Einat Wilf

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

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

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

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

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.

Published works

  • 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

  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.