Unlike his older sister, Fania, and himself, he added: “Our middle sister, Galia, remembers that she underwent a difficult and abusive upbringing at the hands of our father. I am sure – that is, I know – that there is some truth to your words. Don’t delete it. But don’t erase us either. We also have a voice and our voice comes from the depths of our souls. “
Amos Oz has long been considered a giant of modern Hebrew literature. He started storytelling in his 20s and published more than a dozen novels, as well as collections of short stories, non-fiction works and many essays.
Idealist, he changed his original surname, Klausner, to Oz, Hebrew for courage, when he left his suffocating parental home in Jerusalem for a kibbutz life. The pioneering characters of the kibbutz socialist movement would inhabit some of his novels. His work has been translated into more than 35 languages.
Galia Oz’s book disturbed the literary world of Israel and cast a shadow over her father’s legacy at a time when a new social conscience overthrew imperfect cultural figures in the United States, France and elsewhere around the world. Mrs. Oz herself referred to the #MeToo movement, writing: “Houses like the one I grew up in some way float in space, far beyond the reach of social workers, out of reach of the influence of revolutions like MeToo, without leaving a brand on social networks. “
The initial precipitation was intense. Mrs. Oz-Salzberger wrote that critics labeled her on social media as bad, manipulative, liar and Nazi enabler. Right-wing Israelis rejoiced in what they see as the unmasking of a liberal left-wing hero. The family also received expressions of support.
In another passionate Facebook post, Ms. Oz-Salzberger’s son Dean Maccabbi Salzberger wrote: “In conclusion, I have a smart thing to say about all of this. If you have a distance in your family, blurred relationships, waste of years, for whatever reason, do everything to try to fix it. I don’t know how to fix things on your side, only you know. (Each family is different. Yes, yes, even happy families). “
Follow the New York Times books on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, subscribe to our newsletter or our literary calendar. And listen to us on Book Review Podcast.