Einat Wilf | |
|---|---|
עינת וילף | |
 | |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 2010–2011 | Labor Party |
| 2011–2013 | Independence |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1970-12-11)December 11, 1970 (age 54) Jerusalem, Israel |
| Spouse | |
Einat Wilf (Hebrew:עינת וילף; born 11 December 1970)[1] is a formerIsraeli politician who served as a member of theKnesset forIndependence and theLabor Party.[2][3]
Einat Wilf was born inJerusalem and raised in aLabor Zionist family. She studied at theHebrew University High School in Western Jerusalem. She completed her military service as an Intelligence Officer inUnit 8200[4] with the rank of Lieutenant.[5] She then went toHarvard University, receiving a BA in government and fine arts, before earning an MBA fromINSEAD in France, and subsequently a PhD in political science atWolfson College,University of Cambridge.
Wilf married German journalist and television personalityRichard Gutjahr in 2007. She gave birth to their son in 2010.[6]
Wilf describes herself as aZionist, afeminist and anatheist.[7]
Wilf served as a Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime MinisterShimon Peres,[8] a strategic consultant withMcKinsey & 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 theJewish People Policy Planning Institute and a weekly columnist for the daily newspaperIsrael HaYom. Wilf also taughtsocial entrepreneurship atSapir 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 theWorld Jewish Congress.[10] However, she withdrew before the actual vote, andRonald Lauder was elected president.
A member of theIsraeli Labor Party, Wilf was placed 39th on the party's list for the2003 elections, but failed to win a seat.[11] She won fourteenth place on the party's list for the2009 Knesset elections. Although Labor won only 13 seats, Wilf entered the Knesset on 10 January 2010 as a replacement forOphir 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 newIndependence party under the leadership ofEhud Barak.[14] She lost her Knesset seat in January 2013 when the party chose not to contest theelections.
In June 2024, she joined the Israeli Citizen Spokespersons' office and launched a new podcast titled,Deep Dive.[15]
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 ofPalestinian 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 dissolveUNRWA, contending that it perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem.[19] DuringOperation 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]
In the 2020 bookThe War of Return, Wilf and Adi Schwartz argue that thePalestinian right of return is not a right, but a thinly-veiled attempt for thedestruction of Israel, and is the most salient reason there has not been peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
