Naomi Chazan
Posted on | October 28, 2008 | No Comments
Professor, author, and Member of Knesset (1992-2003)
I was one of the first Israeli supporters of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. I’ve tried to achieve that for over 40 years. Yes, I’ve gotten an award here or there because I’ve tried, but I don’t think I deserve any of those awards because I haven’t succeeded.
When I say I, I mean we. I think no Israeli or Palestinian can rest until there is a normalization of relations, which depends on understanding there are two people who live on this land and each deserves self-determination. Israel’s independence is dependent on Palestinian independence, and Palestinian self-determination is dependent on the recognition that Israel has a right to exist. That’s what I fight for. I hope to succeed soon because I’m getting older.
Tell us about yourself.
I was born in Jerusalem sixty years ago. I was brought up in Jerusalem, and I still live in Jerusalem. I’m a professor of Political Science by profession. I’m an activist for women’s rights and peace. I’m also a politician; I was Deputy Speaker of the Knesset for 11 years. I also write a biweekly column in the Jerusalem Post.
How do you keep fighting?
I eat a lot, and I smoke. A lot of women who have been at this a long time are smokers. Another reason we need peace is we vowed to stop smoking as soon as the agreement is signed, so we want to prolong our lives.
Perseverance is a feminine trait. Men go up and down while women plod along despite setbacks. Over time women’s approach has immense power. If we fail, we try harder to think of ways to achieve the same goals, to create new connections, to establish new structures. We persevere, we analyze, we pioneer, and we’re innovative.
You have founded or are part of some of the most significant peace organizations in Israel. Tell us about them.
When we started the women’s peace movement in the late 80’s, we were an informal network of Israelis and Palestinian women. We had some conferences and demonstrations.
Right after Oslo, we established the Jerusalem Link, a coalition organization with the Israeli branch Bat Shalom and a Palestinian branch called the Jerusalem Center of Women, so we could model the political future we wanted: two independent and equal centers living side-by-side to promote common goals.
When the Oslo process fell apart, we had to think of more innovative ways. We recently established the International Women’s Commission for a Just and Sustainable Palestinian-Israel Peace. This is a tri-part commission of Israelis, Palestinian, and leading international women that speak with one voice.
There is great strength in Israeli, Palestinian, and international women speaking in unity. It’s saying, “We’re in this together, we have to find a resolution to the conflict, and we are going to do it as if there were no differences between us.”
What makes women strong?
Until now, it’s been almost a 100% male operation and it’s failed. So if you’re looking for new ways to success, incorporate women. Women are strong because they are very skilled and professional. The sentiment and the desire to live a normal life is the basis for their desire for peace—women feel it very strongly.
We can inject new topics into the negotiating table, because, frankly, we’re very skilled at mediating, facilitating, and negotiating. Therefore it’s a combination: the caring at the root of it and the success that comes from our expertise.
Will there be peace in your lifetime?
I wouldn’t be working on it if I didn’t think it were possible. Of course a two-state solution doesn’t fall from the sky; it’s not rain. A two-state solution has to be achieved. You have to build it. I am working for justice for the Palestinians and for our own well-being and morality. In my view, the two are connected.
In this case, peace is not love. It’s a new political agreement that creates foundations for justice for both people, for a different kind of relationship. It’s going to be up to the next generations to cement that relationship in equality, mutual respect, and human dignity, and that will take a long time.
Achieving the two-state solution won’t be the end. We’re going to have to put in place mechanisms for reconciliation, and we’re going to have to make sure there’s interaction between the sides. Separation is not a good foundation for future interaction.
The parents of most of my friends were survivors of the Holocaust. If there’s one lesson embedded in us, it’s that injustice exists in racism, discrimination, and lack of respect. Under no circumstances can we Israeli Jews afford to allow anything like what happened to the Jews during World War II to happen to anybody in this world.
What are your views on the Wall?
I cry when I see the Wall. I tried to stop the Wall before the first stone. For one thing, I saw that where it was placed could become a political boundary. If it were one inch from the 1967 lines, that is unacceptable to me unless it’s by agreement. There’s no agreement in this case; this is an Israeli imposition.
My Palestinian friend lives on one side of the street and has her office on the other. After the Wall was built, it takes her two hours to get to her office.
How do you define hope and optimism?
Anybody who is working for peace is by definition an optimist because they reject the present situation and try to create another one that’s different, reasonable, workable, and human. If trying to change an unacceptable situation makes you an optimist, then I’m the world’s greatest optimist.
It’s the nature of women to improve conditions that are untenable. It’s not a question of hope as much as it is an inherent part of human nature to not accept things that we don’t want to be done to us, or that result from discrimination, racism, lack of understanding, and fear.
What makes you happiest in the whole world?
Chocolate. A moment of silence. A good book. I’m a woman and a mother, and like most women, I’m not looking for total happiness, but for moments of pleasure.
Chazan is Professor of Political Science at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Head of the School of Government and Society at the Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yafo. A former Knesset Member (Meretz party), Chazan has written many books, lectured extensively, and received numerous awards. She co-founded several women’s organizations, including the Women’s Commission for a Just and Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
