Shulamith Hareven reflects on a life of political activism and cultural production in this volume of essays, The Vocabulary of Peace . In her soberly intelligent and staunchly human voice, Hareven looks at the Jewish society of her day and at its relations with Arabs inside and outside its borders. Critical of nationalistic ideology and its tendency to become national policy, she argues for an approach that respects both its past and its neighbors. Broaching topics from the nature of the Hebrew language to the dangers of ...
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Shulamith Hareven reflects on a life of political activism and cultural production in this volume of essays, The Vocabulary of Peace . In her soberly intelligent and staunchly human voice, Hareven looks at the Jewish society of her day and at its relations with Arabs inside and outside its borders. Critical of nationalistic ideology and its tendency to become national policy, she argues for an approach that respects both its past and its neighbors. Broaching topics from the nature of the Hebrew language to the dangers of mythologizing reality, while incorporating sketches of Israeli and Palestinian life, Hareven makes a case for changing the words we use to talk about peace. Shulamith Hareven (1930-2003) was born in Warsaw, Poland, and arrived in pre-state Israel in 1940, living in Jerusalem. She served in the Haganah underground, as a combat-medic during the siege of Jerusalem, and an officer in Operations in the Israeli Defense Forces. She reported from the front lines of the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. During the First Intifada, she spent time in Palestinian refugee camps, publishing eyewitness reports in the Israeli press. She was the first woman member to be elected to the Academy of the Hebrew Language, and was a longtime member of Peace Now. She wrote in a variety of genres, and her work has been translated into twenty-one languages.
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