On Sunday, March 30, 2008, Prof. Naomi Chazan, a
three-term Member of Knesset for Meretz (1992-2003) and current President of
the Meretz Party Convention, discussed civil rights in the state of Israel, 60
years after its creation.
In general, Prof. Chazan noted, Israel,
like all other democracies, must work to bridge the gap between principles and
reality. Israel
has made tremendous progress on some civil rights issues over the last sixty
years, she said, but in other areas it has accomplished too little. Prof. Chazan chose to focus on three areas
still needing attention: equality, social justice, and religious pluralism.