Natan Sharansky
![Natan Sharansky](/assets/img/authors/natan-sharansky.jpg)
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharanskyon 20 January 1948) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician, human rights activist and author who spent nine years in Soviet prisons. Natan Sharansky has served as Chairman of the Executive of the Jewish Agency since June 2009...
NationalityRussian
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth20 January 1948
CountryRussian Federation
consensus minister prefer prime traveling trying
The prime minister is traveling without trying to make consensus here. I prefer to be with the majority.
doubt peace road terror
If he will succeed, if terror will be stopped, then no doubt the road to peace will be open,
assured family public solution week
It's as if nothing is being done, ... The public has been assured that there would be a solution for every family, but not one family here has any idea where they will be a week from now.
convinced freedom middle russian-writer spreading wrong
Just as the sceptics were wrong then, I am convinced they are wrong now about the possibility of freedom spreading to the Middle East.
diversity human opinion russian-writer
Because of human diversity - different tastes, ambitions, interests, backgrounds, experiences, etc. - differences of opinion will be inevitable.
agreement based chance doubt israeli support thousands transfer win
If the agreement will be based on the transfer of tens of thousands of Jews, if the agreement will be based on concessions on Jerusalem, no doubt this agreement has no chance to win the support of the Israeli people,
russian-writer
There were no dissidents then in the USSR because they were all killed.
dissent fear russian-writer societies
In contrast, fear societies are societies in which dissent is banned.
advancing appreciate critically essential freedom helping hope plays readers role russian-writer security understand
By helping readers understand these mechanics, I hope they will appreciate why freedom is for everyone, why it is essential for our security and why the free world plays a critically important role in advancing democracy around the globe.
fighting evil world
In dictatorships you need courage to fight evil; in the free world you need courage to see evil.
views squares being-free
Can someone within that society walk into the town square and say what they want without fear of being punished for his or her views? If so, then that society is a free society. If not, it is a fear society.
simple squares views
A simple way to determine whether the right to dissent in a particular society is being upheld is to apply the town square test: Can a person walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm? If he can, then that person is living in a free society. If not, it's a fear society.
fighting enemy would-be
If you have to fight an enemy at a critical point in time, and you have an ally who happens to be a dictator, you don't say: Let's stop fighting right now, because you're not a democrat. That would be ridiculous.
links dictator problem
To understand why dictators have a problem with making peace - or at least a genuine peace - the link between the nature of a regime and its external behavior must be understood.