Writers speak out against Israel | New York Sun

call The 1,000-writer boycott of Israeli cultural institutions is a moment to note how far the arts have fallen. The jubilation with which the masters of words addressed the Jewish state may reveal something rotten in the republic of letters. However, this may not come as a surprise. Even great minds – and mediocre ones – tend to blame Jews. Just ask Martin Heidegger, Ezra Pound or Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Organizers of the boycott say that “this mass announcement represents the largest cultural boycott of Israeli cultural institutions in history.” They shun writers, publishers, translators and the like who fail to “condemn and distance themselves from the genocidal apartheid regime in Israel” and support the “right of return.” Torquemada would be proud to say that of the 98 Israeli publishers investigated, only one satisfied these requirements.

The authors lecture Israelis on how “an ethical stance without complicity is possible”—if they make national commitments seppuku. It does not take into account factors in Israel’s predicament such as, say, Hamas, Iran, October 7, anti-Semitism, Hezbollah or the 101 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. They accuse Israel’s cultural institutions of “art laundering” and “whitewashing.” This is the language of student struggle, not Shakespeare. This signals poor thinking.

Most surprising is the position of the signatories, according to which all Israelis are considered “accomplices” if they have “never publicly recognized the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.” Not to mention, there is no mention of Hamas’s intention to kill Jews, nor of Tehran’s promise to wipe out the Jewish state from the face of the earth. If this worldview found artistic expression, it would be a cartoon or a children’s book. Although this would be unfair to children’s literature.

Adding to the odiousness are attempts to mobilize prestige to deodorize this perverted worldview. The letter says it bears the signatures of “Nobel Prize, Man Booker, Pulitzer and National Book Award winners.” She is supported by names in bold such as Sally Rooney, Annie Erno, Jhumpa Lahiri and Leslie Jamieson. Would these scribes have been able to hone their craft and find their voice under Hamas’ leadership?

The closure of the literary consciousness bodes ill not for Israel (the Jewish state has its own constellations of literary talent) but for the West. This suggests an incurious, conformist generation of writers who threw in their lot with that illiberalism that came first for its typewriters and never asked questions. This is a continuation of support for the student unrest and the crisis over the CBS anchor challenging Mr. Coates’ bias.

Historian Fani Oz-Salzberger, daughter of the Israeli writer Amos Oz (by the way, a pacifist), turned to X to explain that her father “would have been sad, disgusted, but proud to have been banned by these 1,000 writers and men of letters” and that he “would have been the first to tell these virtue signalers that they were historically and politically ignorant.” Imagine canceling not only Oz, but also, say, the wonderful Yehuda Amichai or the subtle David Grossman. What about the Bible?

One of the signatories, Sally Rooney, years forbade her to talk about the Irish language yearning will be translated into Hebrew. Irony, as writer Lionel Shriver said notes in the Free Press is that “like most Western literary subcultures these days, Israel’s is predominantly left-wing.” However, it is hardly a matter of conviction. The boycott promotes fictions (blood libels come to mind) that have caused real harm.