Tanya Reinhart -- a linguist and political activist writing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, being herself Israeli. She died on 17th March 2007.I found about her accidentally on this blog (when watching a video with Chavez recommending Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival). There is also a lot of info on Wikipedia, in the Guardian, the Tel Aviv University (Tanya's former employer) or the Znet.
"She was one of the most courageous and honorable defenders of human rights whom I have ever been privileged to meet. As all honest people should, she focused her attention and energy on the actions of her own state and society, for which she shared responsibility – including the responsibility, which she never shirked, to expose crimes of state and to defend the victims of repression, violence, and conquest. Her numerous articles and books drew away the veil that concealed criminal and outrageous actions, and shone a searing light on the reality that was obscured, all of immense value to those who sought to understand and to react in a decent way. Her activism was not limited to words, important as these were. She was on the front line of direct resistance to intolerable actions, an organizer and a participant, a stance that one cannot respect too highly. She will be remembered not only as a resolute and honorable defender of the rights of Palestinians, but also as one of those who have struggled to defend the moral integrity of her own Israeli society, and its hope for decent survival."
