{"id":59665,"date":"2026-05-29T20:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T00:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/i-am-prepared-to-lose-everything-for-backing-israel\/29\/05\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T20:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T00:49:11","slug":"i-am-prepared-to-lose-everything-for-backing-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/i-am-prepared-to-lose-everything-for-backing-israel\/29\/05\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I am prepared to lose everything\u2019 for backing Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Italian author Erri De Luca said he is prepared to lose everything for his convictions as he spoke about Israel, Hebrew, and Zionism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u2018I am prepared to lose everything for my convictions,\u201d said acclaimed Italian author Erri De Luca at an event at the International Writers Festival in Mishkenot Sha\u2019ananim in Jerusalem, speaking about his support for Israel and his connection to the Hebrew language.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sadly, due to the uncertain situation with Iran, De Luca was not able to attend in person but spoke with Prof. Uri S. Cohen via video chat, which was projected on a screen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It was clear that De Luca, known for his deep engagement with biblical Hebrew and Jewish texts and for having visited Israel in the past, would have preferred to be in Jerusalem on Monday rather than speaking via video.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The festival program described De Luca as a writer who is \u201cnot only a formative novelist and poet, but also a social activist, a speaker of Yiddish and ancient Hebrew, who translated the Bible in a way unlike anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Although he is not Jewish, he has translated a number of biblical books into Italian, including Jonah, Ruth, and Ecclesiastes, as well as Yiddish literature.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>THE ISRAELIS murdered in the massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich: \u2018We will never be able to rely on anyone for our safety besides ourselves,\u2019 says the writer. (credit: ISRAEL FOREIGN MINISTRY)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">His best-known work is God\u2019s Mountain, a coming-of-age story about a Neapolitan teen who befriends a Jewish refugee. He has also written extensively about the Alps and is a dedicated alpinist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the wide-ranging conversation on Monday, De Luca discussed his work and repeatedly returned to Israel, Hebrew, and the moral responsibilities of politics. However, he said his work is not polemical.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI am old, and I have written a lot of books, but I have remained a writer and a reader. My political convictions concern my conscience as a citizen, but they never enter into my writing,\u201d De Luca said.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Middle Eastern politics shaken by the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While he was involved in left-wing politics as a young man, including with far-left group Lotta Continua, he said that his views about Middle Eastern politics were shaken by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/history\/article-866500\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:1972 Munich Olympics massacre.;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;1972 Munich Olympics massacre.&quot;}\" class=\"link \">1972 Munich Olympics massacre.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cMy adhesion to the Palestinian cause was interrupted suddenly in 1972, at the Munich Olympics and the Munich massacre. The fact that Jews were murdered in Germany completely dissociated me from the Palestinian cause from that moment on,\u201d De Luca noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said he hoped there was a chance for a more peaceful future in the Middle East: \u201cWhat seems to me now is that this war has the possibility of being the last, because there is the possibility for both countries, Israel and Palestine, to change profoundly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cFor Palestine, it could mean freeing itself from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/world\/articles\/idf-kills-leader-central-hamas-102943337.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Hamas;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Hamas&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Hamas<\/a> and finally choosing its own political representatives in Gaza,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cFor Israel, it could mean changing the government and making this change the possibility of the arrival of peace \u2013 not a provisional ceasefire, but directly that magnificent word: peace, shalom,\u201d De Luca said.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Changes in Italian attitudes toward Israel<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Speaking about the change in Italian attitudes toward Israel, he said, \u201cThere has been a radicalization of sympathies and antipathies toward the Israeli government and Israeli policy, but also of sympathies directly toward Hamas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWhen people shout the slogan \u2018Free Palestine from the Jordan River to the sea,\u2019 that is, a Palestine without the presence of Israel, this is precisely the slogan of Hamas, the program of Hamas,\u201d De Luca continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">According to the author, \u201cPeople do not dare to say they are \u2018for Hamas,\u2019 and say only \u2018for the Palestinian people.\u2019 But Hamas is the greatest oppressor of the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He spoke about the connection he said he feels to the Hebrew language, saying that he reads ancient Hebrew every morning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">De Luca described his morning routine: \u201cI sleep like a stone, and so in the morning, when I wake up, I have to pass through the vegetable kingdom \u2013 I do that with coffee \u2013 and then, to pass into the human and animal kingdom, I need to put myself into ancient Hebrew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said that reading Hebrew energizes him: \u201cThat form of reading, which goes in the opposite direction from the one in which I read books, creates a friction in my head that lights the spark of the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While he said he tended to avoid Italian literary circles, \u201cIn Israel, I was pleased to know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-news\/culture\/article-747345\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Amos Oz;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Amos Oz&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Amos Oz<\/a>, David Grossman, A.B. Yehoshua, and Meir Shalev&#8230; I was pleased to have dealings with these people. It is the Italian literary environment that does not interest me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Asked if he had paid a price in Italy for supporting Israel and calling himself a Zionist, he responded, \u201cI have never been attacked so much in Italy [as he is now], and I will be attacked for a long time for these convictions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cBut my convictions come before my interests. I am prepared to lose everything for my convictions,\u201d De Luca said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The event was held in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/celebrity\/articles\/italian-author-erri-luca-am-234637979.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Italian author Erri De Luca said he is prepared to lose everything for his convictions as he spoke about Israel, Hebrew, and<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/i-am-prepared-to-lose-everything-for-backing-israel\/29\/05\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/en\/jerusalem_post_articles_818\/011333eb0738e200f85d9656c190cb4c","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59665"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}