Tzipi Livni

Born in Tel Aviv,{{cite news|title=Next in Line|newspaper=The Times|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1733971.ece|access-date=6 May 2007|first=Sonia|last=Verma|date=2 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604182736/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1733971.ece|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Livni is the daughter of Eitan Livni (born in Poland, now part of western Belarus) and Sara (née Rosenberg), both prominent former Irgun members.{{cite news|title=News in Brief|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/news-in-brief-1.230686|newspaper=Haaretz|date=9 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606235709/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/news-in-brief-1.230686|archive-date=6 June 2011|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} After the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, Eitan and Sara Livni became the first couple to marry in the country of Israel.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/my-mother-was-a-warrior-1.230772|title='My mother was a warrior'|author=Yigal Hai|newspaper=Haaretz|date=10 October 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114215546/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/my-mother-was-a-warrior-1.230772|archive-date=14 January 2011|df=dmy-all}} Her father served as the chief operations officer of the Irgun.

As a child, Livni was a member of the Betar youth movement and played basketball for Elitzur Tel Aviv.Shavit Ben-Arie, Havrot HaKnesset, 2011 (Hebrew). Growing up in an Israel dominated by the Israeli Labor Party, Livni says she felt marginalized, believing that the establishment had minimized her parents' contribution to Israel's founding.{{cite news|url= http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/08/23/tzipi-livni-and-the-quest-for-peace-in-israel-and-palestine.html|title=The Believer: Tzipi Livn and the Quest for Peace in Israel and Palestine|author=Ben Birnbaum|publisher=Newsweek|date=23 August 2013|access-date=29 September 2013|work=The Daily Beast}} Despite the hard-line image of the Irgun, she says her parents had respect for the Arabs and acted only against the British army, not civilians.{{cite AV media|people= Interview with Tzipi Livni at Hudson Union Society|title=Tzipi Livni – Difference between freedom fighter & terrorist|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj68PZkJmZk|location=New York|date=15 July 2010|medium=YouTube|publisher=Hudson Union Society|quote="My father and my mother, both of them were freedom fighters, not terrorists. And it's very important to say this—not because it's about my parents—because they acted against the British army, and not civilians. And this is a distinction that needs to be made also today. I cannot accept the words that say, 'One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.'"}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}

During the 1984 Likud primaries, her father, who had served in the Knesset for Herut and Likud as a moderate, did not campaign for a seat in the Knesset, and urged party members to support a Druze candidate instead because he thought it important for Likud to have Arab representation.

Livni served in the IDF, attaining the rank of Lieutenant.{{cite web|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=213|title=Knesset Member, Tzipi Livni|publisher=Knesset.gov.il|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=6 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206072635/https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=213|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni began studying law at Bar-Ilan University in 1979, but suspended her law studies when she joined the Mossad in 1980. She served in the Mossad from 1980 to 1984, between the ages of 22 and 26. According to an interview in Yedioth Ahronoth described in The Sunday Times, she served in the elite unit responsible for the assassinations following the Munich massacre.{{cite news|first=Uzi|last=Mahnaimi|title=Looking for love: Livni the lonely spy|date=15 February 2009|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5733800.ece|work=The Sunday Times|access-date=20 February 2009|location=London|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604182758/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5733800.ece|archive-date=4 June 2011|df=dmy-all}} She resigned from the Mossad in August 1984 to marry and finish her law studies.{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Channel-1-Livnis-past-in-Mossad-not-spectacular|title=Livni's past in Mossad not spectacular|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=22 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316195236/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Channel-1-Livnis-past-in-Mossad-not-spectacular|archive-date=16 March 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Livni graduated with an LL.B. from Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Law in 1984. She practiced at a private firm for about ten years, specializing in commercial law, public law, and real estate law, before entering public life in 1996.{{cite web|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=213 |title=Tzipi Livni |website=Knesset.gov.il |access-date=2017-02-26}}{{Cite web |url=https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/abouttheministry/history/pages/tzipi%20livni.aspx |title=Archived copy |access-date=6 January 2019 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107072302/https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/abouttheministry/history/pages/tzipi%20livni.aspx |url-status=dead }}

Livni resides in Ramat HaHayal, Tel Aviv.[https://www.haaretz.com/1.5145743 Explosion Heard Outside Home of Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni] She is married to advertising executive Naftali Spitzer, and the couple have two children, Omri (born 1987) and Yuval (born 1990). Spitzer, who was raised in a Mapai-supporting family but switched to Likud in 1996, has gone on to support his wife's political career from the start in the 1990s.{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5019720|title=Winning Combination|author=Ravid, Barak; Lanski, Na'ama |work=Haaretz|date=28 August 2008|access-date = 21 October 2021}}

Livni is a vegetarian.{{cite news|title=Her Jewish State|access-date=7 August 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/magazine/08livni-t.html?pagewanted=5&ei=5088&en=d8b4df055b5d201f&ex=1341547200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|last=Cohen|first=Roger|date=7 July 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423075505/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/magazine/08livni-t.html?pagewanted=5&ei=5088&en=d8b4df055b5d201f&ex=1341547200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|archive-date=23 April 2009|quote=Mirla Gal, who would reach the top of the Mossad during a 20-year career, met Livni in first grade. [...] "We were curious because her world wasn’t ours," Gal said over lunch at a beachfront Tel Aviv restaurant. "Even then she was principled. When I was 12, she turned vegetarian and has been ever since."|df=dmy-all}} Besides her native language, Hebrew, Livni also speaks fluent English and French, having lived in Paris for a number of years.

