‘I Have Two Wars in Mind’: The Experience of Ukraine-born Immigrant-Interpreters in Israel

Ukraine-born immigrants in Israel simultaneously experience the Russo-Ukrainian war, associated with their country of origin, and the Israel-Hamas war, linked to their host country. Extending existing research on interpreting in war by incorporating a migration perspective, this study examines long-term immigrants from Ukraine in Israel who engage in both professional and non-professional interpreting across diverse settings. Drawing on in-depth interviews, I argue that within their epiphanic experience, the personal and professional trajectories intersect and are reexamined and transformed. Ukraine-born immigrants revisit their native and working languages and capitalize on the Ukrainian language and origin; work in various settings for clients they rarely interpreted before; and violate the traditional boundaries of the interpreter role. Along with interlingual translation, they also engage in cultural translation, (re)interpreting themselves and their origin and host countries, and experiencing in-between belonging within and beyond their interpreting activities.