AMERICAN FAVORITES Kids eat for $1.99* off the Kid's menu GREEK SPECIALTIES BREAKFAST. Mon & Tuesday May 31st DINNER. th ru In their hotel room, he is struck by a painting and later finds out that it is Roman Charity. The painting reminds him of the dispute that ended his col- laboration with his longtime screen- writer, who worked on these early films and had been Ruth's lover. Returning to Israel, Moses seeks him out, with hopes of reconciliation and a different kind of collaboration. The screenwriter presents him a chal- lenge, and the conclusion of the novel is daring, with a mix of Cervantes and Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel. "For me, coming to Don Quixote, this is my retrospective — going back to sources of the imagination," Yehoshua says. The descriptions of the films sug- gest some of Yehoshua's earlier short stories, and he admits that two of them are directly based on "The Yatir Evening Express" and "The Last Commander" while the others are imagined. If the novel might seem like a retrospective of Yehoshua's own career and the shifts he has made, he'd rather talk about his own interest in the creative process. He's a writer who takes seriously the professions of his heroes, whether they are engineers, lawyers or garage owners. This is the first time he's written about an artist. Here, he creates relationships between the director, cinematogra- pher and screenwriter that show the dynamics between wild imagination, ideas and aesthetics. As a novelist, he performs all of these functions, directing, creating images and devel- oping the storyline. In fact, the dispute between the Ashkenazi director and Sephardi screenwriter is about art — the screenwriter sees a failure of imagina- tion in the director. For the screen- writer, there are no boundaries in art, and no humiliation; art and meaning, even beauty, can be drawn even from the most terrible of sources. Theirs is really a conflict between artistic integrity and moral commit- ment, one of the book's underlying themes. Yehoshua believes that art has no borders. But, he says that creating art is "not for the sake of breaking bor- ders, but to reach new understand- ings of life." The rift between the two men also reflects Israel's societal break, between Jews of European back- ground and those from Sephardic, or Oriental backgrounds, between reli- gious and secular. "My feeling is that without coop- eration between these two elements, the identity of Israel is in trouble. We need not just an attempt at coopera- tion, but," he says, weaving his fingers together in the air, "a mutual feeling of each other. "I am a believer in reconcilia- tion with the Arabs, with factions in society; I am eager to contribute to reconciliation," says Yehoshua, who is known for his alignment with Israel's left. "I believe in the concept of man's ability to change:' He speaks of Zionism as a move- ment of optimism, based in the tenet that the future can be different from the past. The conversation shifts to the recent elections and peacemaking with the Palestinians, which is high- est on his national priorities. "I am optimistic:' he says. Some on the left, he says, look toward Obama as messiah, but he warns that Obama can't do the job for the Israelis. "In Israel, you have to be educated in democracy — it's in the genes of Americans. You're born from democ- racy. You know, 'No taxation without representation:" Frowning, he mentions the pos- sibility of an apartheid state, without democracy, if all citizens are not treated equally. He chides American Jews to become more involved with the peace process. "I am not a navi (prophet) and I am not a ben-navi (the son of a prophet):' Yehoshua says softly, before resuming his high-energy exchange. He's the author of a play recently produced at Tel Aviv's Cameri Theater, Can Two Walk Together?, about David Ben-Gurion and Zev Jabotinsky and a series of meetings they held in London about their polit- ical differences in the 1930s. Yehoshua enjoys sharing the detail that Ben-Gurion once cooked an omelet for Jabotinsky. In 1959, while a student, Yehoshua met with Ben- Gurion — his father's friend Yitzhak Navon was then Ben Gurion's political secretary — when he was hired to do research for the prime minister about the talmudic redactor Rav Ashi. While Yehoshua is secular, he's very interested in questions of religion. He mentions the Hebrew writer S. Y. Agnon, who for his generation of novelists is like Tolstoy: the rare example of a writer able to bring art and religion together. While Yehoshua invented the film institute in Santiago that was affiliated with the Catholic Church, he admires the ways in which the Catholic Church embraces art in many forms, whether painting, sculp- ture, music or literature. "I am still waiting for the encounter between Judaism and art," he says. ❑ GREEK ISLAN — — • Let us cater your next special event or have it here! • Trays • Catering/Carryout • Patio dining with beautiful views *10 and under, One child per adult 37777 11 Mile Ct. Farmington Hills, MI (On the beautiful Farmington Hills Golf Course) 248-957-6734 www.greekislandsconey.com ALSO IN BIRMINGHAM. WEST BLOOMFIELD. PLYMOUTH. 10 % OFF TOTAL BILL (with ad only) through 6/12/ SUSHI S iMURi\ Japanese Restaurant 1 vvvvvvalayailibliiibdigitiral.GOM Catering and Carry-out Available • Gift Certificates Available 4143 Orchard Lake Road Orchard Lake, MI 48323 Ph: 248-737-4408 N Pontiac Trail Fax: 248-737-5032 SUSH samyacy re Business Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30am - 10:00pm Sunday 4:30 - 9:00pm Lone Pine (17 mile) Exquisite Catering Impeccable Service MILK& CORPORATE EVENTS BAR & BAT MITZVAHS EPIC CEREMONIES & RECEPTIONS TRAY CATERING/SHIVA TRAYS SHOWERS & REHEARSAL DINNERS KOSHER CATERIM ON-SITE & OFF-PREMISE CATERING Phone Fax (248) 432-5654 (248) 785-0123 A DIVISION OF MILK & HONEY Email milkhoney@theepicureangroup.com CHOLOV YISROEL KOSHER Jewish Community Center www.theepicureangroup.com/kosher AN a 'NU _ GLATT KOSHER Adat Shalom Synagogue H appy Hour Tuesday thru Friday 3:00 fill 6:00 — SPECIAL OFFER: etite Filet with Larco's Famous Zip Sauce Hours: Tue - Thu 11am-10pm Fri - 11am-11pm Sat - 4pm-11pm Sun - 2pm-9pm • • Closed Monday • Your choice of soup or salad, side of house pasta, potato and mixed vegetable. Excludes Friday & Saturday Check out our website www.mikelarcos.com Like us on In . — 2440 Orchard Lake Road • Sylvan Lake, Michigan 48320 • 248-682-9500 /J. % 0,, - 1 / // Ae. .4, /A, / 111, I" • MOW ■C /17 May 16 • 2013 •• ■ 43