Dr Ronen Pinchas Hoffman ( he, רונן פנחס הופמן, born 19 July 1963) is an Israeli academic, politician and diplomat. He 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
Yesh Atid
Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses prima ...
between 2013 and 2015 and is currently
Ambassador to Canada.
Biography
Hoffman was born into a farming family in
Afula
Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of .
Afula's ancient ...
,
[Meet Dr. Ronen Hoffman: Israel's new ambassador to Canada]
Ottawa Jewish Bulletin, 10 January 2022 and grew up in the city.
[Meet the MK: Ronen Hoffman]
The Jerusalem Post, 12 February 2013 After his
national service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
he studied political science at
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 ...
. He worked as an information officer in the Israeli consulate in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and as a personal aide to
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
during the
1992 elections. He was then involved in co-ordinating the Israeli delegation for peace talks with
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
between 1992 and 1994.
[
In 1996 Hoffman founded the ]International Institute for Counter-Terrorism
The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) is a conservative Israeli think tank founded in 1996 and located at Reichman University, in Herzliya, Israel.
Activities
According to ''Foreign Affairs'', ICT presents a conservative Israeli ...
at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya
Reichman University ( he, אוניברסיטת רייכמן) is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the IDC Herzliya private college, before being rebranded in 2021.
It receives no ...
, and served as its CEO until the following year. In 1999 he completed his doctorate at King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, dealing with Syrian-Israeli Peace Negotiations from 1992 to 1995.[ After returning to Syrian peace negotiations under Prime Minister ]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 ...
,[ he then worked as a senior lecturer at the Institute focussing on governance, diplomacy, international relations and political psychology between 2001 and 2012.][All the kingmaker’s men, and women]
Times of Israel, 23 January 2013 He also worked as a policy advisor to the Ministry of Defense
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
during 2001.
In 2012 he joined the new Yesh Atid
Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses prima ...
party and was placed nineteenth on the party's list for the 2013 Knesset elections. He entered the Knesset after the party won 19 seats, and sat on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ( he, ועדת חוץ וביטחון) is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over rel ...
and chaired the subcommittee on Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy. He was placed eighteenth on the Yesh Atid list for the 2015 elections
The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015.
Africa
* 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015
* 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015
* 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015
* 2015 Burun ...
, losing his seat as the party was reduced to 11 seats.
In July 2021 Hoffman was appointed Ambassador to Canada. He took up the role in December 2021.
Hoffman lives in Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
with his partner.[Ambassador]
Embassy of Israel in Canada He is divorced and has three children.[Meet Ronen Hoffman, Israel’s new ambassador to Canada: a foreign policy expert and hockey dad]
The Canadian Jewish News, 4 January 2022
References
External links
*
1963 births
Living people
People from Afula
Tel Aviv University alumni
Alumni of King's College London
Israeli civil servants
Israeli educators
Reichman University faculty
Yesh Atid politicians
Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015)
Ambassadors of Israel to Canada
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