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Daniel Levy (political analyst)

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Daniel Levy
Daniel Levy speaking at a J Street U. talk at the Hillel of the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Alma materKing's College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)Analyst, Author and former Israeli negotiator
EmployerU.S./Middle East Project
FatherLord Michael Levy
Military career
Service / branchIsrael Defense Forces

Daniel Levy is a British–Israeli analyst, commentator, author, and former advisor to the Israeli government with expertise on Middle East and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He was formerly an Israeli negotiator as part of the Taba summit and Oslo 2 peace process. He is current president of the U.S./Middle East Project (USMEP) and was among the founders of the organization J Street.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

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Daniel Levy is the son of Lord Michael Levy.[6]

He studied political science at King's College, Cambridge, at both the Bachelor's and Master's level.[7] He was World Chairman of the World Union of Jewish Students in Jerusalem from 1991 to 1994.[7]

Career

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Israeli soldier

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Levy served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a non-commissioned officer.[8] From 1999 to 2000 he worked as head of the Jerusalem Affairs unit under Minister Haim Ramon.[7] He served as an advisor to Justice Minister Yossi Beilin.[9][10]

Peace negotiator

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He served as an Israeli negotiator in peace talks with Palestinian leaders during his IDF years under Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin (PM 1992–95)[8] and again under Ehud Barak (PM 1999–2001).[4][9] He was lead drafter of the 2003 Geneva Initiative along with Ghaith al-Omari.[11][4][12][13][14]

Non-governmental advocacy

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Levy is current president of the U.S./Middle East Project.[1][2][3] He previously headed the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations from 2012 to 2016.[3][15] He has also worked at the director level on the New America Foundation's Middle East Task Force and as a fellow with the Century Foundation.[4][7][16] He previously worked as an analyst with the International Crisis Group.[7]

He is among the co-founders of the organization J Street and has served on the organization's advisory council.[4][17][8][18][19] He is also a founding board member of Molad: The Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy[12] as well as the Diaspora Alliance.[20]

He serves on the board of the New Israel Fund[4] and as a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.[12]

Media and publications

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Levy has worked as an editor with Foreign Policy magazine, serving as founding editor of their Middle East Channel.[21][12] He publishes and speaks widely on matters related to Israel and Palestine.[22] He has been featured in such publications and channels as The Nation, The New York Times, Ha'aretz, the BBC, Al Jazeera, and CNN.[12][4][1][23][24]

Views

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Levy is critical of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, labeling such treatment "nondemocracy." He has criticized Israeli political leaders' "pursu[it of] a Jewish ethnocratic state at the expense of a Jewish democratic state."[25]

Regarding his motivations in creating J Street, in 2009, he told The Guardian:

"What we had a hunch about, and was proven when J Street was launched, is that there is this very large constituency of Jewish Americans who do care about Israel and who are cool identifying themselves as pro-Israel. But their pro-Israelness is about the need for Israel to be at peace with its neighbours to gain security, not by being an ongoing expansionist presence. In fact, that endangers Israel."[26]

Levy has publicly expressed concern about the "abuse" and weaponization of the accusation of antisemitism in the context of public discourse about Palestinian and Israeli politics.[27]

He expressed criticism of the Israeli government's actions during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, underscoring "the unconscionable and growing cost in civilian life" and the lack of a coherent political vision related to Israel's ongoing military actions.[24] He also simultaneously called for a renewal of Palestinian leadership to be more "inclusive," pointing to the need to incorporate Hamas into the Palestinian Authority.[24]

Despite being involved with the peace process himself earlier in his career, Levy has harshly criticized the recent history of diplomatic approaches to Israel for lacking enforcement mechanisms and consequences for rights violations. He expressed concern that the peace process has become "the refuge of scoundrels who want to maintain the status quo."[28]

Criticism

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Levy's public statements and activities have been criticized in conservative media outlets such as The Washington Examiner and Jewish News Syndicate, including by reporter James Kirchick, and by the Middle East Forum. Critics question his perspective on historical events and perceived lack of support for Israel.[29][30][31][32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Karon, Tony; Levy, Daniel (2023-12-08). "Israel Is Losing this War". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  2. ^ a b "Daniel Levy". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  3. ^ a b c "Profile: Daniel Levy". ECFR. 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Daniel Levy". Open to Debate. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, M. J. "On Israel and Palestine, Obama is Rick Perry". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  6. ^ Harpin, Lee. "Former Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy tells Expo event antisemitism 'weaponised' to silence Palestinian struggle". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Daniel Levy". GBH. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  8. ^ a b c "Myths & Facts:Our staff and leadership". J Street. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  9. ^ a b Science, London School of Economics and Political. "An Israeli Political Crisis: Elections, Unity Government and Annexation". London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  10. ^ Schiff, Amira (2010). ""Quasi Track-One" Diplomacy: An Analysis of the Geneva Process in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict". International Studies Perspectives. 11 (2): 100. ISSN 1528-3577. JSTOR 44218627.
  11. ^ Klein, Menachim. A Possible Peace Between Israel and Palestine: An Insider's Account of the Geneva Initiative. Translated by Haim Watzman. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007, p. 32.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Occupied Thoughts: "Breaking the Israel-Palestine Status Quo": Zaha Hassan and Daniel Levy with Peter Beinart". Foundation for Middle East Peace. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  13. ^ "Senior Leadership – Geneva Initiative". Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  14. ^ "Daniel Levy | HuffPost". www.huffpost.com. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  15. ^ "Beyond Borders: Husam Zomlot and Daniel Levy in Conversation". Bradford Literature Festival. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  16. ^ Landler, Mark (2011-01-22). "Trying to Break Logjam, Scholar Floats an Idea for a Palestinian Map". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  17. ^ "J Street : Advisory Council". 2008-04-20. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2023-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ McGreal, Chris (2009-10-23). "Who speaks for America's Jews? J Street lobby group works to loosen big beasts' grip on Congress". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  19. ^ "Writing a New Language About Israel at J Street". HuffPost. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
  20. ^ "Diaspora Alliance". Diaspora Alliance. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  21. ^ "Daniel Levy". The Cairo Review of Global Affairs. 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  22. ^ "Daniel Levy | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  23. ^ "Daniel Levy on BBC World News: "These kinds of lies can't be allowed to pass."". 16 October 2023.
  24. ^ a b c Levy, Daniel (2023-11-08). "Opinion | The Road Back From Hell". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  25. ^ Levy, Daniel (2012-01-06). "Israeli Democracy in Peril". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  26. ^ McGreal, Chris (2009-10-23). "Who speaks for America's Jews? J Street lobby group works to loosen big beasts' grip on Congress". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  27. ^ Harpin, Lee. "Former Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy tells Expo event antisemitism 'weaponised' to silence Palestinian struggle". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  28. ^ "Occupied Thoughts: "Breaking the Israel-Palestine Status Quo": Zaha Hassan and Daniel Levy with Peter Beinart". Foundation for Middle East Peace. 2021-04-23. pp. 11:35. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  29. ^ Kirchick, James (2007-12-10). "The Insufferable Daniel Levy". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  30. ^ "Daniel Levy's Israel Problem". Washington Examiner. 2010-10-12. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  31. ^ Fournier, Ryan (March 15, 2020). "J Street claims to be pro-Israel, but conceals BDS ties". Jewish News Syndicate.
  32. ^ Pollak, Noah (2007-12-07). "Rewriting History: Factchecking Levy". Middle East Forum. Retrieved 2023-12-16.


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