Israeli Urges Democracy

The prominent Israeli politician Natan Sharansky addressed the link between state security and human rights in two speeches yesterday to enthusiastic crowds.

The comments by Sharansky, who is Israeli Minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, elicited standing ovations from some, but also drew strong opposition from others who criticized him about Israel’s continuing conflict with the Palestinians.

In both events—the first held in Emerson Hall by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the second held at the JFK Jr. Forum at the Kennedy School of Government—Sharansky focused on the legacy of Andrei Sakharov.

Sakharov, a preeminent Soviet nuclear physicist, became an outspoken critic of human rights violations in the former Soviet Union. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.

Sakharov spent many years trying to convince free nations like the United States to “stop supporting dictators, and the people will do the rest for themselves.” Sharansky was Sakharov’s spokesman before being imprisoned in the Soviet Union for almost a decade and eventually immigrating to Israel.

“The voice of Sakharov was heard,” Sharansky said, pointing to former President Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech and criticism of Soviet human rights abuses.

“It helped bring the Soviet Empire down,” said Sharansky. “It helped to link the question of human rights with international relations.”

However, Sharansky warned that the free world quickly forgot the lesson learned in the Soviet Union. He pointed to U.S. support for Saddam Hussein and Yassir Arafat in recent decades.

“In each place where the free world [has tried] to strengthen its security by supporting dictators, it has to pay the price later,” he said.

Sharansky concluded his second talk with a message from his popular new book, “The Case for Democracy: the Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror.”

“If [world leaders] prefer to be dictators, we should give them no legitimacy,” he said. “There is no way to separate security from the question of a free society.” The crowd at the JFK Jr. Forum responded with a standing ovation.

Not everyone was so supportive, as Sharansky was harshly questioned at both events about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian refugees.

One vocal critic at the first event told Sharansky that he “represents a fundamentally anti-Democratic state” because it gives greater rights to Jews than to Palestinians. Audience members questioned whether the U.S. should withhold aid to Israel because of this.

Sharansky responded that Israel must take unfortunate steps so as “not to be destroyed,” but he voiced his support for a democratic Palestinian state. During the peace process, “the depths of our concessions should match the depth of [Palestinian] democratic reforms,” he said.

Sharansky said he was open-minded about negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian leaders.

“What’s really important is tha 0t [an elected Palestinian leader] will be celebrated if he supports democratic freedom...If the free world is strong in this position, then we have a chance,” he said.

—Staff writer Evan H. Jacobs can be reached at ehjacobs@fas.harvard.edu.