Livni's father, Eitan Livni, a Herut member of Knesset, died in 1991. Her mother, Sara, who died in 2007, stood by Livni's decision to leave Likud and also accepted her support for the two-state solution, although it "hurt her."

Livni entered politics in 1996 when she ran for a spot on Likud's Knesset list and was given place number 36 on the slate.[https://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/livni_tzipi_eng.htm Livni, Tzipi] Likud won 32 seats in the 1996 election, leaving her out, but newly elected Prime Minister Netanyahu appointed her as director general of the government-owned corporations authority, where she oversaw the privatization of a number of companies.[https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-357661 Eisenberg Group Acquires 17% More ICL Shares from State at $230 Mln] While in this capacity, in 1998 she was considered a prominent candidate to become director general of the Finance Ministry.

Livni would later rue the decision to privatize certain companies and natural resources. As Hatnuah chairwoman in 2013, she wrote: "I am not sure that today I would once again privatize Israel Chemicals and the natural resources at the Dead Sea."{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-elections-2013/israeli-elections-news-features/in-q-a-with-haaretz-readers-livni-rues-decision-to-privatize-dead-sea-resources.premium-1.492774|title=In Q&A with Haaretz readers, Livni rues decision to privatize Dead Sea resources|author=Ilan Lior|newspaper=Haaretz|date=19 January 2013|archive-date=9 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109101710/http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-elections-2013/israeli-elections-news-features/in-q-a-with-haaretz-readers-livni-rues-decision-to-privatize-dead-sea-resources.premium-1.492774|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Livni was first elected to the Knesset as a member of the Likud in 1999. She initially did not take an active role in lawmaking.[https://www.haaretz.com/1.5208800 PROFILE / Current Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni] When Ariel Sharon became prime minister in 2001, he appointed her to numerous positions in his cabinet. Her first cabinet position as a Likud member was Minister of Regional Co-operation which she held from 7 March 2001 until 29 August 2001. In December 2002 Sharon appointed her to serve as Minister of Agriculture. She held this position until February 2003. In 2003, Livni was appointed Minister of Immigrant Absorption. She held this position until 2006. In 2004, Livni was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction, which she held this position until 2005.{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Features/Behind-the-Lines-And-who-may-we-ask-is-Tzipi-Livni|title=Behind the Lines: And who, may we ask, is Tzipi Livni?|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=30 April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316202226/http://www.jpost.com/Features/Behind-the-Lines-And-who-may-we-ask-is-Tzipi-Livni|archive-date=16 March 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} After Shinui left the coalition, Sharon appointed her Minister of Justice. In this capacity, Livni's prominence on the national stage grew, and she was considered a person of integrity who stood on the side of the rule of law, particularly with respect to various corruption cases attributed to different members of her party.

Livni was an avid supporter of Sharon's disengagement plan, and was generally considered to be among the key moderate members of the Likud party. She often mediated between various elements inside the party, and was integral to garnering government support for disengagement with the "Livni Plan". She made efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, including successful efforts to have the pullout from the Gaza Strip ratified by the Knesset. On 12 November 2005, she spoke at the official annual commemoration of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination.{{cite news|issn=0362-4331|last=Cohen|first=Roger|title=Her Jewish State|work=The New York Times |date=8 July 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/magazine/08livni-t.html?pagewanted=8&_r=4&ref=magazine|access-date=16 September 2008}} In 2004, she received the Abirat Ha-Shilton ("Quality of Governance") award.

On 20 November 2005, Livni, a member of Likud's moderate wing, formed the Kadima Party with Sharon and Ehud Olmert. Ahead of the 28 March elections, Livni was appointed to be the new Foreign Minister, while continuing to serve as Justice Minister, as a result of the mass resignation of Likud Party members from the government.{{cite news|last=Macintyre|first=Donald|title=Tzipi Livni: Agent of change|work=The Independent|access-date=16 September 2008|date=2 August 2008|location=London|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/tzipi-livni-agent-of-change-883276.html|archive-date=1 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090101031922/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/tzipi-livni-agent-of-change-883276.html|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

In the selection of candidates for the March 2006 Knesset election, Livni was awarded the number three position on Kadima's list of candidates, which effectively guaranteed her election to the Knesset.{{cite web|title=Tzipi Livni (1958–)|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/TLivni.html|access-date=16 September 2008|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514154939/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/TLivni.html|archive-date=14 May 2008|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

File:Livni and Douste-Blazy.jpg]]

In 2006, Livni was appointed as Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs. She held this position until 2009. In Ehud Olmert's government, Livni was also appointed Designated Acting Prime Minister (also known as Vice Prime Minister), taking the place of the prime minister if he or she is outside the country or temporarily or permanently unable to fulfill his or her duties. She ceased serving as Justice Minister at that time, but again held that position from 29 November 2006 to 7 February 2007, while still serving in her primary role of Foreign Minister.

