Haruki Murakami accepts Jerusalem prize
Japanese author Haruki Murakami went to Israel yesterday to accept the Jerusalem prize. Some groups had claimed that accepting the award would be an endorsement of Israeli’s military action in Gaza, but Murakami did not see it that way:
Standing on the stage flanked by Israeli president Shimon Peres and Jerusalem’s mayor, Nir Barkat, Murakami said he had given “some thought” to attending, and that his biggest reason for coming was to thank his Israeli fans for reading his books.
“When I was asked to accept this award I was warned from coming here because of the fighting in Gaza. I asked myself: Is visiting Israel the proper thing to do? Will I be supporting one side?” the Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying. “I gave it some thought. And I decided to come. Like most novelists, I like to do exactly the opposite of what I’m told. It’s in my nature as a novelist. Novelists can’t trust anything they haven’t seen with their own eyes or touched with their own hands. So I chose to see. I chose to speak here rather than say nothing.”
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