One of the most important voices in the Israeli debate was Tom Segev’s, a world-renowned historian and author. He conducted a two and half-hours interview with Günter Grass in Summer 2011 to mark the publication of the Hebrew translation of his autobiographical book “Peeling the Onion” and wrote a cover story about it in the Haaretz Journal of 26 August 26th, 2011, pp 12-15 (read online here: The German who needed a fig leaf).

In his article published in Haaretz on April 5, 2012 (p. 1 and 4) under the title “More pathetic than anti-Semitic” (read online here: Gunter Grass’ poem is more pathetic than anti-Semitic) Segev points out that Grass did not break (as he insinuates) a speaking taboo. Segev underlines that the question of how to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power is an open and controversial debate in Israel. Segev refers to the former Mossad chief Meir Dagan who shares Grass's view that Iran should not be bombed by Israel.

However, Aviel Magnezi in his article published in Ynetnews.com “Israel no longer taboo in Germany” (read online here: Israel no longer taboo in Germany) points out that it is a controversial question whether Grass’s poem is a violation of a taboo in German public discourse. Aviel Magnezi quotes two former Israeli ambassadors to Germany, Shimon Stein and Avi Primor who disagree on this question. According to Shimon Stein Grass is not the first one expressing concern about Israeli politics in regards to Iran because “criticism against Israel has been voiced by many German politicians, including the chancellor”. The German defense minister, too, recently expressed concern regarding a possible Israeli attack on Iran, says Shimon Stein. Avi Primor, however, claims that “the poem is a serious violation of a taboo”. According to Primor “there is a hidden anger in Germany regarding the fear of criticizing Israel and many Germans identify with poem’s title.”

Israeli commentators also disagree on whether Grass’s publication can be seen as a manifestation of modern European anti-Semitism.

Segev points out that “Grass’ comparison of Israel and Iran is unfair, because unlike Iran, Israel has never threatened to wipe another country off the map.” From his point of view Grass is not better informed about Israeli nuclear program than the average news consumer, and therefore his opinion is vacuous.

The Jerusalm Post editorial “Shame on Grass”, published on April 8, 2012 (read online here: Shame on Grass), contradicts Segev by calling Grass’s poem a “modern manifestation of anti-Semitism”. Grass’ poem is criticized for displaying “a moral bankruptcy”. “Grass has no right to recommend Israel to compromise its deterrence capability in the face of Iran that both denies Holocaust and sponsors terrorism against Israel.”

Also Benjamin Weinthal in his commentary in the Jerusalem Post “Poem sparks lively debate in Germany” (read online here: Analysis: Poem sparks lively debate in Germany) calls Grass’s poem “the most potent modern expression of German anti-Semitism”.

One of the world’s leading experts on German anti-Semitism, Daniel Johnah Goldhagen, calls in his article “Grass: Ignorant or Calculating Cynic?” Grass’s allegations an “anti-Semitic fantasy, a surrealistic inversion of reality in which not Iran threatens to destroy Israel and kill Jews”, but, conversely, Israel poses a threat to world peace and the Iranian people. Goldhagen criticizes Grass for demonizing Israel and ignoring the context in which Israel exists and acts. (Read online here: Grass: Ignorant or Calculating Cynic?)

A Research Fellow at Shalom Hartman, Gil Troy, writes in his commentary published in the Jerusalem Post under the title “Let Guenter Grass visit Israel - and encounter democracy” that Grass talks about Israel in an absurd way, and that “his one-sided, exaggerated and hysterical critique should be mocked, refuted and confronted”. (Read online here: Let Guenter Grass visit Israel - and encounter democracy.)

Although all Israeli commentators seem to agree that Grass’s criticism is exaggerated, some of them point out that it should be listened to. Yehoshua Sobol in his article “Gunter Grass’ delusions”, published in Israel Hayom, notes that Grass’s poem reflects the opinion of 50 percent of the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s readership. (Read online here: [s readership. (Read online here: [ readership. (Read online here: [readership. (Read online here: [eadership. (Read online here: [adership. (Read online here: [dership. (Read online here: [ership. (Read online here: [rship. (Read online here: [ship. (Read online here: [hip. (Read online here: [ip. (Read online here: [p. (Read online here: [. (Read online here: [ (Read online here: [(Read online here: [Read online here: [ead online here: [ad online here: [d online here: [ online here: [online here: [nline here: [line here: [ine here: [ne here: [e here: [ here: [here: [ere: [re: [e: [: [ [[Gunter Grass’ delusions | http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=3891). Also Gideon Levy thinks that Grass opinion is legitimate as it expresses “the opinion of many people”. (Read online here: Israelis can be angry with Gunter Grass, but they must listen to him). Ynetnews.com quotes former Israeli ambassador to Germany, Avi Primor, who says that “it is important to pay attention to the message of the poem”.

