Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the most prominent face of the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO, was its leader, Yasser Arafat. His was an image that many associated with terrorism and violence
In the early 1990s, the PLO put forth a new spokesperson, a well dressed and articulate woman in her 40s named Hanan Ashrawi. She became well known to American television viewers as a sharp contrast to the Arafat image.
I met her in 1995, when she wrote an autobiography called This Side of Peace. And given the context of today’s events, her remarks from nearly 30 years ago still resonate.
so here now, from 1995, Hanan Ashrawi.
Hanan Ashrawi is 77 now and continues her work as a civil society activist.