The recent passing of Tanya Reinhart is a sad loss to the movement for Palestinian liberation and peace in the Middle East. Dr. Reinhart was a tireless critic of her own government’s actions and policies. Grounded in a fundamental respect for the dignity of all humans, her writings and speeches helped illuminate alternatives to the conflict. Her voice, like that of the late Dr. Edward Said, will be missed.
Today’s podcast is a discussion with Tanya Reinhart from October 9, 2006. Erica Vowles produced it for The Wire, a current affairs program broadcast on community radio in Australia.
The Hamas-led Palestinian government remains unable or unwilling to form a government of unit with the Fatah party. Fatah is seen as more moderate and the move was aimed at breaking the international embargo that has seen the Palestinian government starved of food and money since Hamas was voted democratically into office earlier this year. The sticking point for the international community remains Hamas’ refusal to acknowledge the right of the state of Israel to exist. One visiting Israeli academic believes we must look beyond the obvious and acknowledge that the situation in Palestinians territories is a problem that will not go away, unless the International community provides enough support and pressure to force both sides to embrace peace. Professor Tanya Reinhart, Professor of Linguistics and Media Studies at Tel Aviv University and author of The Road Map to Nowhere, Israel/Palestine since 2003 discussed how most Israelis view the Gaza disengagement of 2005.
For more information, visit:
www.thewire.org.au
www.tau.ac.il/~reinhart/ (Dr. Reinhart’s faculty page at Tel Aviv University)
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