Shimon Moyal
Palestinian journalist, translator and Zionist activist (1866–1915)
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Shimon Moyal (1866–1915) was a Zionist activist and physician. He worked for several newspapers and started a short-lived newspaper with his wife, Esther Moyal. He was the translator of the Talmud into the Arabic language.
- Physician
- Translator
Shimon Moyal | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 1866 Jaffa, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 1915 (aged 48–49) Jaffa, Ottoman Empire |
| Occupations |
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| Notable work | At-Talmud: Asluhu wa-tasalsuluhu wa-adabuhu |
| Spouse | |
| Parent | Yousef Moyal (father) |
Early life and education
Moyal was born in Jaffa in 1866.[1] His father was Yousef Moyal whose family were wealthy Jews from Morocco who settled in Palestine.[1][2] Shimon's brother, David Moyal (1880–1953), was a lawyer and activist.[2] Shimon attended Jewish religious schools in Palestine.[1] Then he went to Beirut where he studied Arabic and French languages.[1] Next he studied medicine in Cairo.[3]
Activities and career
During his studies in Cairo and later Moyal worked for different publications.[3] One of them was Al Muqattam, a Cairo-based newspaper.[4] He and his wife, Esther Moyal, returned to Palestine in late 1908[3][5] shortly after the Young Turk revolution in the Ottoman Empire.[6]
In 1909 Moyal published an Arabic translation of Talmud entitled At-Talmud: Asluhu wa-tasalsuluhu wa-adabuhu (Arabic: The Talmud: Its Origin, Transmission, and Ethics) to make Judaism much more known by both Muslims and Christians who could read the Arabic texts.[1] In 1913 he and his friend Nissim Malul launched a Jewish newspaper, Sawt Al Uthmaniyah (Arabic: the Voice of Ottoman), which was published in Arabic.[3] The paper was edited by Moyal and his wife.[3][6] Moyals and Malul also founded an association, Ha-Magen (Hebrew: The Shield), which aimed to answer to any hostile article against Zionism published in the Arabic publications.[3] Another goal of the association was to encourage greater understanding between Jews and Arabs in Palestine and to support the peaceful relations with Arabs living in the region.[3] Moyal was also very active in the Jaffa freemasonry society and participated in the activities of the Decentralization Party in Egypt (Al-Lamarkaziyah).[3]