Amos Oz: I won’t appear at Israeli Embassy events, but I oppose BDS

(JTA) — Israeli writer Amos Oz announced that to protest what he sees as extremist government policies, he will no longer participate in Israeli Embassy-sponsored events.

Oz, who is arguably Israel’s most famous and most widely translated author, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that “Following the radicalization in the policy of the present government in various areas, I told my hosts abroad that I prefer not to be a guest of honor in events organized for me by Israeli embassies.“

However, the 76-year-old novelist, memoirist and essayist told the Post, “I strongly oppose the BDS [movement] and I strongly oppose the idea of boycotting Israel. My decision is aimed against the government, not against my country.”

Oz, whose memoir “A Tale of Love and Darkness” was adapted into a film by Israel-born actress Natalie Portman earlier this year, was one of the first Israelis to call for a Palestinian state, in a 1967 article, and was a founder of the Peace Now organization.