Daniel Ben-Simon ( he, דניאל בן סימון, born 29 April 1954) is an Israeli journalist and politician, who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for the Labor Party between 2009 and 2013.

Biography

Born in

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, Ben-Simon made aliyah to Israel in 1969. He did his national service in the Golani Brigade between 1972 and 1976. He later attended the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...

, where he gained a BA in Sociology and political science, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, where he gained an MSc in journalism. He worked for ''

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by th ...

'' for over a decade and later for '' Haaretz''. He taught journalism at

Sapir College Sapir College ( he, המכללה האקדמית ספיר, ''HaMikhlela HaAkademit Sapir'') is a college in Israel, located in the northwestern Negev desert near Sderot. It is the largest public college in Israel, with an enrollment of 8,000 s ...

and Rupin College and also wrote four books, and was involved in the making of documentary films based on two of his books. He is a recipient of the Sokolov Prize. Prior to the 2009 elections he joined the Labor Party, saying "I felt I had reached the limit of my ability to wield influence as a journalist. I reached the conclusion that you can score goals only on the playing field and not from the reporters' box". He won eleventh place on the party's list, and entered the Knesset as Labor won 13 seats. He initially objected to Labor's entrance into the Binyamin Netanyahu's government, but was elected chairman of Labor's Knesset faction on April 1, saying "the moment the party convention voted in favor f joining my resistance faded. I turned from an objector to one who obeys". However, in October 2009 he resigned as chairman, and began pressuring the party to leave the coalition. In January 2011 he announced that he was leaving the Labor Party to establish an independent single-member faction in response to his failure to persuade the party to leave the government. However, he ultimately remained in the party, and was placed 21st on its list for the

2013 elections The following elections were occurred in the year 2013. Asia * 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013 * 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013 * 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...

.Labor Party
Central Elections Committee He subsequently left the Knesset as the party won only 15 seats.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Simon, Daniel 1954 births 20th-century Moroccan Jews People from Meknes University of Haifa alumni Boston University College of Communication alumni Israeli journalists Israeli educators Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Living people Haaretz people Israeli Labor Party politicians Academic staff of Sapir Academic College