As Foreign Minister, Livni was in charge of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. During these negotiations, she raised the possibility of fixing the future border between Israel and the future Palestinian state so as to place Israeli Arab towns within the Palestinian state, an idea originally suggested by Israeli politician Avigdor Liberman.{{cite web |url=http://thepalestinepapers.com/files/2309.PDF |title=Meeting Minutes |publisher=Thepalestinepapers.com |access-date=2017-02-26}} Her record for pragmatism as foreign minister earned her a high level of respect among US, European, and even Arab diplomatic circles, that has lasted even after she left the post. File:Tzipi and Hillary.jpg, 2009]]

After the March 2006 Knesset election, she was described as "the second most powerful politician in Israel".{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/01/AR2006050100298.html|title=Tzipi Livni Named Vice Premier in Israel|access-date=30 April 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=1 May 2006}} Livni is the second woman in Israel to hold the post of foreign minister, after Golda Meir. In 2007, she was included in the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615513_1614647,00.html|title=Tzipi Livni|author=Condoleezza Rice|magazine=Time|access-date=10 June 2007|date=3 May 2007|archive-date=20 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920062235/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615513_1614647,00.html|df=dmy-all}} Forbes ranked her the 40th most powerful woman in the world in 2006,{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/11/06women_Tzipora--Livni_1KCJ.html|title=#40 Tzipora Livni|work=Forbes|date=31 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222053554/http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/11/06women_Tzipora--Livni_1KCJ.html|archive-date=22 December 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} 39th in 2007,{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/11/biz-07women_The-100-Most-Powerful-Women_Country.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011204939/http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/11/biz-07women_The-100-Most-Powerful-Women_Country.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 October 2007|title=The 100 Most Powerful Women |work=Forbes|date=30 August 2007}} and 52nd in 2008.{{cite news|title=The Most Powerful 100 Women sorted by rank|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/11/biz_powerwomen08_The-100-Most-Powerful-Women_Rank_3.html|work=Forbes|date=27 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106161425/http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/11/biz_powerwomen08_The-100-Most-Powerful-Women_Rank_3.html|archive-date=6 November 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Livni became the first Israeli cabinet minister to explicitly differentiate Palestinian guerrilla attacks against Israeli military targets from terrorist attacks against civilians. In an interview on the US television news show Nightline, recorded on 28 March 2006, Livni stated, "Somebody who is fighting against Israeli soldiers is an enemy and we will fight back, but I believe that this is not under the definition of terrorism, if the target is a soldier."{{cite book|work=Journal of International Criminal Justice Advance Access|date=15 December 2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|title=The Multifaceted Criminal Notion of Terrorism in International Law|author=Antonio Cassese}}

File:Tzipi_Livni_George_Bush.jpg]]

In 2007, she met with Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, to discuss "improving the lives of the Palestinian people, without compromising Israel's security."{{cite news|last=Benn|first=Aluf|title=Livni and Fayad meet, discuss improving Palestinians' lives|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=16 September 2008|date=8 July 2007|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/879606.html|archive-date=15 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015165648/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/879606.html|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

On 2 May 2007, Livni called for Olmert's resignation in the wake of the publication of the Winograd Commission's interim report criticizing Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for their handling of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. She offered herself as leader of Kadima if Olmert decided to step down, and asserted her confidence in her ability to defeat him in a party election should he decline.[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDwuQBPHQP4Y&refer=home Olmert's Survival Prospects Dim Amid Livni Challenge] Bloomberg, 3 May 2007{{cite news|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331132203&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|title='I have the qualifications to be PM'|access-date=29 July 2008|date=29 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203230702/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331132203&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull|archive-date=3 February 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} However, her call was ignored by Olmert and her decision to stay in the Cabinet sparked some controversy.{{cite news|last=Verter|first=Yossi|author2=Mazal Mualem|title=PM Olmert to tell deputy Livni: Stop undermining me, or resign|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/854647.html|date=2 May 2007|access-date=16 September 2008|newspaper=Haaretz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306180656/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/854647.html|archive-date=6 March 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

File:Tzipi Livni and Gordon Bajnai.jpg]]

In 2008, Livni condemned a photomontage of Pope Benedict XVI with a swastika displayed on his chest, which was published on a website run by supporters of her Kadima party.{{cite web|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iLPD0AA0K2MkYxznNxSHW4MXQYKg|agency=AFP|date=20 October 2008|title=Israel FM slams swastika image of Pope|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=15 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315041318/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iLPD0AA0K2MkYxznNxSHW4MXQYKg|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

