Einat Wilf

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Einat Wilf
Faction represented in the Knesset
2010–2011Labor Party
2011–2013Independence
Personal details
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Jerusalem, Israel
Spouse
​
(m. 2007)​

Einat Wilf (Hebrew: עינת וילף, born 1970)[1]is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Independence and the Labor Party.[2][3]

Biography

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Einat Wilf was born in Jerusalem and raised in a Labor Zionist family. She studied at the Hebrew University High School in Western Jerusalem. She completed her military service as an Intelligence Officer in Unit 8200[4] with the rank of Lieutenant.[5] She then went to Harvard University, receiving a BA in government and fine arts, before earning an MBA from INSEAD in France, and subsequently a PhD in political science at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge.

Wilf married German journalist and television personality Richard Gutjahr in 2007. She gave birth to their son in 2010.[6]

Wilf describes herself as a Zionist, a feminist and an atheist.[7]

Political and business career

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Wilf served as a Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres,[8] a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company[9] in New York City, and a General Partner with Koor Corporate Venture Capital in Israel. Upon her return to Israel, Wilf worked as a Senior Fellow with the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute and a weekly columnist for the daily newspaper Israel HaYom. Wilf also taught social entrepreneurship at Sapir College, as well as being a frequent guest on Israeli radio and television talk shows and a member of the President's Conference Steering Committee.

In 2007, she ran for the presidency of the World Jewish Congress.[10] However, she withdrew before the actual vote, and Ronald Lauder was elected president.

A member of the Israeli Labor Party, Wilf was placed 39th on the party's list for the 2003 elections, but failed to win a seat.[11] She won fourteenth place on the party's list for the 2009 Knesset elections. Although Labor won only 13 seats, Wilf entered the Knesset on 10 January 2010 as a replacement for Ophir Pines-Paz,[12] who had retired from politics.[13] However, in January 2011, she was one of five MKs to leave the party to establish the new Independence party under the leadership of Ehud Barak.[14] She lost her Knesset seat in January 2013 when the party chose not to contest the elections.

In June 2024, she joined the Israeli Citizen Spokespersons' office and launched a new podcast titled, Deep Dive.[15]

Political views

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Wilf advocates the legalization of soft drugs, citing the argument that the existing circumstances contribute to elevated levels of criminal activity.[16][17]

According to Wilf, the core of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is not primarily territorial, but revolves around the issue of Palestinian refugees. She claims that without addressing this matter, a resolution to the conflict remains elusive.[18] Wilf has consistently emphasized the imperative of taking action in the UN to dissolve UNRWA, contending that it perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem.[19] During Operation Protective Edge Wilf frequently engaged with the media, expressing concerns about UNRWA's nature, characterizing it not as a humanitarian organization but as a "hostile Palestinian organization that work to perpetuate the dream of return".[20]

The War of Return

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In the 2020 book The War of Return, Wilf and Adi Schwartz argue that the Palestinian right of return is not a right, but a thinly-veiled attempt for the destruction of Israel, and is the most salient reason there has not been peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Writing for Fathom Journal, Alexander Ryvchin praised the book's "calm, patient storytelling backed by histography and a depth of evidence." He also praises Eylon Levy's English translation.[21]

Published works

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  • My Israel, Our Generation, BookSurge Publishing (2007), ISBN 1-4196-5913-8
  • Back to Basics: The Road to Saving Israel's Education (at no extra cost), Yedioth Ahronot (April 2008)
  • Global actors and global politics : the case of the World Jewish Congress campaign against the Swiss Banks (thesis, Cambridge 2008) Cambridge, UK.
  • Symposium on Rabin's legacy, Fathom, Autumn 2015
  • Winning the War of Words: Essays on Zionism and Israel, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 3, 2015), ISBN 978-1515072973
  • Perry Anderson's House of Zion: A Symposium, Fathom, Spring 2016
  • Telling Our Story: Essays on Zionism, the Middle East, and the Path to Peace, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 19, 2018), ISBN 978-1515072973
  • The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace, with Adi Schwartz, St. Martin’s Publishing Group (2020), ISBN 978-1250252760

References

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  1. ^ Troy, Gil (2018). The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland--then, Now, Tomorrow. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8276-1398-0.
  2. ^ "When It Comes to Defending Israel, Eloquent Explanations Aren't Enough". mosaicmagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  3. ^ "Einat Wilf | The Harry Walker Agency". Harry Walker Agency. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  4. ^ "Think About It: Parliamentary oversight of foreign policy". The Jerusalem Post. August 30, 2015.
  5. ^ "Knesset Member, Einat Wilf". Knesset.
  6. ^ Hoffman, Gil (13 December 2010). "Labor MK Einat Wilf gives birth to baby boy". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  7. ^ Wilf, Einat (2 April 2012). "Zionism: The Only Way Forward". The Daily Beast.
  8. ^ "On working with Shimon Peres". Dr. Einat Wilf. 4 May 2007.
  9. ^ "Einat Wilf". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
  10. ^ "Young reformer sets sights on making WJC more inclusive". The Jerusalem Post. May 30, 2007.
  11. ^ "Candidates for the 16th Knesset". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jan 9, 2003.
  12. ^ "Knesset Members in the Eighteenth Knesset". Knesset.
  13. ^ "Labor Stalwart Ophir Pines-Paz Leaves Knesset, Party and Politics". Haaretz. January 8, 2010.
  14. ^ "Ehud Barak quits Israel's Labour Party". BBC News. 17 January 2011.
  15. ^ "Deep Dive". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  16. ^ Ben Zion, Ilan (23 June 2012). "MK: Treat soft drugs like alcohol". the Times of Israel.
  17. ^ "MK Wilf: Legalize soft drugs". Israel Hayom. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  18. ^ "Geekonomy - פרק #843 – ד״ר עינת ווילף". Geekonomy (in Hebrew). 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  19. ^ "Einat Wilf: Without UNRWA there would be no Hamas — it must be dismantled". 1 February 2024.
  20. ^ Wilf, Einat (31 August 2014). "לחשוף את הבלוף של אונר"א" [Uncovering the bluff of UNRWA]. www.israelhayom.co.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  21. ^ Ryvchin, Alex (June 2020). "The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace". Fathom Journal. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
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