HAIFA (Press Release) –Admiral (ret.) Ami Ayalon has been appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee of the University of Haifa, Israel. Ayalon, 65, has previously served as commander of the Israeli Navy; director of the Israeli Security Agency (the Shin Bet); member of Knesset; and cabinet minister. He is currently chairman of AKIM Israel, the National Association for the Habilitation of the Intellectually Disabled in Israel.
“I am convinced that Ami Ayalon, with his extensive and proven experience contributing greatly to Israel’s security and development, will be able to assist the University in its ongoing development and in its taking a foothold as a research university leading in academic and humanist excellence,” said President of the University, Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze’ev as he congratulated Ayalon.
Ayalon has an MA in public administration from Harvard University and served most of his military service in the Israel Navy. Starting out in the elite Flotilla 13 commando unit, in 1979 he was appointed commander of that unit. He was awarded the Ribbon of Valor, the highest decoration given by the IDF, for his role in the raid against Green Island in Egypt in 1969 and he earned the Chief of General Staff’s Citation for leading operations again terrorist cells in Lebanon. In 1992, Ayalon was appointed Navy commander and advanced to the rank of top admiral. In 1996 he concluded his military service and took the position of head of the Shin Bet. He is credited with rehabilitating the service, which had been demoralized by the assassination, a year earlier, of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He also instituted a “Code of Ethics” in the Shin Bet and campaigned for it to be enshrined in law. For these contributions to Israel’s security apparatus, the Movement for Quality Government honored Ami with the “Knight of Quality Government” award. He retired from the Shin Bet in 2000. In 2003, Ayalon and Dr. Sari Nusseibeh established “The People’s Voice”, an initiative intended to advance the peace process, based on a statement of principles for the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Ayalon embarked on a political career in 2004, when he joined Israel’s Labor Party, securing a seat in the Knesset a year later. In 2007 he was appointed to the cabinet as minister, becoming chairman of the Ministerial State Control Committee and a member of the security cabinet. In 2008 he resigned from government and in 2009 announced his retirement from political life.
Presently, Ayalon is Chairman of AKIM Israel and also heads the Forum to Promote Civilian National Service, which aims to provide non-military alternatives for Israelis who want to serve the state but are exempt from the draft.
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Preceding provided by the University of Haifa