Yossi Beilin
Yosef "Yossi" Beilin (Hebrew: יוסף "יוסי" ביילין, born 12 June 1948) is an Israeli politician who has served in multiple ministerial and leadership positions in the Israeli government. Much of his political career was in the Labour Party. He also served as chairman of the Meretz-Yachad political party. After retiring from political life, Beilin founded 'Beilink', a business consultancy company. He also writes opinion pieces in Israeli papers Haaretz and Israel Hayom.
Yossi Beilin
Beilin was a significant figure in the 1990s Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Then serving as Deputy Foreign Minister, he participated in the back-channel negotiations that eventually led to the adoption of the 1993 Oslo Accords, a framework agreement to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[1]
Views[edit]
He is agnostic but finds being Jewish central to his identity.[9] He is a social liberal.[10][11]
In an op-ed published in New York Times in May 2015, he called for the establishment of a joint Israeli-Palestinian confederation, without any "artificial partition". Israel and Palestine would be two independent states as part of this confederation, each with its own parliament and government, but will also have joint institutions that will deal with common issues such as water, infrastructure, environment, government and emergency services.[12]
Beilin is a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which advocates for democratic reformation of the United Nations.[13]
In 2016, Beilin made headlines by criticizing the legacy of Benjamin Ben-Eliezer shortly after his death, calling him "an aggressive, destructive politician."[14]
Academic degrees and activity[edit]
Beilin has a Ph.D. from the University of Tel Aviv, where he also taught courses in Political Science for 13 years, and has published numerous books dealing with the peace process and Israeli politics and policy. Beilin was a visiting Professor in NYU during the Spring Semester 2020.
Business activity[edit]
Beilin is currently the Founder and President of Beilink,[15] a business consulting firm that help clients connect to new markets both in Israel and abroad, make strategic investments and decisions, forge strong international relationships with key stakeholders, navigate the spectrum between the political and private spheres, locate investors, and ultimately expand and strengthen businesses.
Honours[edit]
In November 2009 he was appointed Légion d'honneur by the French ambassador to Israel.[16] In the same year he received the journalistic prize Golden Doves for Peace issued by the Italian Research Institute Archivio Disarmo.[17]