Gilead Sher
Encyclopedia
Gilead Sher is an Israel
i attorney
who served as Chief of Staff and Policy Coordinator to Israel's former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Mr. Ehud Barak
. In that capacity he acted as Israel's co-chief peace negotiator in 1999-2001, at the Camp David summit
and the Taba talks 2001 as well as in extensive rounds of covert negotiations with the Palestinians.
Baruch Mizrach family who have resided in Jerusalem since 1620. On his father’s side, Sher's grandfather, Avraham Sher (Ser) fell as a Haganah
fighter in Israel's War of Independence in 1947. Gilead is married to Ruti and has four children.
Gilead Sher is a graduate of the Hebrew University
Law School and was admitted to the Israel Bar
in 1981. Sher has also completed courses in project finance at the World Bank
(1996) and at Harvard University
(1999).
, the Voice of Israel, where he subsequently served as a parliamentary and legal correspondent, and was the radio's correspondent in Paris from 1981-1983.
; project finance; constitutional and administrative law; international business ventures; investments and transactions, dispute resolution and both private and public international law. Gilead Sher & Co. represents private corporations and public ones, governmental as well as other institutional entities.
. His lectures focus on dispute resolution and negotiations in times of crisis. Sher also teaches at Tel Aviv University
as an adjunct professor, delivering seminars at the International M.A. program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation. He has also lectured at Harvard
and Northwestern
universities in the United States; the University of Windsor
in Canada, La Sapienza and Luiss universities in Rome, San Pablo and Universidad Francisco Marroquín
in Guatemala, and has been a guest speaker at the master's degree studies of Progetto SABB for excellence in Assisi, Italy.
, when as a reserve IDF Colonel he headed the negotiation project at the Planning Division of the IDF and served as delegate to the talks on the Interim Agreement
.
He was later appointed by Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 1999 to negotiate the Sharm El Sheikh Memorandum which was signed on September 4, 1999 between Israel and the PLO
. He was subsequently appointed head of the negotiation team at the Camp David peace summit which was convened by former US President Bill Clinton
.
Sher also served as a co-chief peace negotiator at the Taba peace talks
of 2001, as well as in extensive rounds of covert peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Sher's efforts for peace were recognized by former US President Clinton who thanked him for his "heavy labour for a different future for your people and your neighbours".. Sher was appointed Chevalier de l'Orde national du Merite in 2002 by the former President of France, Jacques Chirac
, as appreciation of his efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.
Sher gives an account of his involvement in the peace process in his book the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations 1999-2001, Within Reach which was published in Hebrew in 2001, translated into Arabic and published in English by Routledge
/Taylor & Francis Group
in 2006.
(ACRI) (a board member from 1990-1991 and from 2007-2011) and is a founding member of the Citizen Empowerment Center in Israel. He is co-Chairman of Blue White future, which he helped to establish. It is a Zionist organization committed to promoting the two-state-for-two-peoples solution amongst the Israeli public as a necessity to ensure the survival of Israel, as both a Jewish and democratic state. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in Jerusalem and board member at Budo For Peace, co-existence for peace through martial arts.
Association, holding fifth Dan, the highest possible grade in the School and has taught martial arts since 1984. During high school, Sher was a national level athlete in high jump and Pentathlon.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who served as Chief of Staff and Policy Coordinator to Israel's former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Mr. Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
. In that capacity he acted as Israel's co-chief peace negotiator in 1999-2001, at the Camp David summit
Camp David 2000 Summit
The Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David of July 2000 took place between United States President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat...
and the Taba talks 2001 as well as in extensive rounds of covert negotiations with the Palestinians.
Personal Life
Sher was born on June 2nd 1953 in Kibbutz Machanayim, Israel. Sher, on his mother's side, is a descendant of the SephardicSephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
Baruch Mizrach family who have resided in Jerusalem since 1620. On his father’s side, Sher's grandfather, Avraham Sher (Ser) fell as a Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
fighter in Israel's War of Independence in 1947. Gilead is married to Ruti and has four children.
Military Service
Sher is a Colonel (Reserve), a former brigade commander and deputy division commander in the Armored corps of the Israeli Defence Forces as well as a military judge.Education
AttorneyLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Gilead Sher is a graduate of the Hebrew University
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The 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...
