German Nobel literature laureate
In the poem, titled What Must be Said, published in German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Italy's La Repubblica among others, Grass criticises what he describes as western hypocrisy over Israel's own suspected nuclear programme amid speculation it might engage in military action against
"The nuclear power Israel is endangering the already fragile world peace," he wrote. His poem specifically criticises Israel's "claim to the right of a first strike" against Iran. Grass also called for "unhindered and permanent control of Israel's nuclear capability and Iran's atomic facilities through an international body". Grass did not mention calls for the destruction of Israel that have been made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but obliquely referred to the Iranian people being "subjugated by a loudmouth". Israel is widely believed to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons but has never admitted it, pursuing instead an official policy of "ambiguity" to deter potential attackers. Israel has three Dolphin submarines from
The left-leaning Grass established himself as a leading literary figure with The Tin Drum, published in 1959, and won the Nobel Prize in 1999. He urged fellow Germans to confront their painful Nazi history in the decades after the second world war. However, his image suffered when he admitted in his 2006 autobiography that he was drafted into the Waffen-SS, the combat arm of the Nazis' paramilitary organisation, in the final months of the war. Grass's comments swiftly drew sharp criticism on Wednesday. "What must also be said is that Israel is the world's only nation whose right to exist is publicly questioned," the Israeli embassy in Germany said in a statement. "We want to live in peace with our neighbours in the region." "Günter Grass is turning the situation upside-down by defending a brutal regime that not only disregards but openly violates international agreements for many years," said Deidre Berger, director of the American Jewish Committee in Berlin. "Iran is the threat for world peace – and Israel the only democracy in the entire region, and at the same time the world's only whose right to exist is openly questioned," said Charlotte Knobloch, a former leader of Germany's Jewish community. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is a staunch ally of Israel, and her spokesman reacted coolly to Grass's remarks. "There is artistic freedom in Germany, and there thankfully also is the freedom of the government not to have to comment on every artistic production," Steffen Seibert said. The head of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee – lawmaker Ruprecht Polenz, a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats – told the daily Mitteldeutsche Zeitung that Grass was a great author "but he always has difficulties when he speak about politics and mostly gets it wrong". "The country that worries us is Iran," he was quoted as saying, adding that "his poem distracts attention from that".
Günter Grass launches poetry attack on Israel - 6 April 2012
Source: The Guardian