'If the '67 and the '72 wars were fought all over again I would go, with anger and determination as if into a fist-fight with someone who tried to kill my child, and I'd fight like the devil. But if I had been called up to fight the Lebanon war of '82 I'd not go. I'd go to jail,' said Amos Oz, his voice gathering strength as he spoke. At a different point in our conversation he said: 'If I thought Israel went wrong to the point of no return, I'd leave, but I'd still be Israeli. It would be those bastards back there that weren't.'

LRB 22 February 1990 | PDF Download