Alan Baker (; born 1947) is an Israeli expert in

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and former

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of the

state of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He is the director of the ''Institute for Contemporary Affairs'' at the ''

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs The Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), formerly the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), is an Israeli think tank specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy founded in 1976. JCPA publishes the biennial jo ...

'' and a former partner in the

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

law firm of Moshe, Bloomfield, Kobo, Baker & Co. He was a military prosecutor and senior legal adviser in the

Israel Defense Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

s (IDF) and represented the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

at international conferences, and then joined the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

as legal adviser. He participated in the negotiation and drafting of agreements and peace treaties with

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

. In January 2012 he was appointed by Prime Minister

Benyamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

to the three member committee chaired by former Justice Edmund Levy to examine the legal aspects of land ownership in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. The committee's report, referred to as

Levy Report The Levy Report (), officially called Report on the Legal Status of Building in Judea and Samaria (), is an 89-page report on West Bank settlements published on 9 July 2012, authored by a three-member committee headed by former Israeli Supreme ...

, was published by the Israeli government in Hebrew in July 2012.

Life and career

Baker was born to a traditional Jewish family in the UK. He studied law at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he received his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1969, when the family emigrated to Israel, and has a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

(1972). He was admitted to the

Israel Bar Association Israel Bar Association (; IBA) is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers. History The Israel Bar Association was established by The Bar Association Law, 1961. The law went into effect in March 1962. The Association is organized as a cor ...

in 1977. Baker spent the bulk of his professional career working in different capacities for Israel. Two years after graduating from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Baker became a Military Prosecutor and Senior Legal Officer in the International Law Branch of the Military Advocate General's Unit. Most of Baker's dealings during this time revolved around international humanitarian law, human rights law, and the law of armed conflict.Curriculum Vitae of Alan Baker, March 19, 2017, 2. Serving in this capacity until 1979, Baker returned to public service in 1985 where he was seconded by the government of Israel to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in New York serving as a senior legal adviser. This role, which lasted until 1988, saw Baker dealing directly with specialized agencies and bodies within the UN system such as the Administrative Tribunal. In 1995, Baker also served as Israel's representative to the international negotiations of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

(ICC) as well as the Rome Diplomatic Conference in 1998. Beginning in 1974, over the decades Baker has engaged in direct negotiations with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinians. Accordingly, Baker's role during these meeting largely focused on the fields of international law. More specifically, Baker contributed to discussions on international humanitarian law, crime prevention, disarmament, aviation law, and water resources. Moreover, he has represented Israel at international conferences and negotiations, including Israel's legal presentation to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

(ICJ) on the issue of Israel's security barrier in 2004. Accordingly, among Baker's most recent publications concerns

UNWRA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a United Nations System, UN agency that supports the relief and Human development (economics), human development of Palestinian refugee ...

role in perpetuating refugeedom,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's undermining of Jewish religious heritage, and the implications of the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

100 years since its signing. From 1996 to 2004, he was legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and served as Israel's ambassador to Canada from 2004 to 2008. In 2008, Alan Baker said he feared

Canadian Muslims Islam is the second-largest religion in Canada, practised by approximately 4.9% of the population. Canadian Muslims are one of the most ethnically diverse religious groups across the country. Muslims have lived in Canada since 1871 and the fir ...

might impact Canada's foreign policy. He said that the Canadian Muslims might push their values onto Canadians, which "wouldn't gel with Canadian values of mutual respect." He also criticised a Muslim Member of Parliament,

Omar Alghabra Omar Alghabra (; born October 24, 1969) is a Saudi-born Syrian-Canadian politician who served as Canada's minister of transport from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, he represented the riding of Mississauga Centre in the House o ...

and said that "Muslim activists" had prevented him from speaking.

