Cold peace in translation: a comparative analysis of two Egyptian versions of Moshe Sasson’s memoirs as Israel’s ambassador to Egypt

This article sheds light on the complex role of translation within the context of bilateral peace relations characterised by enduring animosity and lack of people-to-people reconciliation, often labelled ‘cold peace’. Focusing on Israeli-Egyptian relations, which have maintained formal diplomatic ties since the 1979 peace treaty but have seen limited engagement at the popular level, the article offers a textual and para-textual comparative analysis of two Egyptian Arabic translations of the memoirs of the second Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Moshe Sasson. The comparison reveals that translation serves both polemical and conciliatory purposes, contingent on the political and ideological inclinations of the translators or the publishers. The 1994 translation frequently distorts portrayals of Israeli-Egyptian relations by neglecting mutual aspects, accentuating descriptions of hostility, and undermining the significance of peace, aligning with an anti-normalisation agenda. In contrast, the 2005 translation predominantly conveys the Israeli perspective neutrally, while selectively adjusting passages to avoid escalating animosity on the Egyptian side and preventing offence to Arab readers. These disparate approaches embedded in the target texts simultaneously respond to the expectations of the Arab/Egyptian readership and shape the discourse of Egyptians and Arabs towards Israel and the peace relations between the two countries.