— Graham Greene, the noted British author, received the prestigious Jerusalem Prize for literature yesterday from Mayor Teddy Kollek. The prize, which is awarded once every two years, was this year awarded in conjunction with the 10th International Book Fair which opened here yesterday. The previous recipient of the award was Sir Isaiah Berlin.
Greene, in accepting the award, warned against political and religious dogmas. “Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought,” he said in an outline of his view on the writer’s role in society. He recalled visiting Jerusalem 14 years ago, following the Six-Day War, and found the city suffering from “physical and spiritual scars.”
Now, Greene said, “Jerusalem is a smiling and friendly city.” He said he had met Arabs living in Jerusalem and found that they are fearless and speak openly, “thus implanting their freedom of the individual.”
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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.
