Controversial Israel Prize-winning poet Natan Zach dies aged 89

Israel Prize-winning poet Natan Zach has died at the age of 89.

Zach waas born in Berlin and emigrated to Israel in 1936. He is seen as having a great influence on Hebrew poetry throughout its early decades.

Zach won the Bialik Prize for literature in 1982 and the Israel Prize for Hebrew poetry in 1995.

He has been a divisive figure for years for both his political and racial beliefs.

Zach’s most controversial moment may have been in July 2010, when, in an interview on Army Radio, he made a comparison between European and Middle Eastern Jews, saying: “The one lot comes from the highest culture there is – Western European culture — and the other lot comes from the caves.”

That comment caused hundreds to sign a petition to have his writings removed from the national education curriculum.