"A nation that abhors boycotts should not cast the first ban. Israel has made some bad cultural moves down the years but none is potentially as damaging as the pointless decision to deny entry to Gunter Grass."
So begins an op-ed piece on of all places the The JC.com (the British Jewish Chronicle on line).
"Grass is one of the few epochal writers alive, a novelist who changed his people's perception of itself and helped the world to achieve a deeper understanding of the horrors of the 20th century. From The Tin Drum (1959), which presents a boy's-eye view of the Nazi period, to Crabwalk (2002), bridging end-of-war to fall-of-Wall, Grass has consistently challenged the political narrative by presenting massive events from an individual perspective. He is, by any definition, an important writer."
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"The decision undermines Israel's free-speech principles as well as the freedom of its artists to carry their message abroad. Pro-Pal writers and artists will soon boycott Israel "in solidarity with Grass". Those who defend the Israel Philharmonic and Habima in London have been lamed by the Grass ban. Netanyahu and Yishai have just accelerated Israel's cultural isolation - and for no good reason."
So begins an op-ed piece on of all places the The JC.com (the British Jewish Chronicle on line).
"Grass is one of the few epochal writers alive, a novelist who changed his people's perception of itself and helped the world to achieve a deeper understanding of the horrors of the 20th century. From The Tin Drum (1959), which presents a boy's-eye view of the Nazi period, to Crabwalk (2002), bridging end-of-war to fall-of-Wall, Grass has consistently challenged the political narrative by presenting massive events from an individual perspective. He is, by any definition, an important writer."
****
"The decision undermines Israel's free-speech principles as well as the freedom of its artists to carry their message abroad. Pro-Pal writers and artists will soon boycott Israel "in solidarity with Grass". Those who defend the Israel Philharmonic and Habima in London have been lamed by the Grass ban. Netanyahu and Yishai have just accelerated Israel's cultural isolation - and for no good reason."
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