Tomáš Kulka

"While at a summer job in the kibbutz, we received the news of the Soviet invasion to Czechoslovakia. We didn't want to believe it; we thought it was nonsense. I still have a fresh memory of Bertík waking us up, saying: 'Get up, guys, the Russians are in Prague.' We told him: 'Bertík, you and your radio...' It took us a while. We were after a hike and wanted to sleep. At nine in the morning, we went to have breakfast and saw all the Czechs from the kibbutz sitting by the radio and giving us looks. After a while, we came to believe it was true. It was a shock, of course. Part of the Literary Papers editorial board was in a kibbutz: Petr Pithart, Ivan Hartel, Chudožilov... After the invasion, all Czechoslovaks gathered in the kibbutz Kfar Masaryk, where they published the Literary Papers statement."

"Does Israel have a future at the current situation?" - "In my opinion, it doesn't. The occupation can't take forever. Unless there is a two-state solution, and if the Palestinians are given a right to vote, there will be no Jewish state. That argument used by the left from the very beginning, is still valit: either the state won't be Jewish or it won't be democratic." - "The possibility of two states is very distant for many reasons." - "It's not on the table. I wouldn't mind that but the reality is changing. Every once in a while, they build a new settlement at the West Bank - the territory which should be at the core of the talks. This was always Netanyahu's policy; he was never serious about the two-state solution."

"You said that even this country went south. What had changed?" - "The whole atmosphere. Just look at who is our president these days?! I couldn't have even imagined such a guy becoming president. And he might even be reelected. Some of the paradoxes are quite laughable. There was a survey in which they asked who would be a better president - whether Zeman or Drahoš. Most people said that Drahoš but then the same people claimed to vote for Zeman. It is awkward. That hatred which he helped stir up - that is new. People hate each other here. That is probably the worst thing; a news sort of hatred had been sewn. Or, in other words, while Havel made an effort to bring the good things in people to surface, Zeman addresses the ugly side of humans. Plus, we have Babiš who will obviously win the election. So, I don't know where all of this is heading."