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 ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

he moved as a child to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, 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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and of the

Jewish people Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

. He published numerous studies in professional journals in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the US and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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

Biography

Born in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, 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) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

(TAU), and received his PhD in

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

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, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1998, and was the

i ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, collectively known as th ...

. He was a member of the Peace Now movement , the

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...

and left-wing-liberal Meretz 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, 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 free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

who filmed the footage, calling him a "propagandist in the service of the Palestinian cause"—France 2, and Charles Enderlin, 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 and supported its "Call for Reason" campaign which advocates the two-state solution. Barnavi was friends with Jean Frydman, a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

, and successfully persuaded Frydman to write an autobiography after Romain Gary among others tried and failed. He has debated with Hubert Védrine, 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

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

Google Translate
. '' Le Télégramme''. 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