Ami Ayalon

His parents moved to Palestine in the 1930s.

His mother was born in Cluj, Transylvania, Romania, came as a young girl to study in Jerusalem; his father, Yitzhak, emigrated illegally also from Transylvania, Romania, and was one of the founders of Ma'agan, where he worked until retirement as a carpenter.

Ami Ayalon (עמיחי "עמי" איילון, born 27 June 1945) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party.

He was previously head of the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, and commander-in-chief of the Navy.

Ayalon enlisted in 1963 and volunteered for the Shayetet 13 navy commando unit.

In 1969, he participated in Operation Bulmus 6—the assault on fortified Green Island, Egypt (jointly with Sayeret Matkal).

During the operation, he threw a grenade into one of the radar positions, and provided cover for other soldiers in the force.

While climbing to the roof, he was hit in the forehead by a Ricochet, but continued fighting.

He stormed the position from which he was fired upon and injured as a result, killing two Egyptian soldiers and neutralizing the post.

After which he continued along with another soldier, and managed to take control of at least two more key positions on the island.

While trying to take over the third position, he was injured in the leg by a grenade, kept on fighting, only to be hit by another grenade in the neck and arm.

Even so, he continued firing, only reported his injuries when the island was in full control, and was able to evacuate himself into a boat, where he injected himself with morphine.

For these actions, Ayalon received the Medal of Valor, Israel's highest decoration.

In 1979, Ayalon was appointed commander of Shayetet 13, and was decorated for carrying out a long list of operations without casualties.

Ayalon graduated from Bar-Ilan University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1980.

Between 1986 and 1988 he was Defence Attache to South Africa.

In 1992, he received a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Ayalon, receiving the rank of major general, served as commander of the Israeli Navy from 1992 through 1996.

Following Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995, Ayalon was appointed head of the Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service).

Rabin himself suggested the appointment a year before his murder.

Ayalon retired in 2000.

On 25 June 2003, Ayalon launched, together with Palestinian professor Sari Nusseibeh, a peace initiative called "The People's Voice".

The goal of the initiative is to collect as many signatures of Israelis and Palestinians as possible for the peace plan guidelines supporting a two-state solution without the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

On 14 November 2003, Ami Ayalon with three other former heads of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), Avraham Shalom, Yaakov Peri and Carmi Gillon gave an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth (one of the leading tabloid newspapers in Israel) based on the paper prepared by Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh.

The interview was conducted by Alex Fishman and Sima Kadmon.

In that interview, the former Security Chiefs warn of an impending "catastrophe" for Israel and urge the public to rally behind a document created which sets out the principles of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

The blunt language and statements of grave concern are particularly striking because the ISA is the non-political nerve center of Israeli intelligence, and is the agency responsible both for gathering intelligence and for preventing terrorist attacks—including by such controversial means as targeted killings and other preventive measures.

While the interview has been widely quoted, rough translations have only appeared on isolated list servers and websites, and the full power of the meeting—called "historic" by its participants—has often been diluted.

Although Ayalon promotes traditional left-wing ideas, he insists he is not a part of the Israeli left, and spurns the Israeli peace camp for its hostility toward the Israeli public and especially toward the settlers.

Ayalon managed to outrage many left-wing activists when he said that only Ariel Sharon and the Likud could bring peace.

He took part in the "Mateh HaRov" demonstration in support of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and made a very critical speech against the Israeli peace camp.

He said:

He came in second to Ehud Barak in a Labor party leadership election in June 2007, and was appointed a Minister without Portfolio in September 2007.

He is one of the recipients of Israel's highest decoration, the Medal of Valor.

Amihai (Ami) Ayalon was born in Tiberias, and grew up in kibbutz Ma'agan.

In 2010, he received a Master of Studies in Law from Bar-Ilan University.

He is the chairman of the Executive Committee of the maritime policy & strategy research center (HMS).

He is married, and the father of three.

Ayalon lives in Kerem Maharal.

Ayalon served his entire military service in the Israeli Navy.