Matan vilnai biography of barack

What a Single Match can do

Recent events have converged to disabuse two illusions about Israeli security: the idea that we can insulate one Palestinian arena from others, and the fallacy of the status quo. Can our leadership make the necessary policy change?

By Matan Vilnai | Channel 12 (Israel)

Recent events were unique in triggering multiple challenges on different fronts. Our security forces – whether caught off guard and forced to adapt on short notice or not – proved, once again, their ability to respond intelligently, decisively and with utmost professionalism.

Developments in Jerusalem, particularly regarding Temple Mount, proved highly challenging for the Police. So did the outbreak of Arab-Jewish violence in Israeli cities which necessitated the involvement of the Shin Bet (Israel's Internal Security Agency). Escalation in the south, and the effort to prevent outbreaks of violence in the West Bank, tested the abilities of both the IDF and the Shin Bet. Concurrently, all of Israel’s civilian institutions – local authorities, Home Front Command, fire and police departments, and the country’s health services – joined forces in treating the physically and emotionally wounded, and assisting those who suffered loss of property in communities around the country.

It would be premature to relegate these events to the past and too early to draw all conclusions. We can, however, point to one major conclusion – and not for the first time: the State of Israel does not have strategies in place for dealing with each of these fronts and certainly no comprehensive approach that takes into account their interconnectivity.

Suffice it to examine two policy assumptions that have proven completely erroneous. The first is that Israel can successfully disconnect and insulate the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, both of them from East Jerusalem, and all three form developments within Israeli society. Recent events demonstrated how easily a match lit

Israeli politician (born 1944)

Matan Vilnai (Hebrew: מַתָּן וִילְנָאִי; born 20 May 1944) is an Israeli politician and a former major general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). A former Knesset member and government minister, he was appointed ambassador to China in 2012. Since 2017 Vilnai serves as the president of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce.

Biography

Matan Vilnai was born in Jerusalem. His father was Prof. Zev Vilnay, a pioneer in the sphere of Israeli geography and Land of Israel studies, from whom he inherited a love of nature and hiking. Matan graduated from the Hebrew Reali School in 1962 and was drafted into the IDF, serving in the Paratroopers Brigade and the elite reconnaissance unit Sayeret Matkal. He holds a B.A. in history from Tel Aviv University.

Vilnai lives in Mevasseret Zion and is married with three children.

Military career

Vilnai was deputy commander [1] of the assault force in Operation Thunderbolt, also known as the Entebbe Raid, to free Jewish and Israeli passengers taken hostage by Palestinian and German terrorists after their Air France plane was hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda. Vilnai led the assault team into the airport building, while another team secured the outside. As a major general, Vilnai was the head of the Manpower Directorate, as well as the Deputy Chief of Staff.

Political career

In the run up to the 1999 elections Vilnai joined the Labor Party (which was running as part of the One Israel alliance), and won a place on its Knesset list. Ehud Barak appointed him Minister of Science, Culture and Sport. Vilnai gave up his Knesset seat six months after the election (he was replaced by Colette Avital), but remained a minister. After Ariel Sharon beat Barak in the 2001 election for Prime Minister, Vilnai was reappointed to his post in the new government.

He re-entered the Knesset after the 2003 elections second on Labor's list, but lost his ministerial post as Sh

Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001

Ehud Barak (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בָּרָק[eˈhudbaˈʁak]; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party between 1997 and 2001 and between 2007 and 2011.

Born on a kibbutz, Barak is the eldest of four sons; his grandparents were murdered in the Holocaust. He graduated in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later obtained a master's in engineering-economic systems from Stanford University.

Barak's military career in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began in 1959, spanning 35 years and culminating in his appointment as Chief of the General Staff in 1991, serving until 1995. His military tenure is noted for his leadership in several operations, including "Operation Isotope" in 1972, the covert 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon, and the 1976 Entebbe raid. A lieutenant general, Barak shares with two others the honor of being the most highly decorated soldier in Israel's history.

In politics, his career began with his appointment as interior minister in 1995 under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Following Rabin's assassination, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Shimon Peres' government. Barak was elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list in 1996 and subsequently became party leader. Barak served as Israel's last left-wing Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001. His tenure was marked by significant events, including the decision to form a coalition with the Orthodox party Shas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon in 2000, and participation in the 2000 Camp David Summit aimed at resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Barak's government faced challenges, notably the protests in October 2000.

After defeat in the 2001 Israeli prime ministerial election, he left politics and engaged in international business and advisory roles. H