Two prominent Israeli writers, Amos Oz and Yoram Kanyuk,–announced their resignation from the Hebrew Writers Union last night after it voted 70-33 against opening membership to all writers who are citizens of Israel. The vote was taken after a stormy debate over whether to admit Arab and other non-Hebrew writers. The issue was the subject of angry controversy at previous union meetings and a decision was repeatedly postponed until last night.
A compromise adopted by a vote of 85-11 called for the establishment of a general federation of authors which Arab, Yiddish and other non-Hebrew writers may join as a group or as individuals. The Hebrew Writers Union would be part of the general federation. Aharon Megged was named to head a committee to prepare a founding convention of the authors’ federation to be held no later than next Oct.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
