cited

Leviathan Trilogy: Leviathan of Babylon; The Water Between the Worlds; Journey to the Heart of the Abyss (author cited as “Yanai”/“Yennai”).
Shimon Adaf: Judea/Rose trilogy; Under Cities / A Fall.
The Heart of the Circle (translated into English).
Hydromania (Asaf/Asaph Gavron).
Stories and short fiction published in the magazine Hai / Hay (“Once Upon a Future”) and the online site/community “Bli Panika / No Panic.”
Short stories singled out:
- “The Harbinger” (Yael Foreman)
- “Birthday Experience From Another World” (Lily Day)
- “Stitches and Claws” (Karen/Keren Lansman)
- “Sea of Salt” (Ilana Gomel)
- “Schrödinger’s Gorgon” (unnamed author in discussion)
- “Twinskoli” (title as cited)
TV series: Infinity (Hebrew YA sci‑fi/time‑travel).

Speakers and sources featured

Main presenter: Dr. Vered Weiss (Sterling Israeli Visiting Scholar).
Sponsors/hosts: Introducer/host (unnamed MSU faculty/staff); Michael and Elaine Sterling (donors/endowment).
Editors and scholars cited: Ilana Gomel; Danielle (Danielle/Daniella) Govich (editors of the forthcoming Palgrave Handbook of Global Fantasy).
Literary/theory sources: Victor Shklovsky (defamiliarization); Mikhail (Miguel) Bakhtin (chronotope).
Biblical/historical references used as narrative sources: Abraham; Jeremiah; Babylonian exile; Rabbi Akiva; Promised Land (Genesis, Numbers); Theodore Herzl; Levinsky (early proto‑Zionist utopian fiction).
Authors/practitioners discussed:
- Yanai / Yennai (Leviathan Trilogy)
- Shimon Adaf
- Ilana Gomel
- Yael Foreman
- Lily Day
- Karen/Keren Lansman
- Asaf/Asaph Gavron
- Shimona Duff (emerging voice)
- Various unnamed Israeli SF&F authors cited via magazines/festivals
Other cultural references: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams); Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment; Joseph Mengele (invoked in a story’s Holocaust allusion).

Further options (as offered in the talk)

Provide a cleaned list of the specific works and correct author names (cross‑checked against bibliographies).
Extract a short recommended reading list (translated works first) based on the works mentioned.