Élie Barnavi (born 1946) is an Israeli historian and diplomat, who was the Israeli ambassador to France between 2000 and 2002. Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

he moved as a child to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel. He authored some fifteen books on France and Europe in the turmoil of the Religious Wars and on the contemporary history of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and of the

Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

. He published numerous studies in professional journals in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the US and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, as well as political articles in the Israeli and European press.

Biography

Born in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, Barnavi emigrated as a child to

and became an Israeli citizen. He has degrees in history, and in political science from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

(TAU), and received his PhD in

modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1971, after which he was appointed professor of modern Western history at TAU, where he headed the Department of General History and the Center for International Studies. He became the science director of the Museum of Europe in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 1998, and was the

i ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

between 2000 and 2002, after which he resumed teaching at TAU and returned to his work at the museum. Barnavi is an advocate for peace in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and for the creation of a

Palestinian state Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PL ...

. He is a member of the

Peace Now Peace Now ( he, שלום עכשיו ''Shalom Achshav'', ) is a non-governmental organization, liberal advocacy and activist group in Israel with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Objectives/position ...

movement and the left-wing

Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...

party. In June 2008 he wrote an article in ''

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

'' magazine regarding the

Muhammad al-Durrah incident On 30 September 2000, the second day of the Second Intifada, 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah () was killed in the Gaza Strip during widespread protests and riots across the Palestinian territories against Israeli occupation of the West Bank ...

, which involved a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was supposedly shot dead. He criticised the actions of Talal Abu Rahma—the Palestinian cameraman freelancing for

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...

who filmed the footage, calling him a "propagandist in the service of the Palestinian cause"—France 2, and

Charles Enderlin Charles Enderlin (born 1945) is a French-Israeli journalist, specialising in the Middle East and Israel. He is the author of a number of books on the subject, including ''Shamir, une biographie'' (1991), ''Shattered Dreams: The Failure of the Pea ...

, France 2's bureau chief in Israel; and called for an independent inquiry into the affair. Enderline replied that, given Barnavi's position as a former ambassador, a quick call to Shabak, Israel's internal security service, would have cleared up inaccuracies in his account. In 2010 he helped create

JCall JCall is a nonprofit advocacy group based in Europe to lobby the European parliament on foreign policy issues concerning the Middle East and Israel in particular. They say they are based along the lines of the America group J Street (advocacy gro ...

and supported its "Call for Reason" campaign which advocates the two-state solution. Barnavi is friends with

Jean Frydman Jean Frydman (26 June 1925 – 14 March 2021) was a History of the Jews in France, Jewish member of the French Resistance during World War II and businessman. He received the Legion of Honour, ''Légion d'honneur'' in 2016 for his wartime efforts. ...

, a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

, and successfully persuaded Frydman to write an autobiography after

Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He i ...

among others tried and failed. He has debated with

Hubert Védrine Hubert Védrine (; born 31 July 1947) is a French Socialist politician. He is an advisor at Moelis & Company. Early life and career Following a history degree and graduating from both Sciences Po and ENA, Védrine had toyed with the idea of e ...

, amongst others. Barnavi has written several books on French and European history, including ''L’Europe Frigide'' ("Frigid Europe") (2008), in which he talks about how "Europe no longer incites passion in her citizens. She has lost her sex appeal, is no longer exciting or arousing curiosity, since everything has become bureaucratic." In 2010 he said the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

was in decline relative to the United States and emerging countries."Europe. Le spectre du déclin"

Google Translate
. ''

Le Télégramme ''Le Télégramme'' is a French-language daily newspaper from the Brittany region of France, based in the commune of Morlaix. It has been founded in 1944 and still exists to this day, although circulation is experiencing a decline since 2012. His ...

''. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnavi, Elie 1946 births Living people Romanian Jews Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli historians Ambassadors of Israel to France Israeli–Palestinian peace process Museum directors Romanian emigrants to Israel

Biography

References

Further reading

External links