SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 16, 2012
For decades, Nobel laureate Günter Grass has supported Germany's Social Democrats on the campaign trail. Despite massive critique of the author's recent poem about Israel, SPD head Sigmar Gabriel defends Grass in an interview with SPIEGEL. He also says that the Pirate Party still has a lot to learn. more... [ Comment ]
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 12, 2012
Günter Grass has compared Israel's travel ban on him to the methods of East Germany's Stasi secret police. But Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai isn't budging, saying the decision to declare the German author persona non grata was "better late than never." He also offered to meet Grass in a "neutral" state. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 12, 2012
Israel as the aggressor and Iran as the victim? Günter Grass got his line of argument wrong in his controversial poem, argues Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn in a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview. But the poem has triggered an important debate about how Germany should approach Israel's decisions, he adds. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 10, 2012
German politicians across the spectrum are criticizing Israel's travel ban on author Günter Grass after the publication of his controversial poem. Editorialists condemn the decision, and some are alarmed over what the development could mean for traditionally close ties between the two nations. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 09, 2012
With his controversial poem, Günter Grass has played right into the hands of the Israeli government and distracted attention from the real issues. An entry ban on the German author is absurd. The debate on his controversial views needs to take place on the culture pages of newspapers -- not in politics. A Commentary by Moshe Zimmermann more... [ Comment ]
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 09, 2012
Israel declared Günter Grass "persona non grata" on Sunday for calling the country a threat to world peace. Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai went further, saying the author should have his Nobel Prize withdrawn. Politicians in Germany, though critical of Grass, say the ban on visiting Israel is exaggerated. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 06, 2012
Is Israel a threat to world peace? German writer Günter Grass has been blasted as an anti-Semite this week for making just such a claim in a new poem. But while the verse may not win any awards, Grass has kicked off an important -- and long overdue -- debate. And, he's right. A Commentary by Jakob Augstein more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
German Nobel laureate Günter Grass has taken to the airwaves to address the raging controversy surrounding his new poem, which is sharply critical of Israel. Yet the debate continues to broaden, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joining the fray on Thursday. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
In his poem about Israel and Iran published on Wednesday, German Nobel laureate Günter Grass expressed the fear that he would be labelled anti-Semitic for his anti-Israeli stance. Some commentators in Germany on Thursday say that the fear was more than justified. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
In the past, Israeli journalist and historian Tom Segev has defended Günter Grass from claims that he tried to portray Germans as victims in World War II. But following the publication of Grass's Israel-critical poem this week, Segev argues the German author is driven more by his silence over his SS past than concerns about the future of humanity. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
Nobel Prize laureate Günter Grass has caused a controversy with a new poem criticizing Israel's policies against Iran. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, the German historian Michael Wolffsohn accuses Grass of anti-Semitism and rehashing far-right stereotypes about Jews. more... [ Comment ]
