SARAMAGO UNDONE

The other day, Andrew showed me this article (I couldn't find a complete copy online, but I will) by Jose Saramago from a few years past (2002). Originally published in the reputable Spanish daily El Pais, it was reprinted in this book he has been reading and he shared it with me because I have always been a huge fan of Saramago’s work. He is, in my opinion, one of the best Portuguese writers ever. I love his books.

But this article… It has taken me a while to react because the words angered me so much. And even though I had heard about Saramago's polemic opinions on Israel and the Palestinian conflict, I went on revering him and his work because art is art. That is what I told myself.

But back to the article - basically, he draws a parallel between the biblical confrontation of David and Goliath and the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. Mocking the traditional depiction of David as a young but clever man and Goliath as an incompetent giant, he instead claims that David was able to beat Goliath only because he had the technology to do so, the weaponry – a sling.

He characterizes David as blonde and evil and Goliath as non-blonde and oppressed - and then promptly correlates blonde to Israelis and non-blonde to Palestinians. In other words, Saramago aryanizes and nazifies David (the Jews) and judaizes Goliath (the Palestinians) – isn’t it perverse? Not to mention that to my knowledge, David was red-haired at best. After all, David was the son of Ruth, a Moabite convert, and Moabites were hardly blonde. Goliath, however, was a Philistine, and Philistines were of Greek descent – maybe he was the blonde one…

Another interesting point is the fact that David is one of the prophets of Islam - Dawud, to whom the Psalms were revealed by Allah. As in Judaism, he is said to have killed Goliath with a slingshot; Muslims reject the notion that David was fallible at all. Christianity also has a special place for David; in a way, his plight is compared with that of Jesus, and he symbolizes dependence upon God, the ability to praise and the need to repent. Come to think of it, Judaism is way more critical and much less forgiving of David than any other religion: he's seen as a tragic man who committed several mistakes throughout his life, even though he is one of the greatest heroes of the Old Testament.

It seems Saramago should have done better religious research in order to support his assertions.

On and on, he denounces Israel as a racist state and the whole notion of Jews as the "Chosen People" as absurd. He goes from anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism and back, and he doesn’t seem to ponder much on neither.

I am disappointed; while I was never a supporter of the Israeli occupation, I’ve always been able to see the other side of the story – national security being a big part of it. Saramago bypasses Israeli need for security; quite on the contrary, he perceives Israelis (read Jews) as greedy invaders who are arrogant and cruel simply because they are the Chosen People. In short, he simplified Israeli and Jewish history (and Palestinian), twisted it a few notches and pronto: a whole new analysis for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a whole new interpretation of Jewish history.

It is obvious that not only Saramago has a problem with Israeli sovereignty, politics and what not, but he also has contempt for Judaism in general. This is a Nobel Prize winner here; a lyrical writer, one of the best. One of my favorites.

He refers to Judaism as a religion of monstrous and racist doctrines. Interestingly enough: in the name of Catholicism and Christianity, atrocious and horrendous crimes were committed throughout the history of the world. The Crusades, the Inquisition, who needs more? And yet, these two religions preach brotherly love and redemption for all mankind. On the concept of Chosen People – yes, this is of course questionable in every way. But given the fact that Jesus called himself the son of God and Catholics and Christians are all the children of God, then this is all relative; one could even say, this is all literature... In fact, it makes as little sense for Jews to perceive themselves as the Chosen People as it does for Catholics and Christians to perceive themselves as the children of God.

I feel personally betrayed by Saramago. I have “preached” about him and his work to virtually everyone I know; The Tale of the Unknown Island still stands by my bed, that precious little book.

The truth is, I’ll have to rethink his work from now on. Sadly, it will most likely never be the same for me. I don't really see how I can rationalize his hatred and, therefore, forgive him - let alone respect him.