Israeli Minster Brings ‘Caravan For Democracy' To Campus

A prominent Israeli minister promoted the link between democracy, freedom of speech and human rights in the Middle East in a series of speeches this weekend on campus.

Minister Natan Sharansky of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs was visiting Berkeley in the middle of a tour of California college campuses this spring, called "Caravan for Democracy," urging students to promote human rights.

He spent nine years as a political prisoner in the former Soviet Union, after he publicly voiced his dissent to communist rule.

Sharansky said the fact that he still had his freedom of speech was what kept him going during his years in prison, including the 400 days he spent in a solitary punishment cell.

"My ability to exercise my power of freedom, even while I was in prison, helped keep my sanity," Sharansky said. "If I had admitted to the KGB that they were right, I would be out of jail, but I'd lose my freedom."

While in confinement, he would play games of chess in his head and sing to himself, Sharansky said.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sharansky said he returned to visit his cell, which he referred to as his "alma mater."

Prison also taught him that a democratic government was the only government that could truly secure human rights, and it led him to devote himself towards converting the Middle Eastern governments into democracies, Sharansky said.

"It is important to encourage dissent among people living in Palestine as a way to improve their lives instead of encouraging them to fight Israel," Sharansky said. "A society which protects peoples' right to speak their minds is a democracy with a good human rights record."

The final territorial lines between Palestine and Israel will depend on the degree of democracy in the Palestinian regime, Sharansky said during a campus press conference.

"All people deserve to live in a democracy," he said.

Sharansky's ultimate dedication to peace was inspirational, said some students attending the speeches.

"He brings a lot of integrity to Israeli politics," said Beno Freedman, a graduate student.

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