Noted Israeli poet calls for good relation between Arab and Jews.

By  Our  Special Correspondent

Thrissur, Feb 01 (IVC) The noted Israeli  poet Amir Or sought to bridge the divide between Arab and Jews apply  with literature and art.

                “You need  to create your  peace  to  write amidst the  conflicts.  I have  been trying  to create peace through dialogues”, said  Amir  Or, poet  ,novelist and essayist from Israel and  co-coordinator of the UN-supported project ‘Poets  for  Peace’.

                Speaking  on the  side-lines   of  the International Literature  Festival  of Kerala   Mr Or  said  here  on Jan 30,  art  and  literature  could  function  as  powerful   reminders to  the  world that  love  had the  power  to  conquer hate and  wars.

                Mr  Or  founder  of  the Helicon Society established for the  welfare of  the  Israeli poetry,  formed  an Arabic-Hebrew Helicon  Poetry  School  for  encouraging people writing Arabic and  Hebrew  poetry.

                The  school was  an experiment to  build a  bridge between realities on both sides, he  added. He trained several youngsters and encouraged Jewish and Arabic poets to translate each other’s works.

                “To translate someone’s work you  need  to hear his/her  story.  The   School  was  a  platform for  mutual dialogue.  We  worked together, watched  the  beauty of   nature together, and  started knowing each other.”   Or a  great admirer of classics –Greek, Latin and  Indian-  he  has  translated sotries  from  Mahabharat to   Hebrew.  “India’s cultural richness has always excited me.  The essence of  each country remains in  the  literature written in its  own language.  India  is  traditionally  rich in  cultural  diversity”, the  poet said.

                As  a poet  coming from the  conflict  zone, Mr  Or  said: “For  me spirituality is  an individual search. If  one can’t respect  the  religion of others, it  is  not  a  religion but  an oppressive power.  Over the  years  of  conflicts, the  fanatics and  the  extremists  get    stronger. The  more  the  people  fear, the  stronger  they become”.