Natan Sharansky
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| Natan Sharansky | |
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| Date of birth | 20 January 1948 |
| Place of birth | Donetsk, Soviet Union |
| Year of aliyah | 1986 |
| Knessets | 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th |
| Party | Likud |
| Former parties | Yisrael BaAliyah |
| Ministerial posts (current in bold) |
Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Industry and Trade Minister of Internal Affairs Minister of Housing & Construction Minister of Jerusalem Affairs |
Natan Sharansky (Hebrew: נתן שרנסקי, Ukrainian: Натан Щаранський, Russian: Натан Щаранский, born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky (Ukrainian: Анатолий Борiсович Щаранский, Russian: Анатолий Борисович Щаранский) on 20 January 1948) is a former Israeli politician and author.
From March 2003-May 2005, he was Israel's Minister without portfolio, responsible for Jerusalem, social and Jewish diaspora affairs. Previously he served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Minister of Housing and Construction since March 2001, Interior Minister of Israel (July 1999 - resigned in July 2000), Minister of Industry and Trade (1996-1999). He resigned from the cabinet in April 2005 to protest plans to withdraw Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. He was re-elected to the Knesset in March 2006 as a member of the Likud Party. On November 20, 2006, he resigned from the Knesset to form the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies.[1]
Sharansky is the founder (in 2007) and former chairman of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalem Center.[2] Since 2007, Sharansky has been Chairman of the Board of Beit Hatefutsot, the Jewish diaspora museum,[3] and (since June 2009) chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel.[4]
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[edit] Biography
Born in Donetsk, Soviet Union (now in Ukraine) to a Jewish family, he graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against adults. At the age of 15, he won the championship in his native Donetsk.[5] When incarcerated in solitary confinement, he claims to have played chess against himself in his mind. Sharansky beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition in Israel in 1996. [6]
Sharansky is married to Avital, with whom he has two daughters, Rachel and Hannah. In the Soviet Union, his marriage application to Avital was denied by the authorities. They were married in a Moscow synagogue in a ceremony not recognized by the government. Sharansky lives in Jerusalem.
[edit] Political activism
After being denied an exit visa to Israel on the grounds of national security in 1973, he became an activist in the human rights movement led by prominent physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, and became internationally known as the spokesperson for the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group. "Once the world's most famous incarcerated Soviet dissident",[7] Sharansky was one of the founders of, and spokesmen for, the Jewish and Refusenik movements in Moscow.
In March 1977, he was arrested, and in July 1978 convicted on charges of treason and spying for the United States, and sentenced to 13 years of forced labor. After 16 months of incarceration in Lefortovo prison, he was sent to Perm 35, a Siberian labor camp, where he served for nine years. The fate of Sharansky and other political prisoners in the USSR – repeatedly brought to international attention by Western human rights groups and diplomats – was a cause of embarrassment and irritation for the Soviet authorities. As a result of increasing pressure of a mounting international campaign led by his wife, Avital Sharansky and that included assistance from people as diverse as East German lawyer Wolfgang Vogel, New York Congressman Benjamin Gilman and Rabbi Ronald Greenwald, in 1986, he was released to East Germany and led across the Glienicke Bridge to West Berlin where he was exchanged for a pair of Soviet spies: Karl Koecher and his wife, Hana Koecher. Famed for his resistance in the Gulag, he was told upon his release to walk straight towards his freedom; Sharansky instead walked in a zigzag in a final act of defiance. Sharansky made aliyah to Israel, adopting the Hebrew name Natan.
In 1988, Sharansky founded and became the first President of the Zionist Forum, an umbrella organization of Jewish activists from the former Soviet Union groups dedicated to helping new Israelis and educating the public about absorption issues. Sharansky also served as a contributing editor to The Jerusalem Report and as a Board member of Peace Watch.
