Scholar Speaks on Palestine

Amos Oz, a distinguished Israeli scholar and novelist, last night urged compromise, humor and elimination of stereotypes as solutions to Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East.

Oz, whose wit and literary flair kept an audience of 400 in Sever 113 enraptured for over an hour, compared the Palestinian/Israeli conflict to Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

In the end, he said, "everyone is stabbing the wrong person with the wrong sword."

"I have said many times since 1967, that the clash between Israel and Palestine is a tragic one because it is a clash between right and right," he said. He argued that peace with Palestine is a critical first step for Israel in the path towards accord with all Arab countries.

Oz stressed that issues such as "security, settlements, Jerusalem, water and boundaries" are "real and painful," and compromise cannot be reached overnight.

Most important, Oz said, is compromise. "To me, the term compromise is synonymous to life," he said.

All involved must recognize the "rage, disillusionment, sadness, and insecurity" of their traditional foes, Oz said. "At least they're beginning to realize that the other side is real and here to stay," he said.

Born in Jerusalem in 1939, Oz has taught in high schools and colleges and has written eight novels. In 1988 he received France's top literary award for his novel Black Box. His latest work is entitled The Third Condition.

At the close of his speech, Oz said that tragedies can be resolved in either of two ways: in a "Shakespearian manner," where the stage is strewn with dead bodies, and "maybe there is some justice prevailing from up above," or, in a "Chekhovian manner," where the characters are "shattered and disillusioned, but alive."

"Above all we must not forget that Shakespeare might take over, and we must work doubly hard for Chekhov," Oz concluded.