Minister Daniel Bahr, who is a junior member of the German government, feels Israel�s decision to declare Nobel Prize laureate persona non grata is a harsh exaggerated move.

While Bahr is quoted in a Dir Welt report criticizing Grass� remarks, he feels Israel has taken its response too far.

The controversy surrounds the poem written by Grass entitled �What Must be Said� which states Israel is preparing to wipe out the people of Iran. Grass received a Nobel Prize for his literary efforts and is regarded as Germany�s most prominent writer.

(YWN � Israel Desk, Jerusalem)