Resources for Teachers and Students on Yaël Dayan
Prepare: Yaël Dayan served during three successive
sittings of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The English
version of her curriculum
vitae can be found on the Knesset website.
Read:
Yaël Dayan's Architects
of Peace essay is excerpted from a speech she gave at
the State of the World Forum. In it, she discusses following
in the footsteps of such departed Middle Eastern leaders
as Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, and her father, Moshe Dayan,
a former Defense Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel.
Explore: Yaël Dayan is a member of the Board
of Directors of an organization called "Bat
Shalom," which translates as "Daughters of
Peace." It is a feminist organization comprised of
both Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who work toward
equal rights for Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel.
Write: In January of 1993, Yaël Dayan accepted
an invitation to meet with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in
Tunis. She became the first member of the Knesset ever to
meet with him, and when she returned to Israel after three
days of discussions, she was roundly condemned by the Israeli
public, the press, and even her own political party. Some
called her a traitor, others accused her of political self-promotion.
Was Dayan right to confer with an enemy of her country?
After researching news accounts of this event (you may have
to use microfilm), write a three-to-five page opinion as
to whether her actions were defensible in the service of
peace.
Extend: Yaël Dayan has been an active participant
in an organization called "Peace Now," Israel's
oldest and largest peace movement. While Peace Now supports
Israel's right to live within secure borders, it also recognizes
the right of Palestinian self-determination. The Peace
Now website contains a great deal of up-to-date material
regarding Israeli/Palestinian peace efforts.
Additional Resource: Tel Aviv University's Moshe
Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies seeks to impart
an understanding of Middle Eastern past and present to academic
and general audiences.
Biography of Yaël
Dayan
