Israel Studies Roundtable Lunch: Dr. Ahmad Ayyad on Translating Contested Narratives in Wartime

This talk examines how contested narratives are produced and negotiated through
translation in wartime, focusing on two U.S.-brokered diplomatic texts related to Israel’s 2023 war in Gaza: Steve Witkoff’s cease-fire proposal and President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war. Witkoff’s proposal, released on May 30, 2025, called for a temporary cease-fire and a prisoner exchange, while Trump’s plan, announced on September 29, 2025, sought to end the war and initiate negotiations toward a lasting resolution. Originally drafted in English and subsequently translated into Arabic by governmental and media actors, these texts circulate in highly polarized political environments where meaning is actively contested. Drawing on product-oriented Descriptive Translation Studies and Critical Discourse Analysis, the talk analyzes how translation mediates competing Palestinian and Israeli narratives through the naming of political actors, and the translation of politically sensitive terminology. Although such high-stakes diplomatic texts are conventionally expected to be translated with accuracy and neutrality, the analysis reveals subtle yet consequential translational shifts that index ideological positioning and asymmetric power relations, thereby reinforcing or challenging dominant narratives. By situating these case studies within the broader literature on translation in conflict and war zones, the paper argues that translation functions not merely as linguistic transfer but as a site of narrative contestation, shaping media discourse, public perception, and the political life of wartime texts.

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