BENAMI, SHLOMO

(1943- )

Born in Morocco, he immigrated to Israel in 1955. From the mid-1970s until 1987, he served as professor of history atTel Aviv University, specializing in the modern history of Spain and European fascism. He was appointed ambassador to Spain in 1987; in this capacity, he was involved in planning theMadrid Middle East Peace Conferenceof October 1991. He returned briefly to Tel Aviv University in 1992 but then left again to run for the 14thKnesseton theIsrael Labor Partylist.Ben-Ami campaigned to replaceShimon Peresas Labor Party leader in June 1997; he lost toEhud Barakbut garnered an impressive 15 percent of the vote among party members. A leading member of Labor's dovish wing, he was instrumental in encouraging Barak to modify traditional party policy in order to attract support from sectors that did not normally vote for Labor (e.g., Sephardim [see ORIENTAL JEWS], Russian immigrants, and residents ofdevelopment townsin theNegev).

Ranked third in internal party primaries for the 15th Knesset (1999), behind only Barak and Peres, he ultimately placed fourth on the expandedOne Israellist that won 26 seats in theKnesset electionsheld on 17 May 1999. On 6 July 1999, Ben-Ami was named internal security minister in the Barak-led governing coalition. Upon the departure ofDavid Levyfrom the government in August 2000, Ben-Ami became acting foreign minister. He was appointed foreign minister in November 2000, and it was in that capacity that he headed Israel's team to the negotiations at theTabatalks with thePalestinians(December 2000-January 2001). Ben-Ami concluded his tenure as foreign minister in March 2001 and resigned from the Knesset in August 2002. He wrote about his diplomatic experience inScars of War,Wounds of Peace:The Israeli—Arab Tragedy(2006).

See alsoArab-Israeli Conflict.