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He's unwelcome in Israel. Citing his Nazi past (at age 17 near war's end with Germany in ruins), Yishai said:
"Grass' poems are an attempt to guide the fire of hate toward the State of Israel and the Israeli people, and to advance the ideas of which he was a public partner in the past, when he wore the uniform of the SS.""If Gunter wants to continue publicizing his distorted and false works, I suggest he do it in Iran, where he will find a supportive audience."
If he lands at Ben-Gurion International Airport, he added, "burly policemen" will escort him on the first Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, or even better, Munich, for once following der Fuhrer's orders.
Yishai heads the extremist right-wing ultra-Orthodox Shas Party. It's part of Netanyahu's coalition government. He also wants Grass' Nobel award revoked.
Ultranationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called his poem an expression of "egotism of so-called Western intellectuals, who are willing to sacrifice the Jewish people on the altar of crazy anti-Semites for a second time, just to sell a few more books or gain recognition."
Lieberman's extremist background is notorious. Journalist Robert Fisk once called him "the worst thing that could happen to the Middle East." Other critics are as harsh. He's called an embarrassment, a disgrace to Israel, a regional threat, an abomination, a racist of the worst kind, and much more.
The same goes for Netanyahu and close Knesset allies.
In response to critics , Grass said he criticized Israel's government and policies, not the nation.
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