I felt some writers had a desire to blow up the issue... Some writers accused people whose works have been translated of treason

Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid

According to him, its promotional material even said that proceeds from the series could be sent to the Palestinians.

But he has pulled out after the project came under attack from members of Egypt's intelligentsia.

Many have long opposed contacts with Israeli writers because they do not want to imply that full peace exists.

The past eight months of violence have only strengthened the conviction in Egypt that trying to encourage a dialogue with Israeli liberals is pointless.

Mr Abdel-Meguid said he belonged to the camp that believed translation was a step towards understanding, but he did not have the time or interest to defend himself against opponents.

Mutual understanding

But the prominent US-Palestinian academic Edward Said has spoken in favour of the project.

In a recent article published by an Egyptian weekly, he strongly criticised what he called a policy of ignorance that only harms the Arabs.

He said the Hebrew translation project would have helped Israelis understand the Arabs as a people, and that sophisticated knowledge of the other side was essential if Arabs wanted to develop a serious political and moral stand.

Mr Said mentioned as an example recent statements by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that were condemned by the West as anti-Semitic.

There is indeed evidence to suggest that many Arabs are not aware of the impact such language has in Europe because they have only a superficial understanding of the Holocaust.