File:Tzipi livni - Kadima events.jpg

Facing multiple criminal investigations for corruption, Ehud Olmert announced his intention to resign his post as prime minister following a Kadima leadership election, which was held on 17 September 2008. Livni and Shaul Mofaz emerged as the main rivals for the leadership.{{cite news|last=Somfalvi|first=Attila|title=Poll: Livni beats Netanyahu, who beats Mofaz|work=Ynetnews|access-date=2 August 2008|date=1 August 2008|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3576298,00.html|archive-date=27 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227183546/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3576298,00.html|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni won the Kadima leadership election by a margin of just 431 votes (1%).{{cite news|title=Livni to lead Israel ruling party|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7620215.stm|work=BBC News|date=18 September 2008|access-date = 21 October 2021}}{{cite news|first=James|last=Hider|title=New Golda Meir' Tzipi Livni wins election to be Prime Minister after extra time|newspaper=The Times|date=27 September 2008|access-date=17 September 2008|url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4776486.ece|location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Palestinian peace negotiators were reportedly pleased with the result.{{cite news|work=The New York Times|url=http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/09/17/world/1194817120919/livni-set-to-be-israel-s-p-m.html?scp=1&sq=livni&st=cse|title=Levni set to be Israel's PM|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722135919/http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/09/17/world/1194817120919/livni-set-to-be-israel-s-p-m.html?scp=1&sq=livni&st=cse|archive-date=22 July 2011|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

As the new leader of the ruling party, Livni became prime-minister designate. Upon declaring victory, she stated "the national responsibility (bestowed) by the public brings me to approach this job with great reverence."{{cite news|title=Livni declared winner of Kadima election|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/18/2368042.htm?section=justin|publisher=ABC News|date=18 September 2008|archive-date=9 October 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009031948/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/18/2368042.htm?section=justin|df=dmy-all}}

On 21 September 2008, Olmert formally resigned in a letter submitted to president Shimon Peres, and the following day Peres formally asked Livni to form a new government.{{cite news|title=Olmert formally submits his resignation to Peres|newspaper=Haaretz|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5108892|date=21 September 2008|access-date = 21 October 2021|agency=The Associated Press |author1=Mazal Mualem |author2=Barak Ravid |author3=Shahar Ilan }}{{cite news|title=Peres entrusts Livni with forming gov't|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Peres-entrusts-Livni-with-forming-govt|author=Gil Hoffman and Greer Fay Cashman|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=22 September 2008|archive-date=19 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919025443/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Peres-entrusts-Livni-with-forming-govt|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni faced tough negotiations with Kadima's coalition partners, particularly the Shas party, which had set conditions for joining a Livni government, including an increase in child allowances to Haredi communities, and a vow not to negotiate the status of Jerusalem during peace talks with the Palestinians.{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpaFgsScGCQkoNcLiKKYr0N4fvIA|title=Israel's Livni now in battle for premiership|agency=AFP|date=7 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921024034/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpaFgsScGCQkoNcLiKKYr0N4fvIA|archive-date=21 September 2008|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/shas-if-livni-wants-a-coalition-she-must-fulfill-our-demands-1.254080|title=Shas: If Livni wants a coalition, she must fulfill our demands|newspaper=Haaretz|date=18 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202021812/http://www.haaretz.com/news/shas-if-livni-wants-a-coalition-she-must-fulfill-our-demands-1.254080|url-status=live|archive-date=2 December 2010|df=dmy-all}} Livni was able to sign a coalition agreement with the Labor party, led by former prime minister Ehud Barak,{{cite news|newspaper=Haaretz|date=22 September 2008|url=http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023129.html|title=Livni offers Barak 'full partnership' in new gov't|author=Yossi Verter|author2=Mazal Mualem|author3=Barak Ravid|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919025443/http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023129.html|archive-date=19 September 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} but on 26 October, informed the President that she was unable to form a government and suggested Israel go to elections. Livni cited her unwillingness to sell out her principles just to become prime minister, stating, "I was willing to pay a price to form a government, but I was never willing to risk the political and economic future of Israel. If someone is willing to sell out his principles for the job, he is not worthy of it."{{cite news|author=Linda Gradstein|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Livni Abandons Effort to Form Israeli Coalition|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/26/AR2008102600309.html|date=27 October 2008}} For its part, Likud, the main opposition party led by Benjamin Netanyahu, lobbied Shas and other parties essential to Livni's government to support early elections.{{cite news|author=Yair Ettinger|newspaper=Haaretz|title=Netanyahu asks Shas to back bid for early general elections|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023102.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309114316/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023102.html|archive-date=9 March 2009|url-status=live|date=22 September 2008|df=dmy-all}}

