On 9 February, Foreign Minister Arens signed in Prague a protocol restoring full diplomatic relations between Israel and Czechoslovakia. By then Israel had restored ties with Hungary and Poland. Two months later, Vaclav Havel, the man who led the "velvet revolution" in Czechoslovakia and became the country 's first democratically elected president since 1948, visited Israel. In the following address, upon receiving an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University, President Havel chose to deal with literary and philosophical matters. Text:
First, allow me to thank you for the great honor bestowed on me by the conferment of degree of doctor of philosophy honoris causa from the Hebrew University. This is not the first honorary degree that I have received, and I receive it with the same feeling with which I received the previous ones, that of deep shame. I fear that because of my partial education, I am not worthy of it. At any moment, an acquaintance is likely to come up to me, snatch away the scroll which I have only this moment received, grab me by the scruff of my neck and throw me out of the hall. After all, this is all a result of my audacity.
You yourselves have seen in what direction I am headed. I would like to exploit this occasion to confess my deep and intimate relation to the Jewish people's greatest son - the Prague author, Franz Kafka. I am not a Kafka expert, I do not read Kafka literature very thoroughly, and I would not even dare to say that I have read every word that Kafka wrote. I have my own reasons for the disinterested which I attribute to the research of Kafka. There is this feeling, that the only person who properly understands Kafka, is none other than myself. Therefore, no-one else is capable of clarifying Kafka's works to me. My attitude, originates in the vague impression that I do not have to reread all that Kafka wrote, because I already know what I will find in his work. In my heart of hearts, I am even convinced, that had Kafka not lived, and if I knew how to write somewhat better than I do, I would have written his works myself.
No doubt these words sound very strange to you, nevertheless, I am sure you understand me well. I assert, that in Kafka's works. I find again and again, part of my own experiences and existence in this world.
I will attempt in a few sentences to describe some aspects of these experiences. First and foremost, there is a feeling of deep guilt. As if my very existence were a sin. Furthermore, I sense a feeling of non-belonging - concerning myself and all that which has developed around me. A feeling of deep claustrophobia and the constant need to explain and defend myself. In this, there is a search and aspiration for a higher order. The more the instability of the ground upon which I stand increases, so this aspiration grows stronger. Sometimes, the need to confirm my problematic identity, by raising my voice and standing firmly for my rights, explodes within me. This roar, is of course completely futile, for fate dictates that it nearly always fails to reach the correct address and disappears, hopelessly into the black vacuum which surrounds me. All that I encounter, reveals to me, first and foremost, its absurd dimensions. As if I were pursuing a group of strong and confident men, which I am unable to reach or overtake. I think I am an annoying person, worthy only of mockery.
Within, I can already hear what many of you wish to assert: That I only style myself along Kafkaesque lines, that this is only a pose, and that in actual fact, I am another person altogether. A person who fights calmly and consistently for something.
A person, whose idealism has brought him to lead his country. I admit, that from the outside, I appear the complete opposite of Joseph K. and other characters, even Franz Kafka. Nonetheless, I will not retract what I said previously. I think that the feeling of non-belonging is an intelligent feeling, and it is the underlying factor which motivates my efforts. Moreover, [I think] that it is my desperate search for a higher order which has dragged me into unlikely adventures. I would even go so far as to say, that whenever I have achieved something good, my actions were probably the result of the need to overcome the metaphysical feeling of guilt. It appears as if I create, organize or fight, only to defend my dubious right to exist.
If you ask how a person who perceives himself in such a light, can be president of a country, then I must confess that the reason I am serving as president, is the doubt gnawing at my heart, concerning my ability to fulfill this position. I would not be at all surprised, if, in the middle of work, I were to be brought before a panel of strange judges, or be led directly to forced labor. I would not be surprised at this, just as I would not be surprised to hear a "wake up" call, wake up in a cell and [proceed] to tell my fellow inmates all that has happened to me during the past six months. The more I find myself in a low place, the more I feel I belong, and the more I find myself in a high place, so the feeling of error grows within me. With every step I take, I feel how important the knowledge, that I can be removed at any moment from this post is, to the successful fulfillment of my position, and justifiably so.
What I have said here, was not a lecture, but clarification of the subject of Franz Kafka and the post of president. I think it is appropriate that a Czech say these words here at the Hebrew University. Perhaps I have revealed my cards too much and my advisers will reprimand me afterwards. But neither will this cause me to lose my balance. And perhaps this is ample proof, that being prepared for the worst, is a definite advantage in all concerning the fulfillment of my post.
I thank you for the honor bestowed on me, and am ashamed to repeat that I receive it with shame.