By Ofer Aderet |
Sep.29, 2012 | 3:46 PM
After drawing fire for criticizing Israel's stance on Iran
in a controversial poem earlier this year, prominent German writer Gunter Grass
confronts Israeli policy in a new poem, in which he lauds Mordechai Vanunu, a
former nuclear technician imprisoned by Israel
for years for revealing details of Israel's nuclear program to the
British media.
Blogger Comment: What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Why are they against Iran's nuclear project?!
In April, Israel declared
the Nobel Prize literature laureate Grass "persona
non grata" after he published a poem saying it threatened world peace
in its standoff with Tehran and that it must not
be allowed to launch military strikes against Iran.
Grass’ poem entitled “What must be said”
drew
strong criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well. "His
declarations are ignorant and shameful and every honest person in this world
must condemn them," Netanyahu said.
Grass's words were also denounced by mainstream political parties in
Germany, where any strong condemnation of Israel
is taboo because of the Nazi-perpetrated Holocaust.
In a new poem, part of a collection released ahead of
Grass's 85th birthday and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the German writer calls
Vanunu a "paragon" and a "modern-day hero."
Relating to Vanunu, Grass writes that only "heroes such as that are needed in the word, which utters words of peace while planning destruction." The poem details Vanunu's life story, beginning from his childhood in Beer Sheba, through his studies at the yeshiva, his work at the Dimona nuclear reactor, and finally his conversion to Christianity.
The Nobel laureate describes how Vanunu was seduced and kidnapped by Israeli agents abroad, after which the former Dimona worker was charged with espionage and placed in solitary confinement for 18 years.
Grass calls Vanunu a "righteous man, who has remained loyal to his country the entire time," comparing him to the Biblical Joseph, who was thrown into the cistern by his brothers.
Grass, who is most famous for his 1959 novel "The Tin Drum," denies he is anti-Semitic. He has urged his countrymen for decades to come to terms with their Nazi past, but his moral authority has never fully recovered from his admission in 2006 that he once served in Adolf Hitler's Waffen SS.
Relating to Vanunu, Grass writes that only "heroes such as that are needed in the word, which utters words of peace while planning destruction." The poem details Vanunu's life story, beginning from his childhood in Beer Sheba, through his studies at the yeshiva, his work at the Dimona nuclear reactor, and finally his conversion to Christianity.
The Nobel laureate describes how Vanunu was seduced and kidnapped by Israeli agents abroad, after which the former Dimona worker was charged with espionage and placed in solitary confinement for 18 years.
Grass calls Vanunu a "righteous man, who has remained loyal to his country the entire time," comparing him to the Biblical Joseph, who was thrown into the cistern by his brothers.
Grass, who is most famous for his 1959 novel "The Tin Drum," denies he is anti-Semitic. He has urged his countrymen for decades to come to terms with their Nazi past, but his moral authority has never fully recovered from his admission in 2006 that he once served in Adolf Hitler's Waffen SS.
Blogger Comment: It is well documented that Jews also served in Hitler's Military apparatus.
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