Einat Wilf

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Einat Wilf (11 December, 1970 -) is a former member of Israel's parliament and current Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). She is active in combating what she has called the "war of ideas" being waged against Israel abroad.

Biographical information

Einat Wilf was born and raised in Israel. She has a BA in Government and Fine Arts from Harvard University, an MBA from INSEAD in France and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. Outside of formal politics, she has worked as a strategic consultant for McKinsey & Company; was a founding member of Kol Dor; and has been active in WePower, an Israeli NGO aiming to increase the number of women elected to public office in Israel.[1] She served as an Intelligence Officer (Lieutenant) in the Israel Defense Forces.[2] She speaks English, French and Hebrew.[3]

Wilf is married to German journalist Richard Gutjahr. Their first son was born in December 2010.[4]

Political career

Prior to running for office, Wilf was foreign policy advisor to then-Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. (photo)[2]

Wilf ran for the Labour Party (Israel) in the 2009 elections for Israel's 18th Knesset. Labour won 13 seats, and Wilf came in 14th. However she entered the Knesset on 10 January 2010 as a replacement for Ophir Pines-Paz, who retired.[5] In January 2011 Wilf was one of five Labour MKs to split from the party to form Atzmaut ('Independence') under Ehud Barak. Wilf lost her seat in 2013 when Atzmaut did not contest the election.

"During her four years in the Knesset," The Times of Israel reported, "Wilf remained mostly unknown to the Israeli public."[6] However she was active within the Knesset:

Committees

  • Education, Culture, and Sports Committee (Chair)
  • Subcommittee for the Relations of Israel with World Jewish Communities (Chair)
  • Finance Committee (Member)
  • State Control Committee (Member)
  • Science and Technology Committee (Member)
  • Education, Culture, and Sports Committee (Member)
  • House Committee (Member)
  • Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (Member)
  • Science and Technology Committee (Member)
  • Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs (Member)
  • Joint Committee for the Defense Budget (Member)

Knesset Lobbies

  • Lobby for the Status of the Teachers in Israel (Chair)
  • Lobby on International Relations (Member)
  • Lobby for the Promotion of Informal Education and Community Centers (Member)
  • Lobby for Promoting the Two-State Solution and Separation Between Israel and the Palestinians (Member)
  • Lobby for Strengthening the Jewish People (Member)
  • Lobby for Equality and Pluralism (Member)

Other Knesset Roles

  • Israel-Netherlands Parliamentary Friendship Group (Chair)[7]

Activities

While in the Knesset, Wilf engaged in debates about defending Israel's image abroad. When the Atzmaut Party decided not to contest the 2013 election, she issued a press release to the effect that, freed from political duties, she would step up her involvement in "representing Israel and Zionism on the international stage." She cited, as an example, her frequent appearances in international media defending Operation Pillar of Defence and criticising the Palestinian Authority's bid for UN recognition.[8]

Wilf is currently a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

In August 2013 she joined NGO Monitor's international advisory board. "NGO Monitor plays a major role," she said, "in revealing the devious motives and the unwitting funding that underpin the war of words, images and ideas that is waged against Israel and Zionism. I am honored to contribute my experience and abilities to shaping the responses needed to face this significant challenge."[9]

Britain and Zionism

On 22 May 2012 the Knesset Sub-Committee on Israel and the Jewish people, chaired by Wilf, held a discussion on "Britain and Zionism."[10] The hearing focused on Britain as a "[hub] of anti-Israel activity." The session was initially titled "UK - World Leader in Anti-Israel Rhetoric," but concerns from British attendees prompted Wilf to tone it down.[11]

<youtube>pXGP5Ck1Kew</youtube>

The Sub-Committee heard from,

Among the recommendations to come out of the discussion was for the Israeli Prime Minister to appoint a special advisor on the effects of Israeli policies on world Jewry. Following the hearing, Wilf commented,

"We heard some very interesting views. I particularly like the idea that anything we learn about fighting delegitimisation in Britain can be transferred to other hubs of anti-Israel activity. We have to make sure our voice is heard in Britain and elsewhere... Britain is a huge media and political hub and a lot that goes on there later takes place elsewhere. If we do well in Britain, we will do well in other countries, too. My impression is that British Jewry is a vital and dynamic community and that anti-Israel rhetoric is a serious problem. But we don't have to blow it out of proportion."[11]

