'Empowered women could combat Islamic extremism' | Jerusalem Post

'Empowered women could combat Islamic extremism' | Jerusalem Post: "Empowering Arab women would help prevent increased radicalism within Muslim society in Israel and the Middle East, according to Ephraim Halevy, a former head of the Mossad and the National Security Council.

'If women are truly empowered in politics and society and are thus allowed to become a major social force in the work place and within the family, the direction of the future of the Middle East will be much different than it is today,' said Halevy,

He was speaking at a conference on the empowerment of Arab women at the Hebrew University's Shasha Center for Strategic and Policy Studies, which he now heads.

Halevy said it was important to empower Arab women because their increasingly dire economic situation exacerbated the growing radicalism within Muslim society.

'I am of the opinion,' said Halevy, 'that women's empowerment in Arab society is a key factor in determining the future of the Middle East.'" Read complete post here.