Minister for the Home Front Knesset
What was the position of Matan Vilnai from 2011 to Feb 2012?
Matan Vilnai Matan Vilnai ( ; born 20 May 1944 ) is an Israeli politician and a former Major General in the Israel Defense Forces ( IDF ) . A former Knesset member and government minister , he was appointed ambassador to China in 2012 . Since 2017 Mr . Vilnai serves as the President of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce . Biography . Matan Vilnai was born in Jerusalem . His father was Prof . Zev Vilnay , a pioneer in the sphere of Israeli geography and Land of Israel studies , from whom he inherited a love of nature and hiking . Matan graduated from the Hebrew Reali School in 1962 and was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces , serving in the Paratroopers Brigade and the elite reconnaissance unit Sayeret Matkal . He holds a B.A . in History from Tel Aviv University . Vilnai lives in Mevasseret Zion and is a married with three children . Military career . Vilnai was deputy commander of the assault force in Operation Thunderbolt , also known as the Entebbe Raid , to free Jewish and Israeli passengers taken hostage by Palestinian and German terrorists after their Air France plane was hijacked to Entebbe , Uganda . Vilnai led the assault team into the airport building , while another team secured the outside . As a major general , Vilnai was the head of the Manpower Directorate , as well as the Deputy Chief of Staff . Political career . In the run up to the 1999 elections Vilnai joined the Labor Party ( which was running as part of the One Israel alliance ) , and won a place on its Knesset list . Ehud Barak appointed him Minister of Science , Culture and Sport . Vilnai gave up his Knesset seat six months after the election ( he was replaced by Colette Avital ) , but remained a minister . After Ariel Sharon beat Barak in the 2001 election for Prime Minister , Vilnai was reappointed to his post in the new government . He re-entered the Knesset after the 2003 elections second on Labors list , but lost his ministerial post as Sharon formed a right-wing coalition that excluded Labor . However , when several parties left the coalition in the face of the disengagement plan , Labor was invited into the government in January 2005 . Vilnai was initially appointed Minister in the Prime Ministers Office . In August 2005 he was appointed Acting Minister of Science and Technology , and the post was made permanent in November . In the run-up to the 2006 elections , Vilnai competed in the election for Labor Party leader alongside Shimon Peres and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer , but was beaten by Amir Peretz . However , he did retain his Knesset seat in the elections , placing 11th on Labors list . After Barak won the party leadership election in 2007 he appointed Vilnai as Deputy Minister of Defense . In February 2008 , whilst Israeli airstrikes in Gaza were ongoing , during interview on Army Radio , Vilnai threatened that Gazan Palestinians will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah because we will use all our might to defend ourselves . A spokesman for Vilnai said he used the word in the sense of disaster , saying he did not mean to make any allusion to the genocide . Vilnai won sixth place on the Labor list for the 2009 elections , and retained his seat in the subsequent election . In 2011 he was one of the five members to leave the Labor Party to establish Independence , and was appointed to the newly created post of Minister for the Home Front , having originally been made Minister of Minorities . Diplomatic career . In February 2012 Vilnai was appointed Israels ambassador to China . His Knesset seat was taken by Shachiv Shnaan . Vilnai served in office until January 2017 . Vilnai serves since 2018 as the President of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce .