Yuval Steinitz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available, as is general documentation. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
Yuval Steinitz (Hebrew: יובל שטייניץ), born April 10, 1958, is an Israeli philosopher and politician who has been a Knesset member for the Likud party since 1999. In the years 2003–2006, he chaired the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He is married to Gila Cnafi-Steinitz, a judge in the District court of Jerusalem.
Contents |
[edit] Academics
He grew up in Ramot Hashavim (Hebrew: רמות השבים) , and served in the army as a soldier in the Golani Brigade. After finishing the army, he studied in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, earning a master degree in Philosophy. By the time he earned his master degree studied, he started his Doctorate work in Philosophy, writing about the following topic: "From a Rationalistic point of view". He finished his doctorate in the "Cohen institution for History and Philosophy of the sciences and ideas", of Tel-Aviv University. In 1993, after finishing his studies, he was guaranteed an "Alon Scholarship". He also taught Philosophy in the University of Haifa.
[edit] Political Activity
Already during his army service, Steinitz was involved in issues concerning the "Concept of security in Israel" and "Battle's Strategy", and wrote several articles, discussing these topics, in the Army's newspaper, "Maracot".
He was first politically active among Left-Wing organization and parties, such as 'Shalom Achshav' (Peace Now). However, in 1993, as a result of the Oslo accords, he changed his views, and became a member of right wing organizations and parties, such as the Likud party. In 1996 he promoted the candidacy of the future Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and 3 years later ran in the Likud list (in the 20th position) for the 15th elections, as an important cooperator withe Netanyahu. The elections were a big failure for the Likud party, which earned only 19 mandates (out of 120) and Steinutz did not get in to the Israeli Knesset. However, Netanyahu decided to leave his position, and Steinitz replaced him. He served as the chair of the "Concept of Security" sub-committees, and as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, The Constitution, Law and Court Committee and in the Science and Technology Committee.
Steinitz became an important member of the party, and he was elected again in the following elections, and served as the chair of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, The Security and inelegance sub-committee and the joint committee of the Security Committee, composed of members from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the American Congress. He marked his reign as a successes, and many of his political rivals and friends congratulated him for his dedicated work. He tend to question the functioning of the Defense mechanism, and inquired many times the Ramatkal (Head of General Staff)and the Defense Ministry. He also tried to make a reform in the inelegance mechanism, blaming it in the failures of the State of Israel to identify truly the intentions and capabilities of countries as Iraq (during Saddam Hussaine rule) and Libya. Moreover, he disagreed with the Inelegance community, concerning the role of Egypt in the region. He asserted that Egypt is preparing itself to a war against Israel, by relying on the fact it is becoming stronger and stronger with the purchase of new and advance American Weapon and its "background support" of the Hamas party. [1].
He was elected in the following elections as well, representing the Likud in the 9th place. He was also nominated as a candidate to the Chair of the "World Likud institution", but lost in this elections, being held in June 2006, to Dani Danon, the chair of the World Betar movement, which is historical tied with the values and norms of the Likud Party.
[edit] The Disengagement Plan
In the discussions about the Disengagement Plan, which did not get a lot of support within the Likud Party, he opposed its aims, and mainly the intentions of the IDF to give away the Philadelphia Route, an important buffer zone between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, to an Egyptian control. He claimed that Egypt will close its eyes in front of transportation of weaponry into the strip, by the various Palestinian terrorist groups, and will arm the "non-armed territory" of the Sinai Peninsula, by future Egyptian pressure. [2] Steinitz claimed after the plan was implemented that thanks to his suggestions, the Egyptians will not get the power over the area, as they thought they will. He also added that the plan was a mistake of Israel, and that even if it is needed for future peace agreement with the Palestinian people, the IDF shouuld have "cleaned the Gaza Strip from terrorist groups".