In 1986, Congress granted him the Congressional Gold Medal.[8] In 2006 US President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[9] On 17 September 2008, Sharansky was awarded the 2008 Ronald Reagan Freedom Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, by former U.S. first lady Nancy Reagan.[10] Those present at the ceremony included Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Cindy McCain.[10]
[edit] Israeli politics
Sharansky was the chairman and founder (in 1995) of the political party Yisrael BaAliyah ("Israel in aliya", or a pun, "Israel on the rise") promoting the absorption of the Soviet Jews into Israeli society. With another ex-Soviet dissident, Yuli Edelstein, as a co-founder and a slogan stating that their political party is different: its leaders first go to prison and only then go into politics, the party won seven Knesset seats in 1996.[11]
It won 6 seats seats in the Israeli legislative election, 1999, gaining two ministerial posts, but left the government on 11 July 2000 in response to suggestions that Ehud Barak's negiotations with the Palestinians would result in a division of Jerusalem. After Ariel Sharon won a special election for Prime Minister in 2001, the party joined his new government, and was again given two ministerial posts.[12]
In the January 2003 elections the party was reduced to just two seats. Sharansky resigned from the Knesset, and was replaced by Edelstein. However, he remained party chairman, and decided to merge it into Likud (which had won the election with a haul of 38 seats). The merger went through on 10 March 2003,[13] and Sharansky was appointed Minister of Jerusalem Affairs. From 2003 to 2005, Sharansky was a member of the Israeli cabinet (the second Ariel Sharon government). He resigned on 2 May 2005 in protest of the ruling Likud party's plan to withdraw Israeli communities from the contested Gaza Strip.
In 2005, Sharansky participated in "They Chose Freedom", a four-part television documentary on the history of the Soviet dissident movement, and in 2008, he was featured in the Laura Bialis documentary Refusenik.
He was number eleven on the list of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people of 2005 in the "Scientists and thinkers" category.[14]
Natan Sharansky is currently (since June 2009) chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel.[4]
[edit] Jewish Agency for Israel
In June 2009, Natan Sharansky was elected by the Chair of the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel by the Jewish Agency Board of Governors. In this capacity, he has made Israel education and Jewish Peoplehood a priority[15]. Although he has been in this position for only a short time, in September he was able to secure $6 million from the Genesis Philanthropy Group for educational activities in the former Soviet Union.[16]
During the November Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, Natan Sharansky spoke at the plenary and discussed issues around Israel-Diaspora relations.[17] During the General Assembly, Natan Sharansky gave an exclusive interview to the JTA about this vision for the Jewish Agency.[18]
[edit] Published works
Sharansky is the author of three books. The first is the autobiographical Fear No Evil, which dealt with his trial and imprisonment.
His second book, The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror, co-written with Ron Dermer, became a "must read" on Embassy Row. It had a major influence on United States president, George W. Bush, and other government officials, who urged their subordinates to read the book:
"If you want a glimpse of how I think about foreign policy, read Natan Sharansky's book, The Case for Democracy... For government, particularly — for opinion makers, I would put it on your recommended reading list. It's short and it's good. This guy is a heroic figure, as you know. It's a great book."[19][20]
In it, Sharansky argues that freedom is essential for security and prosperity, and every people and nation deserve to live free in a democratic society. Suggesting his "town square test", Sharansky argues that human rights, safety, and stability can only be assured by releasing people from their oppressors and turning them into free societies where each would have the freedom to express his opinion. Therefore, he concludes, the free world must insist on promoting democracy for oppressed people, instead of appeasing dictatorships and doing business with tyrant regimes,
I then explained why democracy was so crucial to international stability and security, why linkage had been so successful during the Cold War, and why the free world had betrayed its democratic principles at Oslo. I outlined my plan to help the Palestinians build a free society and help Israelis and Palestinians forge a lasting peace.[21]
Sharansky takes what many of his critics call a hardline position towards the Palestinians, arguing that there can never be peace between Israel and the Palestinians until the latter rid their society of terrorist groups like Hamas and of anti-Semitism. His critics see an incompatibility between his ardent Zionism and his commitment to the struggle for universal human rights and democracy.
