Discussion: Israeli Novelist Amos Oz Dies at 79

He was among the founders of Peace Now, a leftist organization that opposes Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and was a leading voice in the 2003 “Geneva Initiative,” an unofficial peace plan reached by leading Israeli and Palestinians. He also was a supporter and activist in Meretz, a dovish Israeli political party.

True — and his opposition to Israeli “settlements” was particularly expensive.

But also true: Amos exemplified the old Hebrew expression, yorim u’vochim, which whitewashed the killing of Arabs and Palestinians so long as you wept while you were doing it.

At a time when most on the Israeli right are content to “shoot and cheer” I support Oz’s more nuanced and therefore difficult approach to peaceful Israeli and Palestinian co-existence.

Honestly, just about anything is more nuanced than genocide.

Oz was an idealist without illusions. The Right hated his idealism. The Left traffics in illusions. Shalom Amos. Shalom Haver.

Is a two-day week-end one of those “illusions”?

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You can do better than that, can’t you?