"Israel must withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories; otherwise there will be no peace. Palestinian refugees should have a safe and permanent home in the state of Palestine, not in Israel. Otherwise we will have two Palestinian states, and not even one for the Jewish people."

• Full Professor of Hebrew Literature, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, 1987-present
• Israeli participant in the drafting of the 2003 Geneva Initiative
• Chief spokesmen of the Peace Now movement since its founding in 1977

• Nominated "Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters," French Republic, 2005
• Goethe cultural award for life’s work, 2005
• International "Die Welt" Literary Award (Berlin) for A Tale of Love and Darkness, 2004
• Ovidius Prize, from Romania’s writes union, for his literary merit and his peace work, 2004
• Freedom of Expression Prize, awarded by the Norwegian Authors’ Union, 2002
• International Medal of Tolerance, awarded by the Polish Ecumenical Council, 2002
• Honorary Doctorate, Brandeis University, MA, 1998
• Elected Honorary Fellow, St. Anne’s College, Oxford England, 1999
• Knight’s Cross of the Legion D’Honneur of the Republic of France, awarded by President Jacques Chirac, 1997
• Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, 1984
• Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Children’s Literature, Denmark (for Sumchi), 1978
• Brenner Prize for Literature, Israel (for The Hill of Evil Counsel), 1976
• Holon Municipal Prize for Literature, Israel (for Where the Jackals Howl), 1965