File:Youngs for tzipi livni isral elecation 2009.jpg

In February 2009 Israel held elections for the Knesset. Livni, foreign minister and head of the Kadima party, campaigned against Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party to lead the new government. While election results gave Kadima the most seats in the Knesset, parties to the right in Israel's political spectrum gained enough seats that a coalition government under Kadima leadership was unlikely. As a result, Israeli president Shimon Peres asked Netanyahu and Likud (which received one fewer seat than Kadima in the elections) to form a government; this was the first time in Israel's history that the party with the most seats was not asked to attempt to form a government.{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Feb20/0,4670,MLIsraelPolitics,00.html|agency=Fox News|title=Netanyahu urges moderates to join broad government|work=International Herald Tribune|author=Amy Tiebel|date=20 February 2009|access-date=29 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329045957/http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Feb20/0,4670,MLIsraelPolitics,00.html|archive-date=29 March 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

File:PikiWiki Israel 2218 Election 2009 night - Kadima Party ערב בחירות 2009 - מטה קדימה.jpg

The New York Times commended Livni for "refusing the extortionist conditions set by Shas," and endorsed her candidacy for prime minister, saying Israelis would have "a clear choice in February between a leader who has the courage to abandon tired old thinking on politics and security and one who has not."{{cite news|url=https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2008%2F11%2F02%2Fopinion%2F02iht-edlivni.1.17444364.html&OQ=Q5fQ72Q3dQ30|title=Tzipi Livni's choice, now Israel's choice|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 October 2008|url-access=registration |archive-date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221031649/https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2008%2F11%2F02%2Fopinion%2F02iht-edlivni.1.17444364.html&OQ=Q5fQ72Q3dQ30|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Although it expressed some doubts, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz also endorsed Livni for prime minister.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063037.html|title=Livni is the preferred candidate|date=10 February 2009|newspaper=Haaretz|archive-date=13 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213180028/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063037.html|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

When Livni was tapped to form the next governing coalition, Palestinian political analyst Mahdi Abdel Hadi said that Livni had been received warmly in the Gulf, and that she was the leader most Arabs want to see as Israel's next prime minister.{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_YaUZDJSiU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/H_YaUZDJSiU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=¥T The Players of World War 3: Tzipi Livni -The Mossad Graduate ¥T|publisher=YouTube|date=18 September 2008|access-date=25 April 2010}}{{cbignore}} During the 2009 general elections, Arab media depicted her very negatively but as the lesser of the evils.{{cite web|url=http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/02/10/arabs_watching_the_israeli_elections|title=Arabs watching the Israeli elections|author=Marc Lynch|work=Foreign Policy|date=10 February 2010|access-date=25 April 2010|url-status=live|archive-date=8 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508080020/http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/02/10/arabs_watching_the_israeli_elections|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|newspaper=Haaretz|author=Zvi Bar'el|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063157.html|title=Arab media declares early Israel election victory for 'extreme right'|date=11 February 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=18 March 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318061348/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063157.html|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3669604,00.html|title=Arab media: 'Which extremist will Israel elect?'|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=20 June 1995|access-date=25 April 2010|last1=Nahmias|first1=Roee}}

File:Tzipi Livni - Press conference.JPG

Following the 2009 elections in which Livni's Kadima won the most seats, but could not form a government, she took the party into opposition, becoming Israel's first female leader of the opposition.

After an internal Foreign Ministry document stated that some European Union countries were considering freezing a planned upgrade in relations with Israel, Livni, as opposition leader, wrote in the message addressed to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the EU's external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and the EU's current council president, Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg: "You all know my commitment to peace between Israel and its neighbors and to the two-state solution, a commitment shared with the majority of the Israeli public. I believe that this kind of attitude, one which directly links an upgrade in relations with regional diplomatic progress, is overlooking the substantial gains that the upgrade could provide both to the people of Israel and the people of Europe."{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1080649.html|title=Livni urges EU: Don't halt EU-Israel relations upgrade|newspaper=Haaretz|author=Barak Ravid|date=24 April 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=8 February 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208072131/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1080649.html|df=dmy-all}}

On 25 May 2009, Livni told Harvard University students: "On the Iranian issue, there is no opposition or coalition in Israel. ... Iran represents the threat of extreme Islamic state". She said Iran was a threat to other countries in the region, and Iran must be stopped from attaining nuclear weapons.{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kfRvJs80Rc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/2kfRvJs80Rc |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|author=Tzipi Livni|title=On the iranian issue, there is no opposition or coalition in Israel|publisher=YouTube|date=26 May 2009|access-date=25 April 2010}}{{cbignore}}

