thenewrepublic:

What do you think of Gunter Grass’s controversial new poem?

“The idea, put forward by Grass, that there is a taboo in German intellectual and political life about criticizing Israel and its policies has been a favorite theme of Israel’s critics since the 1960s. But the taboo does not exist. There has been no silence in Germany, especially in such places as Der Spiegel or the Süddeutsche Zeitung, not to mention among intellectual and political forces to their left, for many decades. On the contrary, hostility to both Israel and the United States, and the view that these two countries are the major threat to world peace, became embedded in the German left-wing and left-liberal mainstream many decades ago. In this sense, Grass’s diatribe is part of a long established conventional wisdom. It takes neither courage nor intelligence to run with the mob. Grass’s poem seeks to make the mob yell even louder.”

- Jeffrey Herf, The Odious Musings of Gunter Grass

Photo courtesy of The Leader Post

I have not read Grass’s poem, but in the interest of full disclosure, I make fun of him for being a Nazi a lot. But I will say, specific content of the poem aside, suggesting that America is the greatest threat to world peace is not a ridiculous notion, nor are most of the criticisms I’ve heard of Israel from non-anti-Semites.