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Yuval Steinitz

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Yuval Steinitz (Hebrew: יובל שטייניץ, born 10 April 1958), is an Israeli academic and politician who has been a Knesset member for Likud since 1999.[1] He is now the Finance Minister of Israel.


Biography

Yuval Steinitz was born and raised on moshav Ramot HaShavim. He studied in the biology track at Katznelson High School in Kfar Sava. He was expelled for refusing to sign a letter promising to stop his argumentative behavior in class,[2] and completed his bagrut externally. He did his army service as an infantry soldier in the Golani Brigade of the Israeli Defense Forces. As a reservist in the Alexandroni Brigade, he was wounded during the Lebanon War. His higher education began at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he obtained a BA and an MA in Philosophy.[2]

Steinitz is married to Gila Canfy-Steinitz, a Jerusalem district court judge. They have three children and live in Mevasseret Zion.[2]

Academic career

His doctoral thesis, entitled From A Rational Point of View was completed at the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University. Steinitz was awarded the Alon Scholarship for his work. He continued his research at the University of Haifa, were he worked as a senior lecturer until entering the Knesset in 1999. While at Haifa University, Steinitz published articles on military strategy and tactics in various periodicals, including the IDF journal Marachot. At the age of 29, he published his book Invitation to Philosophy, which became the best-selling philosophy text in Israel and was reprinted 40 times.[2]

Political career

Steinitz's political involvement began in the 1980s when he joined Peace Now. He was injured during a rally in Jerusalem in 1983, when a right-wing extremist hurled a hand-grenade into the crowd, killing peace activist Emil Grunzweig.[2]

However, his objections to the Oslo Accords led him into the Likud camp.[citation needed] In the 1999 elections he was twentieth on the Likud list, but the party won only 19 seats. When Netanyahu resigned in the wake of his electoral defeat, Steinitz replaced him as next in line. During his first term in the Knesset, Steinitz served as chairman of the Subcommittee for Defense,Planning and Policy, and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Constitution Law and Courts Committee.

After retaining his seat in the 2003 elections, he was elected to chair the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, turning it into one of the most serious and influential bodies in the Knesset.[3] During his second term, he also chaired the Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services, the Committee for the examination of the Intelligence Services Following the War in Iraq, and co-chaired the Joint Security Committee Between the Knesset and the US Congress, alongside American Senator Jon Kyl.[1]

After re-election in 2006, he continued to co-chair the Joint Security Committee Between the Knesset and the US Congress, and also chaired the Subcommittee for the State of Alert and Field Security and the Sub-Committee on Intelligence & Secret Services, whilst continuing to be a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Law and Courts Committee.

He retained his seat in the 2009 elections after winning ninth place on the Likud list. He was appointed finance minister in Benjamin Netanyahu's government.[4]

Views

Steinitz opposed the disengagement plan in 2005, critiquing both its perceived objectives and logistic implementation. He was particularly concerned about the IDF's intention to transfer the Philadelphi Route, a strategic buffer zone between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, to the Egyptians. He claimed that Egypt would not stop the arms smuggling by Palestinian terrorist groups.[5]

He has campaigned for heightened awareness of the Iranian nuclear threat, lobbying at home and abroad to ensure that Iran does not become a nuclear power.[6]

In 2008, when Israel refused permission for Palestinian Fulbright students to leave Gaza and study in the United States, Steinitz supported this action. He told the New York Times: “We are fighting the regime in Gaza that does its utmost to kill our citizens and destroy our schools and our colleges. So I don’t think we should allow students from Gaza to go anywhere. Gaza is under siege, and rightly so, and it is up to the Gazans to change the regime or its behavior.”[7]

Steinitz has publicly stated that he is against releasing terrorists convicted of murder in a prisoner exchange deal for Gilad Shalit.[2]

He disagrees with Governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, on various issues, and has a complicated relationship with Netanyahu, who bypassed him several times in his first year in office.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Yuval Steinitz Knesset website
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 'With all guns blazing' Haaretz
  3. ^ The difference is not in the warhead The Jerusalem Post
  4. ^ Netanyahu sworn in as Israel's prime minister Haaretz, 1 April 2009.
  5. ^ Government confirms: Changes to the peace agreement with Egypt Yedioth Ahronoth, 28 August 2005 Template:He icon
  6. ^ Steinitz: Egypt letting Hamas build an army, Sheera Claire Frenkel, Jerusalem Post
  7. ^ U.S. Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza

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