Law School and was admitted to the Israel Bar
Israel Bar Association
The Israel Bar Association is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers.The Israel Bar is organized as a corporation, with a Central Committee, a National Assembly and five districts. Membership is mandatory for lawyers licensed in Israel. The top positions are filled by elections held every...
in 1981. Sher has also completed courses in project finance at the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
(1996) and at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1999).
Journalist and News Presenter
Sher started his career as a news editor and radio news presenter for Kol IsraelKol Yisrael
Kol Yisrael is Israel's public domestic and international radio service, operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.-History:...
, the Voice of Israel, where he subsequently served as a parliamentary and legal correspondent, and was the radio's correspondent in Paris from 1981-1983.
Legal Career
Gilead Sher founded the law firm, Gilead Sher and Co in 1989. The firm has offices in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Between 2005-2010, as a result of a merger, Sher became a senior founding partner at Aaronsohn, Sher, Aboulafia, Amoday & Co, which was ranked amongst Israel’s 20 largest firms. His main fields of expertise are corporate lawCorporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
; project finance; constitutional and administrative law; international business ventures; investments and transactions, dispute resolution and both private and public international law. Gilead Sher & Co. represents private corporations and public ones, governmental as well as other institutional entities.
Academic Career
Since 2001, Sher teaches annually at the Wharton School of the University of PennsylvaniaWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
. His lectures focus on dispute resolution and negotiations in times of crisis. Sher also teaches at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
as an adjunct professor, delivering seminars at the International M.A. program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation. He has also lectured at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
universities in the United States; the University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
in Canada, La Sapienza and Luiss universities in Rome, San Pablo and Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Universidad Francisco Marroquín is a private, secular, university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to the school's website, "the mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a sociey of free and responsible persons."...
in Guatemala, and has been a guest speaker at the master's degree studies of Progetto SABB for excellence in Assisi, Italy.
Peace Process
Sher’s involvement in Middle East peace efforts started during the tenure of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, when as a reserve IDF Colonel he headed the negotiation project at the Planning Division of the IDF and served as delegate to the talks on the Interim Agreement
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
.
He was later appointed by Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 1999 to negotiate the Sharm El Sheikh Memorandum which was signed on September 4, 1999 between Israel and the PLO
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
. He was subsequently appointed head of the negotiation team at the Camp David peace summit which was convened by former US President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Sher also served as a co-chief peace negotiator at the Taba peace talks
Taba Summit
The Taba summit were talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, held from January 21 to January 27, 2001 at Taba in the Sinai peninsula...
of 2001, as well as in extensive rounds of covert peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Sher's efforts for peace were recognized by former US President Clinton who thanked him for his "heavy labour for a different future for your people and your neighbours".. Sher was appointed Chevalier de l'Orde national du Merite in 2002 by the former President of France, Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, as appreciation of his efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.
Sher gives an account of his involvement in the peace process in his book the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations 1999-2001, Within Reach which was published in Hebrew in 2001, translated into Arabic and published in English by Routledge
Routledge
Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
/Taylor & Francis Group
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom which publishes books and academic journals. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kingdom-based publisher and conference company.- Overview :...
in 2006.
Government
Gilead Sher served as Head of bureau of the Prime Minister and was the PM’s Policy Coordinator from 2000-2001.Civil Society Activities
Sher is a member of the Council for Peace and Security and the Association of Civil Rights in IsraelAssociation for Civil Rights in Israel
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel was created as an independent non-partisan organization to protect human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories under its control....
(ACRI) (a board member from 1990-1991 and from 2007-2011) and is a founding member of the Citizen Empowerment Center in Israel. He is co-Chairman of Blue White future, which he helped to establish. It is a Zionist organization committed to promoting the two-state-for-two-peoples solution amongst the Israeli public as a necessity to ensure the survival of Israel, as both a Jewish and democratic state. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in Jerusalem and board member at Budo For Peace, co-existence for peace through martial arts.
Sporting Achievements
Gilead Sher is a former President of the Israel Ohshima Shotokan KarateShotokan
is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi and his son Gigo Funakoshi . Gichin was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing karate through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including...
Association, holding fifth Dan, the highest possible grade in the School and has taught martial arts since 1984. During high school, Sher was a national level athlete in high jump and Pentathlon.