Prior to Lebanon's 2009 general elections (and its inclusion of Hezbollah), Livni "acknowledged an important principle" from U.S. President Barack Obama's then-recent speech in Cairo that "Elections alone do not make true democracy." She explained her position in a New York Times op-ed by alluding to her experience as Israel's justice minister when Hamas participated in Palestinian elections in 2006: "At the time, the counterargument was that the very participation in elections would act as a moderating force on extremist groups. With more accountability, such groups would be tempted to abandon their militant approach in favor of a purely political platform. But this analysis ignored the possibility that some radical groups sought participation in the democratic process not to forsake their violent agenda but to advance it." Livni advocated that "the international community must adopt at the global level what true democracies apply at the national one—a universal code for participation in democratic elections. This would include requiring every party running for office to renounce violence, pursue its aims by peaceful means and commit to binding laws and international agreements." She added: "The intent here is not to stifle disagreement, exclude key actors from the political process or suggest that democracy be uniform and disregard local cultures and values."{{cite news|date=5 June 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/opinion/05livni.html|title=Democracy's Price of Admission|author=Tzipi Livni|newspaper=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411015858/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/opinion/05livni.html|archive-date=11 April 2011|df=dmy-all}}

File:Tzipi Livni - Barzilai MD.JPG with members of Kadima]]

Livni voiced support for Israel's gay community ahead of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in June 2009. She addressed an event held at the gay community's municipal center in Tel Aviv's Meir Park.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/livni-clinton-voice-support-for-gay-community-in-israel-and-u-s-1.277142|author=Natasha Mozgovaya|title=Livni, Clinton voice support for gay community in Israel and U.S|newspaper=Haaretz|date=2 June 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123085759/http://www.haaretz.com/news/livni-clinton-voice-support-for-gay-community-in-israel-and-u-s-1.277142|archive-date=23 November 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1734613&id=37665519437#/photo.php?pid=1734613&id=37665519437|title=ציפי לבני באירוע פתיחת חודש הגאווה|publisher=Facebook|access-date=25 April 2010}} After a 1 August 2009 attack on a gay youth center that left two people dead and 15 wounded in Tel Aviv, Livni, who is in contact with the gay and lesbian community, said "This event should shake up society, and all the circles inherent in it, including the political establishment and the education system, and on this day deliver an unequivocal message against intolerance, incitement and violence, and to act against any manifestation of these." She attended a rally near the location of the attack, along with hundreds of Israelis and some other politicians, and urged Israel's gay and lesbian community to continue living their lives, despite the "hate crime."{{cite news|title=Livni to gay Israelis: Don't let hate crime stop you living your lives|newspaper=Haaretz|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104611.html|author=Ben Hartman|author2=Yuval Goren|author3=Noah Kosharek|author4=Barak Ravid|date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206092610/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104611.html|archive-date=6 February 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni opposed Netanyahu's land reform bill.{{cite news|title=Livni: Netanyahu after headlines, not Israel's interests|newspaper=Haaretz|author=Yuval Azoulay|date=29 July 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1103759.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208094026/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1103759.html|archive-date=8 February 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

File:Tzipi Livni at kindergarten rocket site.jpg

On 8 October 2009, Livni was honored by Yale University as a Chubb Fellow for her work and the inspiration spurred by her activities. She is the third Israeli leader to receive this honor after Shimon Peres and Moshe Dayan. The list also includes former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Livni referred to the Goldstone Report accusing Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, and said there was a huge ethical gap between those seeking to murder children in their homes and those unintentionally harming civilians used by terrorists as human shields. Referring to the Israeli shelling of several UN schools in Gaza where thousands of civilians were taking shelter during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, Livni insisted that she "regret(s) every civilian casualty, but what happened at the UN school was not a mistake."{{cite news|date=6 January 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/06/gaza-israel-death-un|title=Israeli shelling kills dozens at UN school in Gaza|author=Chris McGreal and Rory McCarthy|author2=Mark Tran|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108005021/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/06/gaza-israel-death-un|archive-date=8 January 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,601010,00.html|title='No Negotiations' with Hamas|date=13 January 2009|work=Der Spiegel|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116151817/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,601010,00.html|archive-date=16 January 2009|df=dmy-all}} Addressing the peace process, Livni said Israel is not involved in it as a favor to anyone, but that it is in the interest of all parties. At her next stop in Miami, Livni became the first Israeli woman to receive the International Hall of Fame Award from the International Women's Forum.{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3787486,00.html|author=Yitzhak Benhorin|title=Livni honored by Yale University|work=Ynetnews|date=20 June 1995|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012033744/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3787486,00.html|archive-date=12 October 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|date=9 October 2009|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Livni-slams-Goldstone-report-at-Yale|title=Livni slams Goldstone report at Yale|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316221426/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Livni-slams-Goldstone-report-at-Yale|archive-date=16 March 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

