Grass' new poem lauds Vanunu

German Nobel Prize laureate Gunter Grass lashes out at Israel again via new literary work, this time hailing nuclear whistleblower as 'role model'

Ynetnews|Published: 09.30.12 , 09:05

Gunter Grass is lashing out at Israel again: The German writer's new collection of poems includes more criticism of the Jewish state and goes a step further – praising nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu as a hero.

The Nobel Prize laureate dedicated a poem in his new book to the atomic whistleblower. Titled "A Hero of Our Time" the verse extols Vanunu's decision to reveal details of Israel's nuclear work and hails him as "role model."

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The book, titled "Eintagsfliegen," was released in Germany on Saturday.

Grass' work drew fire earlier this year, after he published a poem saying Israel "threatened world peace."

Various world leaders – including top German politicians – expressed their disapproval of the work's tone, and both President Shimon Peres Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called its "shameful."

In April, Interior Minister Eli Yishai declared the 84-year-old poet persona non grata.

In his new poem, seeking to detail Vanunu's life story, Grass called the spy a "paragon" and a "modern-day hero": "Only heroes such as that are needed in the world, which utters words of peace while planning destruction."

Grass describes Vanunu as a "righteous man, who has remained loyal to his country the entire time," further comparing him to the Biblical character of Joseph – who was betrayed by his brothers and thrown into a cistern.

Despite his scathing criticism of Israel, Grass has vehemently denied that he is an anti-Semite, but his moral authority has never fully recovered from his admission in 2006 that he once served in Hitler's Waffen SS.

Germany's media was not oblivious to Grass' new "Israeli campaign": The German daily Die Welt reported that "Grass provokes Israel with new book of poem"; and Berlin's N-TV announced that "Grass attacks Israel again" – to name just two examples.