David Grossman receives Rosa d'Oro Prize

(ANSA) - Milan, June 30 - Israeli author David Grossman, whose internationally bestselling books have been translated into over 30 languages, was in Milan last week to kick off the "La Milanesiana" cultural festival, where he received the Rosa d'Oro Prize for his work.
    During his Milan visit Grossman was a special guest of the Israel pavilion at Expo, where he took in the pavilion's vertical garden.
    "We do well to remember the beautiful, good and creative things Israel offers the world," Grossman said.
    The vertical garden is a living wall of plants that measures 70 metres long and 12 metres high, utilising a drip-irrigation technology patented in Israel to demonstrate the technique of "vertical planting," which allows for cultivation of plants in desert areas.
    Grossman, one of Israel's best-known writers, also made a name for himself when in August 2006, together with writers Amos Oz and Abraham B. Yehoshua, he held a press conference urging his country's government to declare a ceasefire in the conflict with Lebanon.
    Two days after the press conference, Grossman's son Uri, 20, a sergeant with the Israeli armed forces, was killed in the conflict.