Amos Oz to deliver Sydney Oration
Distinguished Israeli author and journalist Amos Oz will deliver the Ervin Graf Oration at the Shalom Institute hosted event t the beginning of August
Amos Oz
A prominent advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Oz will talk on “How to Cure a Fanatic.”
This is the title of one of Oz’s books which was widely sold and received acclaim in many parts of the world. The topic is very timely and relevant to current affairs in Israel and elsewhere. It will be very current, lively, Israel-oriented and uniquely personal.
Précis:
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, like other contemporary clashes, is not a war of religions or cultures. It is, in one respect, a real-estate dispute. On another level, it is a battle between fanatics and moderates on both sides. Drawing on current affairs in Israel, the Middle East and beyond, Oz argues that “The seeds of fanaticism always lie in uncompromising righteousness, the plague of many centuries.” He considers, and demonstrates, the importance of a sense of humour for personal relations as well as grand ideologies. As a writer, he emphasizes the importance of imagination in learning to define and respect each other’s space, and examines the meaning of fair compromise in life, literature and politics.
To register interest in the event, please click here
Oz is the Distinguished Visiting Scholar to the Leon Liberman Chair in Modern Israel Studies at Melbourne’s Monash University
Amos Oz (June 8, 1989, at a Peace Now rally): “Gush Emunim is a messianic sect, closed-minded and cruel, a band of armed gangsters, perpetrators of crimes against humanity, sadists, pogromists and murderers who crept out of a dark corner of Judaism, from the cellars of bestiality and defilement, in order to impose their bloodthirsty mad ritual.” He’s no fanatic 🙂