Israel shuns Nobel prize author Israel has declared Nobel Prize winning author Guenter Grass a "persona non grata" after he released a poem which criticised the country's government. The 84-year-old, who admitted only in 2006 that he had once served with the SS, wrote about the shame Germany should feel for selling weapons to Israel, and that the Jewish state must not be allowed to launch attacks against Iran. More about: Germany, Israel, Nobel Prize, Nuclear weapons