UK trip (October 2013)

In October 2013 Wilf travelled to the UK. While there she spoke at several events, and accused former British foreign secretary Jack Straw of antisemitism. She returned to Israel on 23 October, carrying with her "a sense of concern regarding people's perception of Israel in the UK."[13] While in the UK she wrote a blog post for the Daily Telegraph, which offered a pessimistic view of the 'Arab Spring.'[14]

Henry Jackson Society

On 21 October Wilf spoke alongside Israeli journalist Ben-Dror Yemini at an event, held in parliament, hosted by the Henry Jackson Society and Louise Ellman MP.[15] There she said:

"The war of ideas, words and images waged against Israel might be using non violent means but this says nothing about the ends. This sinister goal of this war is to create the ideological foundation that would make ridding the world of Israel by whatever means necessary a worthy and even noble goal. Ideas matter and the world's greatest atrocities were preceded by ideas that made the use of violence logical and even desirable."[16]

Writing on Facebook before the event, Wilf described the "war of ideas waged against Israel" as "a real strategic threat," and presented herself as a defender of "Israel's image, especially in the UK, which has been identified as one of the most important arenas in this war."[17]

Jack Straw

On 22 October, she spoke at the Global Diplomatic Forum's 'Diplomacy in the Middle East Round Table', held at the House of Commons.[18] Other speakers included Sky News presenter Andrew Wilson (chair); former British foreign secretary Jack Straw MP; shadow minister for the Middle East and Africa Ian Lucas MP; Palestinian ambassador to the UK Manuel Hassassian; Anas Altikriti; Lord Hylton; Jeffery Donaldson MP; Mike Gapes MP; Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko, Wendy Kristiansen of Le Monde Diplomatique international edition, John Baron MP and Lord Hannay.

The same afternoon, Wilf wrote a status update on her Facebook account expressing shock at Jack Straw's identification, during the Round Table, of American Jewish organisations like AIPAC as a key obstacle to Israel-Palestine peace. She implicitly accused Straw of antisemitism:

"I nearly fell off my rickety British chair today when former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw spoke at the Round Table Global Diplomatic Forum in the British House of Commons. Listing the greatest obstacles to peace, he said 'unlimited' funds available to Jewish organizations and AIPAC in the US are used to control and divert American policy in the region and that Germany's 'obsession' with defending Israel were the problem. I guess he neglected to mention Jewish control of the media...."[19]

Tal Ofer wrote a blog post for The Times of Israel based on Wilf's posting. Straw's comments, Ofer wrote, "are offensive and can be considered as antisemitic."[20] Ofer also posted both his article and Wilf's status update with the Labour Friends of Israel Facebook group, adding: "Did anyone hear about these antisemitic comments by Jack Straw this week? shame [sic] on him."[21] A day later an article in Ynet reported that Straw had made "harsh anti-Semitics [sic] statements." It quoted Wilf again accusing Straw of antisemitism:

"It was appalling to listen to Britain's former foreign secretary... His remarks reflect prejudice of the worst kind."[22]

The pro-settler Israeli news source Arutz 7 also covered the story,[23] as did Trending Central.[24]

Conservative Friends of Israel

Also on 22 October, Wilf met in parliament with members of Conservative Friends of Israel and UNRWA head Fillipo Grandi. As related in a post on her Facebook page, she challenged Grandi about the classification of Palestinian refugees.[25]

Views

Affiliations

People

Publications

  • My Israel, Our Generation (2003)
  • Back to Basics: How to Save Israeli Education (at no additional cost) (2008)
  • It's NOT the Electoral System, Stupid (2013)

Contact

Address:
Phone: +972-50-6380127 (Noah Slepkov, media inquiries)
Email: einatw@knesset.gov.il; noah@wilf.org (media inquiries)
Website: http://www.wilf.org/English/; http://www.wilf.org/ (Hebrew); https://www.facebook.com/einat.wilf (Facebook); https://twitter.com/EWilf (Twitter)

