An incomplete frame narrative revisited: S. Yizhar's introduction to 'Hirbet Hiz'ah'

S. Yizhar's 1949 'Hirbet Hiz'ah' contains a puzzling narrative frame, which is not closed at the novella's ending. This article analyzes Yizhar's interest in this device in light of a recently discovered, previously unpublished introduction to the novella written by Yizhar himself. I argue that Yizhar's incomplete framing device should be viewed as integral to his story. Read against his introduction, I claim that 'Hirbet Hiz'ah' is first and foremost about the rending of a harmonious ethical and Zionist identity in 1948, whereas the actual expulsion is a secondary concern. A translation of this introduction is included at the article's end. Keywords: S. Yizhar, 1948, Hirbet Hiz'ah, introduction
SYizhar's 1949 novella 'Hirbet Hiz'ah,' which details the planned conquest of a Palestinian village and the permanent expulsion of its residents during the first Arab-Israeli war, is widely considered to [...]