Amos Oz Shuns Israel Government Events To Protest Right-Wing Policies
Image by Getty Images
Israeli writer Amos Oz announced that, to protest what he sees as extremist government policies, he will no longer participate in Israeli embassy-sponsored events.
Oz, who is arguably Israel’s most famous and most widely translate author, told the Jerusalem Post Thursday that “Following the radicalization in the policy of the present government in various areas, I told my hosts abroad that I prefer not to be a guest of honor in events organized for me by Israeli embassies.“
However, the 76-year-old novelist, memoirist and essayist told the Post, “I strongly oppose the BDS [movement] and I strongly oppose the idea of boycotting Israel. My decision is aimed against the government, not against my country.”
Oz, whose memoir “A Tale of Love and Darkness” was adapted into a film by Israel-born actress Natalie Portman earlier this year, was one of the first Israelis to call for a Palestinian state, in a 1967 article, and was a founder of the Peace Now organization.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
