(JTA) – Israeli writer Amos Oz announced that, to protest what he sees as extremist government policies, he will no longer participate in Israeli embassy-sponsored events .

Oz, who is arguably Israel’s most famous and most widely translated author, told the Jerusalem Post Thursday that “Following the radicalization in the policy of the present government in various areas, I told my hosts abroad that I prefer not to be a guest of honor in events organized for me by Israeli embassies.“ However, the 76-year-old novelist told the Post, “I strongly oppose the BDS [movement] and I strongly oppose the idea of boycotting Israel. My decision is aimed against the government, not against my country.” Oz, whose memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness was adapted into a film by Israel-born actress Natalie Portman earlier this year, was one of the first Israelis to call for a Palestinian state, in a 1967 article, and was a founder of the Peace Now organization.

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