Yaakov Amidror
Yaakov Amidror (Hebrew: יעקב עמידרור; born 15 May 1948) is a former major general and National Security Advisor of Israel, and was also the head of the Research Department of Israeli military intelligence.
Amidror was born in Yad Eliyahu, Israel, on the day after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. His father, Leo, had enlisted in the British Army during World War II, and spent five years in German captivity after being taken prisoner in Greece. His mother, Tzila, was an Irgun member, active in the organization's finance department, who had been arrested by the British in 1941, and incarcerated at the Bethlehem Women's Prison.[1][2]
Amidror was considered a candidate to lead the Military Intelligence Directorate, but he was passed over after he controversially referred to non-religious Israelis as "Hebrew-speaking gentiles". Instead, he became president of Israel's National Defense College before retiring from his military career in 2002.[1][3]
Amidror was selected to draw up the list of candidates for the Religious Zionist The Jewish Home party in the lead-up to the elections for the 18th Knesset. Amidror became enmeshed in internecine fighting within the party, and with competing right-wing factions. He clashed particularly with MK Uri Ariel, calling him a "liar" and a "cheater".[4][5]
He was appointed to lead Israel's National Security Council in May 2011[6] and held the position until November 2013.
As Israel's national security advisor, he participated in high-level talks with U.S. officials about the Iranian nuclear program and led efforts to restore relations with Turkey after the Gaza flotilla raid incident.[7][8]
Amidror is considered a hawk on security matters. He wrote an op-ed in the New York Times opposing the Geneva interim agreement on Iranian nuclear program.[9] However, he has also warned privately that Israel's settlement policy was isolating it from the international community.[10]
In March 2014, Amidror joined the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies as the Anne and Greg Rosshandler Senior Fellow. He is also a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.[11]
References
- 1 2 Avi Benayahu (26 November 2013). "The Man Who's Not Afraid to Go Against the Flow". The Post (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/history/hayom/5-2.htm
- ↑ Attila Somfalvi (9 March 2011). "Amidror new national security advisor". Ynetnews. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ Mordechai Gilat and Uzi Dayan (14 January 2009). "'Burn the House'". Israel Today (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ Nadav Shragai (25 December 2008). "At Habayit Hayehudi, ideology is one thing - and politics is quite another". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ Barak Ravid (9 March 2011). "Netanyahu appoints new national security adviser, Ya'akov Amidror Israel News". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ Aaron Kalman (23 June 2013). "Netanyahu's top security adviser set to quit after bust-up". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ Michal Shmulovich (6 May 2013). "Turkey and Israel close in on reconciliation deal". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ Yaakov Amidror (27 November 2013). "A Most Dangerous Deal". New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ "Yaakov Amidror is said to be concerned over Israel's growing isolation". United Press International. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ "Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror". Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
External links
- (Hebrew) Columns written by Yaakov Amidror at Ynet
- Yaakov Amidror (2008). Winning Counterinsurgency War: The Israeli Experience. Strategic Perspectives. 2. Jerusalem: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. ISBN 9789652180629.
- Yaakov Amidror (2011). "International Law and Military Operations in Practice". In Mark El-Ami. Hamas, the Gaza War and Accountability, Under International Law: Updated Proceedings of an International Conference on June 18, 2009. Jerusalem: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. pp. 47–48. ISBN 9789652180902.