Since many Harry’s Place readers seem to share my deep concern with Israel (even while disagreeing with everything I say about it), I’d like to recommend a long but fascinating profile of the Israeli author Amos Oz, by David Remnick of The New Yorker.
The English translation of Oz’s memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness is being published this month. Oz was a child in Jerusalem during the 1948-49 War of Independence and as a teenager went to live on a kibbutz, where he spent most of his adult life. He fought in the 1967 and 1973 wars, and– after the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza– was one of the first Israelis to advocate a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.
Although his long support for a Palestinian state has angered the Israeli right, his stubborn defense of Zionism baffles many on the left.
In an earlier interview about his memoir, Oz said “a well-known Israeli Arab told me that reading my book was the first time he understood why Jews came to this country.
“I immediately wanted to have it translated into Arabic.”
According to The New Yorker, an Arabic translation will be published.
