The Nobel Prizes take people from the forefront of their particular fields into the public eye. The intentions are good, a recognition of outstanding merit and achievement, of contribution to humanity. And it is humanity’s nature to be curious about larger-than-life figures and their positions on current affairs, where it is easier to understand — and challenge them — than on their expert turf.
Professor Ada E. Yonath, an Israeli professor of structural biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for deciphering the structure of the ribosomes, the cell’s protein factories. Like most Israelis (and Palestinians), she has opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, again like most, isn’t shy about them.
In one of the post-award interviews, Yonath touched on the prickly subject of Palestinian prisoners. Speaking only a few days after the nation was absorbed in the video of Gilad Shalit and immersed in the harrowing debate over Hamas’ demands for his release, the fresh laureate called for the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israel — regardless of Shalit, whose captivity pains her. Holding prisoners only increases the other side’s motivation; the extent of terror would diminish if the perpetrators had less motivation to do it, Yonath said. She could be dreaming, she said, but better this dream than holding people.
For some, this was enough to turn her from a source of uniting national pride to a source of controversy.
Ophir Akunis, a legislator from the ruling party Likud, was happy for Yonath’s award, which honored her and the state. “Clearly, she excels in chemistry,” he told Israel Radio, “but she certainly does not excel in a sober view of the conflict in the Middle East. Everyone is entitled to express their opinion, but my problem is with people who won the Nobel Prize in one field or another becoming a political oracle. She did not win the Nobel for diplomatic achievement. And now she will become a pillar of fire for the rapidly fading notion that Israel alone is responsible for the conflict.”
(Submitted by reader)