Israeli author Amos Oz struggles to sleep in Germany

Oct 19, 2009, 17:24 GMT

Munich - Israeli author and peace activist Amos Oz said that, despite numerous trips to Germany, he still struggled to sleep during his visits to the country, in an interview with German Press Agency dpa in the Bavarian capital, Munich.

'As a child, I was extremely anti-German. I thought I would never travel to Germany and never wanted to meet a German,' Oz said, adding that it was German literature that altered his perspective.

'The great authors of the 1950s changed my heart. They showed me a very different Germany and enabled me to experience the country in a far more complex way,' Oz said.

Nevertheless, the 70-year-old said he had ambiguous feelings about being in Germany.

'I speak to people and have many friends here. But, to this day I often struggle to fall asleep at night. This only happens to me in Germany and Austria,' the author said.

'It seems there is something deep in my soul, in my psyche, that is still not entirely calm when I am here, Oz added. 'I don't lie in bed and think of the Holocaust. But there is kind of pressure or stress that I feel inside.'

On the whole, Oz said Israelis had a very intense relationship with Germany.

'I don't think that the relations between Jews and Germans can ever be entirely normal,' the Nobel peace laureate said, adding that the two countries were intimately linked.

'There are many Jewish genes in German culture. And there are many German genes in Jewish culture,' Oz said, comparing the relationship to a marriage that went wrong.

Just as the Jews had left their fingerprint on Germany, Oz said the German influence was present in areas such as Israeli architecture, literature and music.

Turning to the conflicts in the Middle East, Oz said Germany had every right to be critical of Israel's role - within reason. 'Maybe it would be wise for Germans to be a bit more tactful when they criticize Israel,' he said.

The co-founder of the Peace Now movement warned against allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

'The world must strictly insist that Iran does not develop nuclear power, as nuclear power in the hands of fanatics is dangerous for the whole world,' Oz said. Israelis were rightly nervous about Iran, he added.

Oz said he desired nothing more than peace in the Middle East, and would never give up hope.

'Most Israelis and Palestinians have now understood that, at the end of the day, there will be two states - Israel next to Palestine,' he said.

'Will they be happy about it? Will they dance in the streets for joy? No, they will not. But they now know. That is a good start,' Oz added, calling on brave leadership to carry out what people knew to be the only answer.

As for the future of Germany's relationship with Israel, Oz hoped Germans would not just associate his country with conflict.

'I wish Germans were curious about Israeli culture, literature, cinema and civilization,' Oz said, calling for as much literature as possible to be translated between the two languages.

'Let's read each other's books, watch each other's films, absorb each other's culture - I think both sides would gain a lot this way,' Oz concluded.