Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
See a webcast of this interview: |
![]() |
This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.
Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry
Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our
distinguished guest today is Natan Sharansky, who is Minster of Jerusalem and
Diaspora Affairs in the Israeli government. He is head of Yisrael b'Aliyah political
party. During the Cold War, Mr. Sharansky worked with Andre Sakharov, and was
one of the most prominent Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union. He was a founding
member and spokesman of the Helsinki Monitoring Group, reporting on Soviet compliance
with international agreements. His courageous fight for freedom during nine
years of imprisonment by the Soviet police state was a milestone in the global
struggle for human rights. This struggle, in turn, played an important role
in contributing to the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
and laying the foundation for the enhanced prominence of human rights and global
affairs. Mr. Sharansky's remarkable memoir of one man's triumph over a police
state is called Fear No Evil. He was awarded the Congressional Gold
Medal by the United States Congress.
© Copyright 2004, Regents of the University of California
Site questions: Email iis_webmgr at berkeley.edu.