As opposition leader, Livni noted in a 2009 Knesset speech that she herself did not support Yitzhak Rabin's policies at the time. "The dispute is around the question of whether you can have it both ways—maintaining Israel as a Jewish state and keeping the entire Land of Israel," she said.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/leaders-family-eulogize-former-pm-yitzhak-rabin-14-years-on-1.5116|author=Yair Ettinger, Jonathan Lis and Ofri Ilani|title=Leaders, family eulogize former PM Yitzhak Rabin 14 years on|newspaper=Haaretz|date=30 October 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122174432/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/leaders-family-eulogize-former-pm-yitzhak-rabin-14-years-on-1.5116|archive-date=22 November 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Political analysts see Livni's speech at the 2003 commemoration rally for Rabin as a turning point in her political career when she became more popular among the Israeli peace camp. She delivered a speech which many found deeply moving in which she said the day Rabin was murdered was "the day that the skies fell down on me because of what happened to us, to all the citizens of Israel." As foreign minister, Livni would again attend the memorial for Rabin in 2009. Labor Party officials were not keen on this idea, fearing that her appearance would cost them votes. Some Kadima officials also seemed reluctant, fearing her appearance at left-wing event would send some votes Likud's way.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1032807.html|author=Yossi Verter|title=Livni, Barak to vie for support of peace camp at Rabin memorial|date=30 October 2008|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=10 December 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210142606/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1032807.html|df=dmy-all}} Livni attended the memorial for Rabin in 2009.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/obama-in-address-to-memorial-rally-give-meaning-to-yitzhak-rabin-s-death-1.4606|title=Obama in address to memorial rally: Give meaning to Yitzhak Rabin's death|author=Dana Weiler-Polak|newspaper=Haaretz|date=24 December 2006|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=16 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316223242/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/obama-in-address-to-memorial-rally-give-meaning-to-yitzhak-rabin-s-death-1.4606|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

After a draft document authored by Sweden (the then-holder of the rotating EU presidency) surfaced that calls officially for a division of Jerusalem and implies that the EU would also recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, Livni wrote a letter to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, saying it was "wrong and not helpful," and that she conveyed "deep concern regarding what appears to be an attempt to prejudge the outcome of issues reserved for final status negotiations." European efforts to "dictate for either party the nature of the outcome on the status of Jerusalem," she said, would only serve to endanger the fulfillment of "our shared vision of two states for two peoples into a reality."{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/livni-to-sweden-ditch-eu-plan-on-dividing-jerusalem-1.3077|title=Livni to Sweden: Ditch EU plan on dividing Jerusalem|author=Barak Ravid|newspaper=Haaretz|date=19 December 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=20 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620131115/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/livni-to-sweden-ditch-eu-plan-on-dividing-jerusalem-1.3077|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni also called on France to speak up against the draft during her meeting with Sarkozy in Paris.{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/France-should-oppose-EU-Jlem-draft|title='France should oppose EU J'lem draft'|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=3 December 2009|archive-date=16 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316223919/http://www.jpost.com/International/France-should-oppose-EU-Jlem-draft|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} File:Tzipi Livni at Biyalik Rogazin.jpg

In December 2009, Livni travelled to Paris and met with French president Nicolas Sarkozy. "Time is against us," she told reporters following talks at the Elysee Palace that also touched on Iran. "We discussed the need to re-launch the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, and I believe that this is part of Israel's interest to relaunch the negotiations from the point at which we stopped basically a year ago."{{cite news|agency=AFP|work=Google News|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCa6D7zYmxMxonEbFeBUM8FX5AoQ|title=AFP: Israel opposition leader holds talks with Sarkozy|date=3 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208062458/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCa6D7zYmxMxonEbFeBUM8FX5AoQ|archive-date=8 December 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

During the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, Livni was criticized by Arab League Chairman Amre Moussa who said that "I am greatly surprised by, and I reject, the words of the Israeli foreign minister (Livni), who asks: 'Is there a humanitarian crisis? There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza'."{{cite web|date=4 January 2009|url=http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=239348|title=Hamas warns of more hostages Sunday|newspaper=Gulf Daily News|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503094957/http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=239348|archive-date=3 May 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni was quoted as saying "Israel has been supplying comprehensive humanitarian aid to the [Gaza] strip... and has even been stepping this up by the day."{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/01/20091115532645312.html|title=Livni: No crisis in Gaza Strip|agency=Al Jazeera English|date=1 January 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119034154/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/01/20091115532645312.html|archive-date=19 January 2011|df=dmy-all}} Israel would later allow a daily three-hour truce during the offensive to enable aid to flow through a humanitarian corridor.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7815266.stm|title=Israel briefly halts Gaza attacks|publisher=BBC News|date=7 January 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413143037/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7815266.stm|archive-date=13 April 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni declared that the 2009 Gaza military offensive had "restored Israel's deterrence. ... Hamas now understands that when you fire on its citizens it responds by going wild – and this is a good thing."{{cite news|last1=Sengupta|first1=Kim|last2=Macintyre|first2=Donald|title=Israeli cabinet divided over fresh Gaza surge|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-cabinet-divided-over-fresh-gaza-surge-1332024.html|newspaper=The Independent|place=Jerusalem|date=13 January 2009|access-date=8 October 2013|archive-date=21 January 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121125455/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-cabinet-divided-over-fresh-gaza-surge-1332024.html|df=dmy-all}}

File:Foreign Secretary with Tzipi Livni (6216937508).jpg]]

