B’nai B’rith International strongly denounces Nobel laureate Gunter Grass for his anti-Israel poem published yesterday in the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

In his piece, “What Must Be Said,” Grass claims that Israel—not Iran—is a threat to world peace. He calls on Germany to halt its sale of submarines to Israel and cautions against a potential Israeli nuclear preemptive strike against Iran.

“Instead of calling for Iran—a regime that has vowed to wipe Israel off the map—to halt its nuclear program, Grass instead points a finger at Israel, claiming the Jewish state is instead the principal threat to world peace,” said B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs. “For someone who is presumably as well-informed as a Nobel laureate to not see the fallacies in his argument is incredibly surprising.”

Grass’ poem says: “Why did I say it only now, old and with the last ink: the nuclear power of Israel is the threat the world peace? Because it must be said what tomorrow will be too late.”

“This is a plain case of moral inversion, painting Iran as the victim and Israel as the aggressor,” said B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin. “Iran continues to spite the international community through its nuclear enrichment program and has vowed to annihilate Israel and somehow Israel is being blamed. Who is the true threat to world peace and stability?”