Daniel "Danny" Rubinstein (born 1937) is an
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i journalist and author. He previously worked for
HaaretzHaaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
, where he was an Arab affairs analyst and a member of the editorial board.
Biography
Rubinstein was born in
Jerusalem in 1937. He grew up in Neveh Bezalel, a small neighborhood between Nahlaot and the city center. He majored in Middle Eastern studies and sociology at the
Hebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
.
In 1967, during the
Six-Day WarThe Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, Rubinstein was a reserve soldier in a Jerusalem reconnaissance unit led by Yossi Langotsky. This unit was the first to cross the cease-fire line into the Jordanian-controlled
West BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
He lives in Jerusalem's
Beit HakeremBeit HaKerem may refer to:* Beit HaKerem, Jerusalem, a neighborhood in west-central Jerusalem* Beit HaKerem , a biblical fortress in Judea identified by many with the later Herodium site...
neighborhood.
Journalism career
From 1967 to 1990, Rubinstein worked as a columnist and Jerusalem bureau chief for the now-defunct newspaper
DavarDavar was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.-History:Davar was established by Moshe Beilinson and Berl Katznelson, with Katznelson as its first editor. The first edition was published on 1 June 1925 under the name Davar - Iton...
. From 1990-2008, he worked for
HaaretzHaaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
, where he was a member of the editorial board. He wrote regular columns on the Arab-Israeli conflict and
PalestinianThe Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
affairs. He now writes a weekly column on the Palestinian economy for
CalcalistCalcalist is a daily business newspaper published in Israel by the Yedioth Ahronoth Group. The group also publishes Yedioth Ahronoth, the country's most widely circulated newspaper. Calcalist was first published February 18 2008, and currently runs five days a week, with a weekend supplement...
, an Israeli business daily published by
Yediot Ahronoth.
Rubinstein teaches at the Department of Middle East history at Ben-Gurion University in
BeershebaBeersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
and has published several books.
Controversy
In 2007, Rubinstein described Israel as an "apartheid state" at the UN-sponsored International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace. In response, the Zionist Federation of Great Britain cancelled his scheduled appearance at an event sponsored by the Federation. Its chairman, Andrew Balcombe said: "Criticism of Israeli policy is acceptable. However, by using the word 'apartheid' in a UN conference held at the European Parliament, Danny Rubinstein encourages the demonization of Israel and the Jewish people." At an event sponsored by the
New Israel FundThe New Israel Fund is a U.S. based non-profit organization established in 1979, and describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis.-Ideology:...
, Rubinstein was not apologetic: "People do use the word 'apartheid' in my circles. My newspaper increasingly uses that word. This is nothing new."
Published works
- Camp David 2000 (2002)
- The Mystery of Arafat (1995)
- People of Nowhere (1991)