Gnter Grass’s Poem, and the Israeli Reaction

Re “Israel Bars German Laureate Over Poem” (news article, April 9):

Jewish reactions to Gnter Grass’s poem “What Must Be Said,” about the nuclear crisis in the Middle East, are excessively defensive. Reading the poem itself is the best way to judge its merits as poetry and as controversial thought-provoking literature.

Mr. Grass is clearly not expressing anti-Semitic remarks. No one doubts his stated and demonstrated support of Israel. Rather than criticizing Mr. Grass’s expression of a political and practical way of reducing the risks of a war in the Middle East, readers should be studying and analyzing the piece, as any other literary piece, especially one designated as poetry…

That’s from the New York Times. So, if you Google Gnter Grass you can probably find a news report that fits another interpretation.