Meet Tzipi Livni, Israeli Affairs Foreign Minister and Acting Prime Minister who has recently been nominated by the Kadima Party for Israeli Prime Minister. Read her biography and see photos and a video of her below.
Tzipi Livni
12/29/2008 Update: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appeared on al-Jazeera today and strongly criticized Hamas placing the blame with the Palestinian leadership for the violence that is engulfing Gaza.
While we are being feed a steady stream of information on the measures Israel is taking to stop the violence, there has been little reported on the core source of the problems. Israel wants to live in peace. Israel has made every effort to avoid civilian casualties, but is obligated to protect Israeli citizens who have been repeatedly targeted by Hamas.
One issue left out of the constant reporting is that Hamas intentionally targeted Israeli civilians and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
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Tzipi Livni was elected leader of the Kadima Party in Israel on September 17, 2008. She is tasked with forming a government to gain the support from the majority of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. She ran for leader of the Party following the resignation of Ehud Olmert. She ran against Shaul Mofaz for the Kadima’s leadership position. She was considered dovish in comparison to Mofaz, however, she appears to be well aware of the dangers that Israel faces and prepared to deal with those threats as needed.
She now faces the the Shas party for election as Prime Minister. If she succeeds in her bid for the position of Israel’s Prime Minister, she will be the second female Prime Minister in the history of Israel. The other woman to hold that post was Golda Meir.
Tzipi Livni Biography
Tzipora Malka Livni was born on July 8, 1958 in Tel Aviv, Israel. She is 50 years old. In Hebrew, her name ציפורה מלכה “ציפי” ×œ×‘× ×™â€Ž. She is the daughter of Eitan and Sara Rosenberg Livni. Her father was born in Poland. Both of her parents were active in the former Irgun party, which was considered a militant Zionist military organization. The Irgun party was an early predecessor to the Likud Party.
Livni was a Lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces. In the early 1980s she served for two years in the Mossad. She resigned her position with the Mossad in 1983 to get married and to finish her education. She was rumored to be a terrorist hunter when she worked for the Mossad, but was more likely a low level agent. During her time with the Mossad she performed her duties undercover while she lived as a regular resident in an apartment in Paris.
She is a graduate of Bar Ilan University Faculty of Law and has worked for 10 years as an attorney specializing in public and commercial law. She was awarded the Abirat Ha-Shilton in 2004. She was described as the second most power politician in Israel in 2006. She was included as the 52nd most powerful woman in the world as ranked by Forbes in 2007. She was included in the 2007 edition of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. She speaks Hebrew, English and French.
She started her career in politics in 1999 when she was elected to the Knesset. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as Likud party leader, appointed Livni to a series of Minister and Cabinet positions. She started out as the Minister of Regional Cooperation. From there she became the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. She went on to be Minister of Immigration Absorption and Minister of Housing and Construction.
She left the Likud Party to join the newly formed Kadima Party on November 20, 2005 along with Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert. She was appointed Foreign Minister in 2005 because of the loss of so many people from the Likud Party.
On May 4th 2006, Livni became the Vice-Prime Minister, retaining the post of Foreign Minister. She is the second woman in Israel, after Golda Meir, to hold that position. If she is elected Prime Minister, she will be only the second woman to be Israel’s Prime Minister. The other being Golda Meir.
Livni is married to Naftali Spitzer, an accountant. They have two children, Omri and Yuval. The family lives in Tel Aviv.
Tzipi Livni - Photos
Tzipi Livni - Video
September 20th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Charlie Rose interviewed her and she came off very erudite, civil, poised, reflective, and genuinely frinedly. She wasn’t the rough and tumble Israeli politician type and seemed a good choice going from foriegn minister to prime minister. She would represent Israel well before the UN also with a kinder gentler face. I don’t know if she is hawkish enough for the netanyahu faction though and that may keep her out. One good thing was she didn’t go off o a bunch of prehatched talking points but talked with Rose in real time about nuanced issues and also seemed to get it.
December 27th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
[...] Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a leading candidate to become Israel’s next prime minister, called for international support against “an extremist Islamist organization … that is being supported by Iran,â€? and, “Only last week Israel was attacked from the Gaza Strip and in a day about 80 missiles and mortars were fired against Israeli civilians,” she said. “Enough is enough.” [...]
December 29th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I agree with Brian about his overall impressions of Tzipi Livni. Besides the little soundbites during the network news I caught Livni during an interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday morning and she is sharp as a tack.
As a side note, I wrote a paper about the life and times of Golda Meir during in college - fascinating woman was she.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
” don’t know if she is hawkish enough for the netanyahu faction though and that may keep her out.”
Netanyahu is exactly what Israel needs right now.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
[...] Observations About the Political Reaction To the Israeli Military Campaign Against Hamas Tzipi Livni is Israeli Prime Minister? [...]
January 12th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Ms. Livni (or to Whom it may concern:)
I am apalled at the oppression of the Palestinian people by the state of Israel. I ask urgently (knowing full well that no one will listen, but I WILL speak my voice) that Israel stop this brutal behavior toward these human beings.
I attend a Jewish congregation, speak and read Hebrew, and am proud of that. However, I am boycotting anything possible that the state of Israel produces (for example, “Israeli Feta Cheese”) I am encouraging anyone I know to do the same with any Israeli product. If the United States wasn’t in the palm of Israel’s hand, we would be placing economic sanctions on your country for this horrible oppression of our fellow human beings.
However, the United States has been as oppressive as your country, and bombs these people with the weapons that our corrupt country sells to you (so a boycott by our government will not happen).
Also, I am removing all Hebrew writing from my packaging labels (I produce organic dog biscuits; the word is “shalom”, which apparently you have no regard for).
I love my country, as well as Israel, but I have a right to express my voice.
Thank you for listening (if you are).
Mike Paluda
Tucson, AZ, USA
February 10th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
[...] Israel elections are still too close to call, however, both Tzipi Livni and Benjamin Netanyahu (also known as Bibi) have claimed victory. The right wing of the party has [...]