Ami Ayalon
Ami Ayalon | |
---|---|
Minister without Portfolio | |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
2006–2009 | Labor Party |
Personal details | |
Born | South Lebanon conflict First Intifada | 27 June 1945
Awards | Medal of Valor |
Ami Ayalon (
Military and security career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/LamAmiAyalon.jpg/220px-LamAmiAyalon.jpg)
Ayalon served his entire military service in the
In 1979, Ayalon was appointed commander of Shayetet 13, and was decorated for carrying out a long list of operations without casualties.
Between 1986 and 1988 he was Defence Attache to South Africa. Ayalon, receiving the rank of major general, served as commander of the Israeli Navy from 1992 through 1996.[2]
Following Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995, Ayalon was appointed head of the Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service). Rabin himself suggested the appointment a year before his murder.[3] Ayalon retired in 2000.
Peace activism
On 25 June 2003, Ayalon launched, together with
On 14 November 2003, Ami Ayalon with three other former heads of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), Avraham Shalom, Yaakov Peri and Carmi Gillon gave an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth (one of the leading tabloid newspapers in Israel) based on the paper prepared by Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh. The interview was conducted by Alex Fishman and Sima Kadmon. In that interview, the former Security Chiefs warn of an impending "catastrophe" for Israel and urge the public to rally behind a document created which sets out the principles of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. The blunt language and statements of grave concern are particularly striking because the ISA is the non-political nerve center of Israeli intelligence, and is the agency responsible both for gathering intelligence and for preventing terrorist attacks—including by such controversial means as targeted killings and other preventive measures. While the interview has been widely quoted, rough translations have only appeared on isolated list servers and websites, and the full power of the meeting—called "historic" by its participants—has often been diluted.[4]
Although Ayalon promotes traditional
He took part in the "Mateh HaRov" demonstration in support of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and made a very critical speech against the Israeli peace camp. He said:
We, who protest here, did not succeed in sinking through to the majority of the people. The majority is silent and therefore has no influence. I will tell you why the majority is not here. They are not here because we didn't manage to settle in the hearts [Hebrew: להתנחל בלבבות, originally a phrase invented by the settlers] of this true majority, the majority that makes the difference. We didn't manage to talk and perhaps we didn't even want to. We turned the settlers of Yesha into enemies and in an overbearing manner we banished them to the outskirts. We will only succeed when the grief of the evacuees will overcome the joyous cry of the evacuators. We claimed the desire for peace solely as our own. The majority sits at home and is quiet, although it wants out of Gaza the same as we do. The majority doesn't care, and shouldn't care, which person signs the accords to end the [Israeli–Palestinian] conflict. In order to get out of Gaza, the majority of the people must not be silent.[5]
Political career
In 2006, Ayalon was elected to the
At the end of May 2007, Ayalon was one of two candidates for the leadership of the Labor Party in ongoing party primaries. In January 2007, public opinion polls showed Ayalon leading the race, followed by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Ophir Pines-Paz.[6] He retained this lead, and just four days before the poll, on 25 May, was four points ahead of his closest rival, Ehud Barak, with 35% to Barak's 31%.[7]
However, Ayalon finished second in the 28 May 2007 round of voting with 30.6% to Barak's 35.6%, with Amir Peretz trailing in third.[8] With neither Ayalon nor Barak having received 40 percent of the vote, the two faced each other in a runoff on 12 June 2007, which Barak won, receiving 51.3% of the vote.[9]
In September 2007, Ayalon was appointed to the Israeli cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio and later became a member of the security cabinet. He was also appointed chairman of the Knesset State Control Committee, which is responsible for implementing the recommendations outlined in the state comptroller's report on the performance of the Home Front Command during the 2006 Lebanon War.[10]
On 16 November 2008, Ayalon announced he would be leaving the Labor Party for the left-wing religious Meimad party.[11] Ultimately he did not join Meimad, and lost his seat in the 2009 elections.
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Ayalon agreed that "contingent occupation", and the lack of a "two-state solution", could lead to "a kind of ... apartheid", by saying, "Totally right. I think that we are heading directly into this destiny."[12]
In 2012, Ayalon featured in a documentary film
Ayalon is a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute.
Personal life
Amihai (Ami) Ayalon was born in
Published works
- Friendly Fire: How Israel Became its Own Worst Enemy and the Hope for its Future[16]
References
- ^ BaMachane, 20-July-2007
- ^ Ami Ayalon Knesset website
- ^ This is Israel's greatest enemy according to a former general and Shin Bet chief, Haaretz
- ^ 'We are Seriously Concerned About the Fate of the State of Israel' Zeek
- ^ הפגנת ה-150 אלף: פרץ הלהיב, איילון מתח ביקורת Ynet, 16 May 2004 (in Hebrew)
- ^ Israel's Political Drama: Labor Looks for a New Chief World Politics Watch, 10 January 2007
- ^ "Barak, Ayalon neck and neck in Labor primaries". Ynetnews. 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ "Labor primaries: Barak wins first round". Ynetnews. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- ^ Somfalvi, Attila (12 June 2007). "Barak elected Labor head with 51.3 percent of votes". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- ^ Labor MK Ayalon to join cabinet as a minister without portfolio Haaretz, 12 September 2007
- ^ [1] Haaretz, 16 November 2008
- ^ Rose, Charlie. "Interview with Ami Ayalon, 8 August, 2012". Charlie Rose, LLC. Event occurs at 11:29-11:46. Archived from the original (Video) on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ My Vision of Peace - Ami Ayalon Zionism and Peace
- ^ Thanassis Cambanis (25 March 2006). "Political newcomer sees Hamas dialogue as crucial". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-03-25.
- ^ The quality of Dalia Haaretz, 20 September 2007
- ^ This is Israel's greatest enemy according to a former general and Shin Bet chief, Haaretz
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- Fathom Journal – "Head to head: Moshe Arens and Ami Ayalon discuss coordinated unilateralism".[1]
- Ami Ayalon on the Knesset website
- Ami Ayalon in Chicago (video), June 1, 2010
- Interview with France 24 (video), 2013
- Ami Ayalon on Operation Bulmus 6 (video), 2017
- ^ "Head to head: Moshe Arens and Ami Ayalon discuss coordinated unilateralism". Retrieved 2016-07-11.