Notes

  1. ↑ "Request for full proposal 2012-2013 grant cycle Israel region," accessed on 27 October 2013 at 17:19; "Einat Wilf – Public Activities," Knesset, accessed on 27 October 2013 at 17:20
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "About," Wilf.org, accessed 27 October 2013 at 16:30
  3. ↑ "Einat Wilf", Knesset, accessed on 27 October 2013 at 16:47
  4. ↑ Gil Hoffman, "Labor MK Einat Wilf gives birth to baby boy," Jerusalem Post, 13 December 2010
  5. ↑ "Knesset Members of the Eighteenth Knesset," Knesset, accessed on 27 October 2013 at 16:56
  6. ↑ Raphael Ahren, "Is Israel’s electoral system just fine the way it is?," The Times of Israel, 18 January 2013
  7. ↑ "Einat Wilf - Knesset activities, Knesset, accessed on 28 October 2013 at 00:26
  8. ↑ "Same Course, Different Arena," Wilf.org, 6 December 2012; accessed on 28 October 2013 at 07:27
  9. ↑ "Dr. Einat Wilf Joins NGO Monitor’s International Advisory Board", Wilf.org, 20 August 2013; accessed on 28 October 2013 at 07:21
  10. ↑ "Britain and Zionism," YouTube, uploaded on 6 June 2012; accessed on 28 October 2013 at 07:40
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Joseph Millis, Knesset panel discusses UK as 'anti-Israel hub', Totally Jewish, 24 May 2012
  12. ↑ "82% of British Jews: Israel a central part of our identity," Knesset press releases, 23 May 2012; Joseph Millis, Knesset panel discusses UK as 'anti-Israel hub', Totally Jewish, 24 May 2012
  13. ↑ Einat Wilf, "Facebook status update," posted on 23 October 2013 at 11:50, accessed on 27 October 2013 at 17:30
  14. ↑ Einat Wilf, "Gone with the Sandstorm: The Battle between Old and New Loyalties in the Middle East," Telegraph.co.uk, 21 October 2013
  15. ↑ "Myths and Facts about the Middle East Conflict," Henry Jackson Society, 21 October 2013; accessed on 27 October 2013 at 16:03
  16. ↑ Einat Wilf, Facebook status update, posted on 21 October 2013 at 21:44; accessed on 27 October 2013 at 15:55
  17. ↑ Einat Wilf, Facebook status update, posted on 21 October 2013 at 06:29; accessed on 27 October 2013 at 16:00
  18. ↑ Diplomacy in Middle East Round Table," Global Diplomatic Forum, accessed on 27 October 2013 at 16:15
  19. ↑ Einat Wilf, Facebook status update, posted on 22 October 2013 at 14:35; accessed on 27 October 2013 at 15:31
  20. ↑ Tal Ofer, "The Final Straw," The Times of Israel, 26 October 2013. The Times of Israel later expanded it into a full article ("Ex-UK FM: ‘Unlimited’ Jewish funds control US policy, block Mideast peace," The Times of Israel, 27 October 2013; accessed on 28 October 2013 at 08:56)
  21. ↑ Tal Ofer, Facebook status update, posted on 25 October 2013 at 13:33; accessed on 27 October 2013 at 15:45; Tal Ofer, Facebook status update, posted on 26 October 2013 at 07:03; accessed on 27 October 2013 at 15:46
  22. ↑ Itamar Eichner, "Former British Foreign secretary: Jewish money prevents peace," Ynet, 27 October 2013
  23. ↑ Maayana Miskin, "British Ex-Foreign Secretary Blames 'Jewish Money' for Conflict," Arutz 7, 27 October 2013
  24. ↑ "Report: Former British Foreign Secretary peddles “Jewish control” trope in Parliament," Trending Central, 23 October 2013; accessed on 28 October 2013 at 07:35. This article was republished on Einat Wilf's website. ("Report: Former British Foreign Secretary peddles “Jewish control” trope in Parliament," Wilf.org, 23 October 2013; accessed on 28 October 2013 at 07:37).
  25. ↑ Einat Wilf, Facebook status update, posted on 22 October 2013 at 22:06; accessed on 27 October 2013 at 15:52
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