Etgar Keret
Israeli writer of short stories, graphic novels and screenplays; his books include The Nimrod Flipout, Suddenly, a Knock on the Door and Autocorrect. Writes the weekly Alphabet Soup newsletter of stories and essays.
Etgar Keret did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
Filter All topics · Newest first
-
Their wordslike a beakless, green-feathered bird, it reminded me that even in despair there is beauty, and that hidden inside everything beautiful, although we may not see it, there is always a tiny glimmer of hope.
- 2 years earlier
-
Their wordsThat was when I understood that, unlike my social media feeds, where there is a clear-cut split between Israel-lovers and Israel-haters, the rest of humanity is mostly very human: when it sees a panicked young Israeli woman being dragged into Gaza, it wants her to be released; when it sees a hungry Palestinian family huddled under a makeshift tent, mourning its dead, it wants their suffering to stop.
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 1st of 3 in this piece
-
Our reading
Their wordsTo which I would like to offer a small comment: a state is not something you receive as a gift or as punishment. Statehood is a basic right of every nation.
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsAnd indeed, in terms of their basic worldview, there is complete alignment between Hamas and the messianic rightwing that sets the agenda in Netanyahu's government: both sides agree that there is room for only one nation in this land; their only quarrel is which one.
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 3 months earlier
-
Our reading
The world has become a game in which everyone loses, or at least feels as if they are losing.
Their wordsSo when exactly did the world turn into a game in which everyone loses, or at least feels as if they're losing?
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 1st of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsIn fact, it's even worse than losing. None of our struggles have decisive outcomes: wars are not won, election results are endlessly disputed.
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsIf we can simply look away from the scoreboard for a minute and focus on the rules of play, we'll discover that while we were so worked up about righteously defeating the other side, those rules changed unrecognizably.
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 3 months earlier
-
Their wordsOver two decades have gone by, and the Middle East has only grown messier. Hamas, now a proxy for Iran, has become even more radical; Israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, essentially turning it into a giant prison; the cycles of violence have grown ever more vicious.
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 1st of 2 in this piece
-
Our reading
Israel attempts to present itself as European despite its Middle Eastern location and surroundings.
Their wordsThere it is, in the middle of the Middle East, pretending to be in the heart of Europe, participating in the Eurovision song contest every year, making sure to send a soccer team to the European cup games, and it just doesn't get that it's located in the heart of the desert, surrounded by a Middle Eastern mentality that it refuses to acknowledge.
↗Alphabet Soupetgarkeret.substack.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 8 months earlier
-
Their wordsIn these anguished days in Israel and around the world, in an era of conflicts and hatred between opposing camps, if we were somehow able to at least use the same names for things, it would give me a shred of hope.