Meir Shalu, a writer and publicist, passed away at the age of 74 after battling a serious illness. While many paid tribute to him, Shimon Riklin did not see him as a spiritual giant. Riklin stated that he had never read any of Shalu’s books and that he did not interest him. He added that the fact that Shalu hated Binyamin Netanyahu did not make him a spiritual giant, but rather showed his obsession with the politician. Prime Minister Netanyahu, despite their differences in opinion, eulogized Shalu, praising his literary skills and efforts to make the stories of the Bible accessible to children. State President Yitzhak Herzog also mourned Shalu’s passing, describing him as one of Israel’s greatest lovers who had a deep connection to Israel’s heritage and the most sensitive undertones of Zionism. Herzog also highlighted Shalu’s ability to make people love the landscapes of his childhood and the people of Israel.
The writer and publicist Meir Shalu died last Tuesday at the age of 74, after a battle with a serious illness. While many in the political system and the media world paid tribute to him, Shimon Riklin clarifies that he does not see him as a spiritual giant.
According to Ricklin: “I have never read a single book by Meir Shalev. He didn’t really interest me. And also from the principle that those who despise what I represent do not deserve my attention.”
Ricklin added that “the fact that he really hated Netanyahu does not make him a spiritual giant. On the contrary. This is another obsession with Netanyahu and that’s it. Don’t force your values and your hatred on me. Thank you.”
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu eulogized his writer Meir last night. In his message, Netanyahu said that “I heard with sadness about the passing of the writer Meir Shalu. Despite our differences of opinion, I appreciated his literary skills and especially his efforts to make the stories of the Bible accessible to the children of Israel. May his memory be blessed.”
State President Yitzhak Herzog also eulogized the author and said that “how unfortunate that we no longer have the urgent expectation of another new book by Meir Shalov, which will be published and change our lives, make them richer, fuller. How sad that we will not be able to celebrate with him, born in “H, the upcoming Independence Day.”
“With the passing of Meir Shalu, the State of Israel and the Land of Israel were left without one of their greatest lovers. He was a man whose spirit, the land of the homeland and our history as a society, as a people and as a nation, pulsated in each of his words,” he added. “His deep connection to Israel’s heritage from this, and the most sensitive undertones of Zionism and the renewed Israeliness from this, were a magnificent foundation for a series of Iron Sheep assets that will remain in our hands forever, as an eternal monument to his work.”
He also noted that his “made us all love the human and physical landscapes of his childhood, about which he wrote with so much talent. To love the Hebrew language, the Bible, and of course – us, the people of Israel. Of blessed memory”.