Nira Lamay
Posted on | November 17, 2008 | No Comments
Deputy Commissioner of Knesset Commission for Future Generations
A few weeks ago I was stopped at a barrier on my way to work. I asked the policeman, “If I were blonde with blue eyes, would you have stopped me?” He was very embarrassed. My intuition says that, when there is trouble on this road, his intuition tells him that stopping someone who is dark, who might be Arab, is a natural thing to do. This is how it is. This is my existence in Israel.
I think people in this area are dreaming of quiet—a certain quiet that exists maybe in other places of the world, and they wish it were here. If I may speak also for people in the Gaza Strip or in the Territories, I think people just wish it were quiet.
How do you identify yourself? As Mizrachi?
My identity is layered. I’ve come a long way as a non-European Jewish woman in Israel with a dark color, which also apparently makes a difference everywhere in the world. I speak Arabic and Farsi, and look Middle Eastern. Being in the army was mind-broadening, meeting diverse Israeli from all parts of society. When I appear in court or Knesset committees, and I see looks: “Who is she? What does she belong to? Is she senior enough?”
I was raised conservative Orthodox, which was my identity as a child. Then I went in the army. This was a mind-broadening experience, meeting Ashkenazi, European Israelis. The army is very hierarchical, but it’s also a sort of melting pot of people from different socio-economical backgrounds and religious sects. Now, as a lawyer, I appear in court or Knesset committees, and I see looks: “Who is she? What does she belong to? Is she senior enough?”
You work for the Knesset.
For the Commission for Future Generations. We view all legislation to the Knesset and its effect on future generations. Our opinion goes with the bill so every parliamentarian can see our opinion: “Vote for this bill, don’t vote for it, or make sure it is changed before you vote for it.” The assumption is politicians can never have enough judgment concerning people who aren’t born; they favor the people voting for them right now. This is a blind spot in democracy.
I feel like we are pioneers in the Knesset. There is public discussion of the concepts and issues we talk about. For instance, I noticed a sudden change in which people began talking about the term of ‘future generations.’ You hear Supreme Court judges use it in their verdicts, and parliamentarians mention it in their debates. We didn’t invent the concept, but our work is stirring up new ways of thinking about it.
Is anyone inherently evil?
People are motivated by all kinds of interests and there are many components to people’s behaviors. Fear is much more common than just being evil. Fear and paranoia cause much more damage. Fear makes you distort reality. Anxiety and defense shut you down from a) what’s really there and b) from trying to change what’s really there. You’re getting wrong signals, and you can’t even transmit signals to change the situation.
I am a very social creature by nature. I’ve evolved with my experiences and now, when I meet someone I just look in his or her eyes and see him or her as an individual. This world is a mixture of human beings. After seeing something of the world and feeling so many identities within myself, I’m at the point where I feel, “so what’s left?” It’s just a person, so you must listen to what your heart or your stomach is telling you about him or her.
If you could signal a young female lawyer in Gaza, what would you say?
I am worried about her, and hope she doesn’t suffer too much, that she takes care of her safety. I don’t know if I would tell her go out into the street and demonstrate against whatever is going on, because I don’t know if that is such good advice at the moment. But I would tell her not to despair, and ask her not to hate me—to understand there are kind-hearted people here who hope peace will exist. I would invite her to Tel Aviv.
Maybe people from Tel Aviv and people from Gaza will not hug and kiss in the streets, and I would say “Okay.” Most important is to provide, to make people feel they are, at least, safe, that somebody cares for their existence.
How do you find your own peace within yourself?
I’ve reached a certain amount of peace within myself by finding my balance with religion, God, tradition, and my parents. I am still learning regarding what needs to be done in saving the world in my work on behalf of women, the environment, and peace.
What role can women play in bringing peace to the Israeli Palestinian conflict?
I believe in women’s power—the feminine power to bring change through compassion. So regardless of how you see yourself as a feminist, I think women bring change wherever they go through their basic standards of compassion and caring. That’s why more women need to be in politics. After all, men have been responsible in initiating wars throughout history. More women should have access to high political positions and the diplomatic service in order to bring about change. It’s not that men don’t have compassion, but they need the right environment and the right education in order to let the compassion out of them and keep their other urges in check.
Lamay, whose parents emigrated from Iran, was raised in the Sephardic tradition with a religious education. She obtained her law degree in 1997 and is a legal advisor to the Knesset Commission for Future Generations, providing oversight on proposed bills for sustainability and care for the future. As Deputy Commissioner, Lamay is in charge of legislation and international affairs. She lives in Tel Aviv.
