German publishers honor Grossman for peace efforts

Israeli writer David Grossman on Sunday won the peace prize of the German book trade for his efforts to reconcile Israel with the Palestinians, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association said.

"In his novels, essays and stories, Grossman has consistently sought to understand and describe not only his own position, but also the opinions of those who think differently," the association said.

"David Grossman gives a literary voice -- one that is heard throughout the world -- to this difficult co-

existence."

The 25,000 euro prize is traditionally awarded on the final day of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest, to "individuals who have contributed to international tolerance through their exceptional activities, especially in the fields of literature, science and art."

Grossman, born in 1954, has written novels, stories, essays and children's books that often deal with his country's identity and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He published his first novel "The Smile of the Lamb" in 1983.

A political activist, he has called for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict and for restraint from his country. His son Uri was killed during the Israeli-Lebanon conflict in 2006 by a Hezbollah missile just days after Grossman and other writers demanded a ceasefire between the two sides.

He worked through this experience in "To the End of the Land" published in 2008, a novel that tells the story of a woman's desperate attempt to protect herself and her family from a hard and violent reality, the association said.

"I am particularly pleased that his efforts for peace and a peaceful future of his country in the region is now being honoured by Germany," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a news release.

"I hold him in high regard and have great respect for his tireless work for understanding between Israelis and Palestinians," Westerwelle added.

Previous winners of the prestigious prize, first awarded in 1950, include Turkish Nobel Literature Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, U.S. writer Susan Sontag and former Czech president Vaclav Havel. Italian author Claudio Magris won the prize last year.

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