All Israeli critics refer to Grass’s former past as a soldier in the Waffen SS during World War II. The Jerusalem Post quotes Zuroff Efraim, director of the Jerusalem Simon Wiesenthal Center, who remarks that Grass’s poem is “a reflection of the transformation of German anti-Semitism in recent years”. “Grass’s moral integrity was totally compromised by his admission of service in the Waffen-SS, and his status as a moral conscience for the country in terms of facing its World War II guilt was obviously unjustified.”

In a Yediot Aharonot op-ed Peace Nobel Prize winner Eli Wiesel advises the Literature Nobel Prize winning author to be more sensitive and modest in the face of his biography. (See Grass poem raises fear “old German” has returned, says Eli Wiesel, Europe Online Magazine, April 5th, 2012.)

Pfeffer Anshel arrives at a similar conclusion (see The moral blindness of Gunter Grass, Haaretz, April 6th, 2012, page A4) in the Passover edition of Haaretz. Although he defends Grass against the charge of anti-Semitism, he says that Grass has a bloated ego which is blind to the weakness of its own reasoning. „Who can blame a 16-year-old boy, swept up in patriotic fervour, for volunteering during wartime? Grass does not deserve any punishment for his war service, but history has marked him to the rest of his days. How could he have imagined that there would not be a price to pay, unless his bloated self-importance hid the reality from him? Having served in the organization that tried, with a fair amount of success, to wipe the Jews off the face of the earth he should keep his views to himself when it comes to the Jews’ doomsday weapon. And if the 84-year-old writer has become so lost in self-adulation that he can’t realize something that simple, the editors of the respectable newspaper should have found the way to gently point it out to him”.

Considering Grass’s World War II past, some commentators view Grass’s poem as a manifestation of how the generation of Germans filled with Holocaust era guilt deals with their feelings in relation to Israel. Yehoshua Sobol in Israel Hayom calls Grass’s poem “a great writer’s psyche”. Sobol thinks that Grass’s poem indicates the author’s “powerful internal struggle” that results in a delusional reality Grass invents – a world where not Iran intends to wipe Israel off the map, but Israel threatens Iran’s existence. (Read online here: Guenter Grass’ delusions.)

It is also remarkable how Israeli government officials reacted to Grass’s poem. In an op-ed published by Maariv Israeli spokesman Yigal Palmor calls Grass’ work a tasteless transition from “fiction” to “science fiction”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns Grass’s publication stating that his “shameful moral equivalence between Israel and Iran, a regime that denies the Holocaust and threatens to annihilate Israel, says little about Israel and much about Mr. Grass”. According to Netanyahu it is not surprising to hear from a former member of the Waffen SS cast the Jewish state as the greatest threat to world peace (see PM Netanyahu’s remarks regarding Gunter Grass.)

Criticism of Grass’s poem culminated in the decision of Israeli Interior Mister Eli Yishai to declare Günter Grass a persona non grata in Israel. This decision drew a new wave of criticism, this time directed at Israel. Commenting on this decision as representing Israeli policy towards its critics, a Haaretz Editorial calls it a hysterical reaction to “just a poem”. (See Israel has reacted with hysteria over Gunter Grass). Daniel Bettini in his commentary in Ynetnews.com “Israel’s Grass fiasco writes that “Yishai managed to draw the fire back to Israel. Now we are the bad boy, who exactly like the Iranians does not respect freedom of expression”. Gil Troy in the Jerusalem Post also criticizes Eli Yishai’s reaction and thinks that he should have done the opposite by welcoming Grass to visit Israel and giving him a chance to learn about this country.

Overall, Grass’s poem sparked a lively debate in Israel over a lot of questions: Did Grass break a speaking taboo? Was his poem a manifestation of modern anti-Semitism in Germany? Should his opinion be listened to? Where is the boundary for the freedom of expression?

Ora Shapiro