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

of the Liberal party called the comments inappropriate and inaccurate and Alghabra described them as "generalizing" and "divisive." The

Canadian Arab Federation The Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) was formed in 1967 to represent the interests of Arab Canadians with respect to the formulation of public policy in Canada. It presently consists of over 40 member organizations. CAF's stated objectives include ...

accused Baker of sowing division amongst Canadians. An editorial in the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

asserted that Israeli diplomats should not "interfere in Canadian affairs". He retired from government service in February 2009 and joined the Tel Aviv law firm of Moshe, Bloomfield, Kobo, Baker & Co. In 2010 he took up the post of Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the

. At this institution, Baker also oversees the Global Law Forum. His publications range from the legal dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to the interaction between international organizations and Israel. Baker is a member of the Israel Bar, the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

, the

International Institute of Humanitarian Law The International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) is an independent, "non-profit, humanitarian association having social values as its objectives", founded in 1970 in Sanremo, Italy. The main purpose of the Institute is to promote internati ...

, the

International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL) strives to advance human rights everywhere, including the prevention of war crimes, the punishment of war criminals, the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction, and internati ...

, and serves as a member of Israel's panel of arbitrators at the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...

Opinions

On the question of legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, Baker outlined Israel's interpretation of Article 49 of the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1 ...

in a 2003 interview: Baker explained the reference to the continued Israeli presence in the West Bank pursuant to the

Oslo accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

between the PLO and Israel in the interview as follows, stating: And he explains the status of Israeli residents of settlements in the West Bank, In January 2012 Baker was appointed by Prime Minister Netanyahu to serve on a three-member government committee to "examine real estate issues in the West Bank". The committee's report published in July 2012, usually referred to as

, recommends procedures for ensuring that settlement construction is carried out legally, and comes to the conclusion that Israel's presence in the West Bank is not occupation, and that the Israeli settlements are legal under international law.

Selected publications

* "The Use of Children in Armed Conflict", Justice, Vol 26, Winter 2000 (together with Harel Ben-Ari). * "Legal and Tactical Dilemmas Inherent in Fighting Terror: Experience of the Israeli Army in Jenin and Bethlehem (April–May 2002)", US Naval War College Yearbook, 2003. * "The question of Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state," ''Haaretz'', May 3, 2009. * "Just what did Goldstone expect?,"''The Jerusalem Post'', Oct. 18, 2009. *
A Paradox of Peacemaking: How Fayyad's Unilateral Statehood Plan Undermines the Legal Foundations of Israeli-Palestinian Diplomacy
" ''Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs'', No. 574, November 2009.
"Reasons not to join the International Criminal Court in The Hague,"
''Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs'', January 10, 2010.
"The Fallacy of the “1967 Borders – No Such Borders Ever Existed,"
''Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs'', Vol. 10, No. 17, December 21, 2010. * "The Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation - The Gilad Schalit Test," ''The Jerusalem Post'', May 23, 2011. * "The Proposed General Assembly Resolution to Recognize a Palestinian State 'within 1967 Borders' – An Illegal Action," Letter to the UN Secretary General.
"The Gaza Flotillas to Come: Some Ground Rules before Setting Out,"
''Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs'', Vol. 11, No. 3, June 5, 2011. * "The Correct Guide for Building Peace by Barack Obama," ''Ynet'', September 22, 2011.
"Manipulation and Deception: The Anti-Israel "BDS" Campaign (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions),"
''Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs'', Vol. 12, No. 2, March 19, 2012. * "The opening of a Spanish consulate in Gaza" ''The Jerusalem Post'', April 22, 2013. * "The EU's glaring hypocrisy regarding Israel" ''Haaretz'', July 31, 2013. * "International humanitarian law, ICRC and Israel's status in the Territories," ''International Review of the Red Cross'', 94, No. 886, Winter 2013. * "Is the condemnation by the United Nations secretary-general genuine or politically biased?" ''The Jerusalem Post'', August 6, 2015. * "Israel-Diaspora relations at a crossroads" ''The Jerusalem Post'', November 23, 2015.

References

External links

Website Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Website Moshe, Bloomfield, Kobo, Baker & Co

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Alan Living people Israeli lawyers 20th-century Israeli lawyers 21st-century Israeli lawyers Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni 1947 births Alumni of University College London British Jews British emigrants to Israel Israeli Jews Place of birth missing (living people) Ambassadors of Israel to Canada Israeli settlers