In a recent Ha’aretz interview, he maintained the “Jews came here 3,000 years ago and this is the cradle of Jewish civilization. Jews are the only people in history who kept their loyalty to their identity and their land throughout the 2,000 years of exile, and no doubt that they have the right to have their place among nations—not only historically but also geographically. As to the Palestinians, who are the descendants of those Arabs who migrated in the last 200 years, they have the right, if they want, to have their own state... but not at the expense of the state of Israel.”[22]
His latest book, Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy, is a defense of the value of national and religious identity in building democracy.[23]
[edit] References
- ^ Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies
- ^ Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies, Fellows
- ^ Sharansky new Beth Hatefutsoth head - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews
- ^ a b Jewish Agency (June 26, 2009). Natan Sharansky Elected Chairman of the Executive Press Release
- ^ Kasparov beaten in Israel
- ^ Kasparov beaten in Israel
- ^ Antony Lerman, The Guardian, 15 July 2009, A disaster for Jews and Israel
- ^ Congressional Gold Medal recipients
- ^ Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients The White House. Office of the Press Secretary. 7 December 2006
- ^ a b "Sharansky gets Reagan award". JTA. 21 September 2008. http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/110453.html. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
- ^ Natan Sharansky, Ron Dermer: The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror p.xxiii
- ^ Fifteenth Knesset: Government 29 Knesset website
- ^ Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups Knesset website
- ^ TIME, 18 April 2005, Natan Sharansky: Bush's Favorite Author
- ^ Natan Sharansky's acceptance speech
- ^ Genesis group gives Jewish Agency $6 million for education projects in FSUFundermentalist Blog Post
- ^ Natan Sharansky's GA Plenary Speech with Video
- ^ Sharansky unplugged: Jewish Agency chairman sits down with The Fundermentalist[Sharansky interview]
- ^ What the president reads By John F. Dickerson (CNN)
- ^ Honoring Democracy. From the 24 January 2005 issue: Honor points the path of duty; the path of duty for us is the defense of liberty. by William Kristol. 01/24/2005, Volume 010, Issue 18.
- ^ Sharansky’s Case For Democracy By Carol Devine-Molin (12/13/04)
- ^ Sharansky’s Double Standard. For the advocate of universal democracy, human rights don’t begin at home by Michael C. Desch (The American Conservative. 28 March 2005 Issue)
- ^ Sharansky Interview regarding Defending Identity, 14 July 2008
[edit] Bibliography
- Fear No Evil: The Classic Memoir of One Man's Triumph over a Police State, Public Affairs: 1998. ISBN 1-891620-02-9.
- The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror, Public Affairs: 2004. ISBN 1-58648-261-0.
- Defending Identity: Its Indisputable Role in Protecting Democracy, Public Affairs: 2008. ISBN 1-58648-513-X.
- The Real Russia Problem, September 2008.
- The Political Legacy of Theodor Herzl, essay in Azure magazine.
- The Jewish State: The Next 50 Years, essay in Azure magazine.
- Save Gaza by Destroying the Heart of Terror, January 2009
[edit] See also
- Refusenik (2008 film)
- Natan Sharansky's views on the New anti-Semitism
- Refusenik (Soviet Union)
- Gulag
- List of people who have beaten Garry Kasparov in chess
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Natan Sharansky |
- Jewish Agency for Israel
- Natan Sharansky Knesset website
- Natan Sharansky Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Natan Sharansky Jewish Virtual Library
- The View from the Gulag. An interview with Natan Sharansky
- Natan Sharansky on Leadel.NET Interview, Up Close and Personal with Natan Sharansky
- Sharansky's Final Statement in the Soviet Court, 14 July 1978
- Autobiographical article about his time in the GULAG Solitary Lessons October 2008.
- Natan Sharansky short speech on The Strength of a United Jewish People
- Mr. Sharansky, ease my doubts, by Martin Kramer
- Sharansky Interview in Middle East Quarterly
- Sharansky Interview on BookTV's After Words (13 February 2005)
- Sharansky's Double Standard by Michael C. Desch, The American Conservative, 28 March 2005.
- Anti-Semitism in 3D (Jerusalem Post) 23 February 2004
- Natan Sharansky Right Web Profile
- Natan Sharansky Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies
- Sharansky Interview regarding Defending Identity, 14 July 2008
- Is This the Deal We Were Hoping For? February, 2009.
- Sharansky the KGB Agent
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