Arthur Miller calls for justice

Jerusalem Post ^ | Jun. 27, 2003 | SARAH KATZ

[yonif]

American playwright Arthur Miller was not in Israel on Thursday night to receive the Jerusalem Prize for literary achievement, but his highly charged, political acceptance speech in a pre-recorded video message from the US resounded loudly with the few dozen people at the 21st Jerusalem International Book Fair event.

In what he characterized as a "terribly troubled moment" in Israel, Miller, 87, made a passionate appeal for justice in Israel. "Without justice at its center, no state can endure as a representative of the Jewish nation," he said.

Justice, upon which Israel was founded, must be at the center of Israeli society, Miller argued, adding: "We are the people of the Book, and the Book means justice."

He apologized for his absence due to his age and the opening of an exhibit in New York of his late wife Inge Morath's photographs. He showed little emotion in accepting the Jerusalem Prize, jumping straight into politics and citing his own "activities in defense of civil rights." "The fundamentals of my views are that Israel has the right to exist, and the Palestinians likewise in a state of their own," he said.

Miller also called the expansion of settlements "a self-defeating policy" and declared that "a new birth of a humanistic vision is necessary if the Jewish presence is seen as worth preserving." US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer accepted the award on behalf of Miller, best known for his plays, Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, at the Jerusalem International Convention Center.

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, speaking in Hebrew, remarked that Miller is "thousands of miles away," inferring that he should not be making political statements about Israel while being so removed from the situation here.

[yonif]

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, speaking in Hebrew, remarked that Miller is "thousands of miles away," inferring that he should not be making political statements about Israel while being so removed from the situation here.

Israel should have revoked the prize.

[Dr. Frank fan]

I had no idea that Arthur Miller was still alive.

[nickcarraway]

"We are the people of the Book, and the Book means justice."

Who is ``we?'' How often does Miller crack open ``the Book?''

[Question_Assumptions]

I had no idea that Arthur Miller was still alive.

Someone should send him a copy of Ann Coulter's new book. Of course that could push him into the grave, so maybe not.

[InvisibleChurch]

i want a metric clock

[yonif]

I had no idea that Arthur Miller was still alive.

Me either after seeing this article. I was reading his plays 1 year ago in 12th grade.

[onyx]

His marriage to Marilyn Monroe overshadowed all of his literary achievements.

[Deb]

"Israel has the right to exist..."

What a guy.

[jd777]

Have you seen Death of a Salesman?

[arthur003]

Miller is a brilliant American playwright. His Death OF A Salesman celebrated a fifty-year revival on Broadway in 1999 and won a Tony Award. This is the play whose words and plot had that most of the men in the audience sobbing throughout the entire performance. It is an American classic. He should as those great creative minds in theatre and film who are not brilliant scholars of history or have never lived in a region of the world they speak out about keep his huge disrespectful big creative mouth shut.

[Alouette]

Israel should have revoked the prize.

The Jerusalem prize is a joke. In 2001 it was awarded to Susan "We deserved 9-11!" Sontag.

Mayor Lupoliansky should have said, "Just so you know, I'm ashamed that the Jerusalem prize is being given to these kinds of Jews."

[yankeedame]

I had no idea that Arthur Miller was still alive.

That was my first reaction as well. Wasn't he married to Marilyn Monroe many,many moons ago? And I know he wasn't exactly a spring chicken back then.

[FreeReporting]

I could also be expert on the affairs of a nation far away. Doesn't take a Jerusalem Prize to qualify for that.

I could ideally wish everyone to give all their money to the poor as long as my money was safe in the bank, or tell people how and where to build houses, as long as my home was safe.

I could even find biblical justifications for all that.

[musical_airman]

What a moron.....BTW "Death of a Salesman" sucked......