Avshalom Vilan ( he, אבשלום וילן, born 11 February 1951) is an Israeli politician and economist. He served as a Knesset member for

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 ...

between 1999 and 2009.

Biography

Avshalom Vilan was born on

Kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

Negba. He served in the IDF as a Master Sergeant in Sayeret Matkal, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit alongside two future prime ministers of Israel:

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...

and Benjamin Netanyahu. Vilan studied Economics and Philosophy at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. He worked as an economist and agriculturalist before becoming an emissary for

HaShomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

and Kibbutz Artzi in 1993. Upon his return to Israel in 1996 he became secretary of Kibbutz Artzi, a role he held until 1999. Vilan continues to live in Kibbutz Negba. He is married with two children.

Political career

Vilan became involved in politics in the 1970s. In 1978, he was a founding member of Peace Now. He joined the socialist

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

, and became party secretary in 1990. When Mapam merged with Ratz and Shinui to form

in 1992, Vilan became a member of the new party. In the 1999 elections Vilan was elected to the Knesset on Meretz's list. During his first term in the Knesset he chaired the Knesset Inquiry Committee on Violence in Sports. Vilan retained his seat in the 2003 elections and chaired the same committee and also the Lobby for Public Persons as Role Models. He again retained his seat in the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidenti ...

. For two terms, Vilan chaired the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Violence in Sports. Prior to the 2009 elections he won fifth place on the Meretz list.Meretz primaries: Ilan Gilon takes top spot
Ynetnews, 15 December 2008 However, he lost his seat when the party was reduced to three mandates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilan, Avshalom 1951 births Living people Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Kibbutz Movements secretaries Israeli economists Meretz politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Peace Now people