By Yael Patir, Director of Israel Programs
Today we mourn the passing of Shulamit Aloni, a politician, pioneer and guiding light for peace and justice in Israel. Aloni was many things to many people, but most of all, she was a source of inspiration.
I owe her a lot. As a teenager growing up in Tel Aviv in the early nineties, hers was the one voice I heard fighting for human rights, for women’s rights. Always fearless, always outspoken, her voice lifted up my generation.
I remember vividly how, as the chairwoman of Meretz, she dedicated her campaign in the 1992 elections to the equality of all people. No politician talked like that in Israel at that time. She called for Palestinian self determination when most Israelis barely recognized that there was a Palestinian people. There wouldn’t be an Israeli peace camp if not for her.
As we say goodbye to this great woman, I want to thank her for making Israel a better place, for breaking ground for a new generation and a personal thanks for giving us the courage to fight for what we believe in.