Voice of Reason: Hanan Ashrawi and Peace in the Middle East

by Barbara Victor

Hanan Ashrawi has pulled off a momentous coup: changing the public image of the PLO from that of a terrorist organization to one of a government-in-exile poised for peaceful change and political responsibility. A Voice of Reason is the story of this dramatic shift in perception and of the woman responsible for it, one whose status as an anomaly among her own people - an intellectual and a leader while also a wife and mother, a Christian in a predominantly Muslim society - has ideally suited her for the role of intermediary between the West and the Arab world. The daughter of a wealthy West Bank physician, Hanan had her first taste of political activism as a child living under Jordanian occupation, and later, as a professor of English at Bir Zeit University on the West Bank, she was involved in student uprisings, demonstrations, and confrontations with Israeli authorities. Articulate and politically astute, she was catapulted to international prominence on ABC's Nightline in April 1988, just after the beginning of the Intifada. Setting the details of Hanan Ashrawi's public and private life into the context of the Middle East's violent history, Victor gives equal time to anecdote and analysis, and impartially traces recent developments in the Israeli/Palestinian peace accord. Based on fifteen months of interviews with Hanan Ashrawi, and other prominent Palestinians and Israelis, A Voice of Reason is an excellent, balanced introduction to the politics of a volatile region - and the moving story of how one remarkable woman made a difference in a world of seemingly irresolvable conflict.

310 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Barbara Victor, a former Middle East specialist for the U.S. State Department, has worked in television and radio for many years.
Currently a freelance journalist, she has interviewed such Middle Eastern leaders as Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin, Colonel Muammaer Quaddafi and Abu Lyad (sic) of the PLO. She lives in Paris.
Penguin has published her novels Lovers and Enemies (later republished as Friends, Lovers, Enemies), Absence of Pain and Misplaced Lives.

Reviews

[Hiba Miari · Rating 3 out of 5]

After shadowing her in official and unofficial events, Barbara Victor concluded in her book that the Palestinian politician, academic, and mother, Hanna Ashrawi, was the only voice of reason amongst a majority of males who were negotiating a Palestinian-Israeli peace. Through the different chapters of the book, the author introduced us to Hanan’s life and explored the circumstances which shaped her beliefs and directed her decisions. The author also interviewed people with whom Hanan interacted, including her family, colleagues, and opponents, to give us a complete and thorough understanding of who Hanan is. The author provided the reader with space for formulating his/her own opinion about Hanan. She also captured many dimensions and angles of the conflict. She dedicated chapters to present two sides of the same story. You will be introduced to background stories of some of the Palestinian fighters which put unconsidered things into perspective. Moreover, the author talked briefly about significant events that led to the present shaping of Palestine.
Though the main focus of the book was not to introduce the different events in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, I found it very hard to follow up on the timeline of these events because they were scattered in a nonchronological order. So, I removed a star. The second star was removed because the author tried to be objective but failed at it. I don't understand why the author would describe Israeli war criminals as heroes and describe Palestinian leaders who were fighting occupation and defending their existence as terrorists. She always found it relevant to describe Palestinians as violent and terrorists...

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Hiba’s comment sums it up better than I ever can.