{{further|Universal jurisdiction#United Kingdom}}

In December 2009, a warrant for Livni's arrest was understood to have been issued by a British court, following an application by lawyers acting for Palestinian victims of Operation Cast Lead. The warrant focused on Livni's role in Israel's war against Hamas-run Gaza earlier in the year, and was withdrawn after her visit was canceled. For several years, Palestinian activists have made largely unsuccessful attempts to prosecute Israeli officials in European courts under universal jurisdiction.{{cite news|author=Ian Black and Ian Cobain|title=British court issued Gaza arrest warrant for former Israeli minister Tzipi Livni|location=London|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/14/tzipi-livni-israel-gaza-arrest|date=14 December 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216101025/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/14/tzipi-livni-israel-gaza-arrest|archive-date=16 December 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} The warrant was issued on 12 December and revoked on 14 December 2009, after it was revealed that Livni had not entered British territory.{{cite news|newspaper=Haaretz|date=14 December 2009|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134978.html|title=Foreign Ministry outraged over U.K. arrest warrant against Livni|access-date=14 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413202130/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134978.html|archive-date=13 April 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|title=Livni cancels JNF visit to UK|url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/24889/livni-cancels-jnf-visit-uk|publisher=The Jewish Community Online|date=14 December 2009|author=Marcus Dysch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218190654/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/24889/livni-cancels-jnf-visit-uk|archive-date=18 December 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8413234.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Israel condemns attempt in a UK court to arrest Livni|date=15 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216052116/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8413234.stm|archive-date=16 December 2009|url-status=live|access-date=15 December 2009|df=dmy-all}}

The British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, contacted Livni and his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman to formally explain the incident and apologize on behalf of the British government.{{cite news|title=Britain apologizes to Livni over arrest warrant|newspaper=Haaretz|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135430.html|date=17 December 2009|access-date=7 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123103016/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135430.html|archive-date=23 January 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Miliband had expressed concern at the situation and said officials were looking "urgently at ways in which the UK system might be changed in order to avoid this sort of situation arising again". Judges in the United Kingdom can issue arrest warrants for war crimes suspects around the world under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 without any requirement to consult public prosecutors, which was something Miliband described as "unusual".{{cite web|agency=AFP|date=16 December 2009|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jS2xzWpZqVAxQK9G3mw4IBE6hG5g|title=British PM calls Israel's Livni over arrest warrant|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=19 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219204906/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jS2xzWpZqVAxQK9G3mw4IBE6hG5g|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} J Street applauded Miliband's rejection of the warrant and "his promise to pursue a change in the law that would prevent unfortunate events like these from happening in the future."{{cite news|url=http://www.jstreet.org/blog/?cat=41|title=J Street's Blog » Tzipi Livni|publisher=J Street|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316230251/http://www.jstreet.org/blog/?cat=4|archive-date=16 March 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed his regret over the warrant and spoke to Livni, reassuring her that she was "most welcome in Britain any time." Livni's office later stated that Brown promised to seek legislative changes to ensure no Israeli official would risk arrest while on British soil.{{cite news|last=Blomfield|first=Adrian|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/6827382/Brown-calls-Livni-to-express-regret-at-arrest-warrant.html|title=Brown calls Livni to express regret at arrest warrant|newspaper=Telegraph|date=16 December 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211003421/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/6827382/Brown-calls-Livni-to-express-regret-at-arrest-warrant.html|archive-date=11 February 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Yehuda Blum, Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations and a professor of law at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, commented: "The abuse and misuse of this concept of universal jurisdiction should be discontinued." Blum said the law was intended for use in cases with no clear jurisdiction, such as piracy in international waters, and should not be expanded for political aims. Israeli officials, acting under orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the British ambassador they expect quick action to change the law.{{cite news|work=MINA|url=http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/10919/53/|title=Israeli officials routinely face UK legal threats|agency=Macedonia Online|date=15 December 2009|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301210818/http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/10919/53/|archive-date=1 March 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni called the arrest warrant "an abuse of the British legal system".{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8415123.stm|date=14 December 2009|access-date=14 December 2009|title=Tzipi Livni: UK warrant a legal 'abuse'|publisher=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216052018/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8415123.stm|archive-date=16 December 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

In 2011, private groups asked the Crown Prosecution Service to issue an arrest warrant against Livni under universal jurisdiction because of her alleged role in Israeli military action against Gaza in December 2008. Sir Keir Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, blocked the issue of an arrest warrant.{{cite news |title=British prosecutor blocks warrant for Israeli lawmaker |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/british-prosecutor-blocks-warrant-for-israeli-lawmaker-1.707974 |access-date=2 February 2021 |work=CTVNews |agency=AP |date=6 October 2011 |language=en}}

In November 2011, the three candidates opposed to Tzipi Livni in 2008 called for a primary to be held as soon as possible, citing the probability of Knesset elections soon. On 19 January 2012, Livni set the primary date for 27 March 2012. Livni lost by a wide margin (64.5% to her 35.5%) to challenger and former defense minister Shaul Mofaz. In May 2012, despite Mofaz's appeal for her to remain in the party, Livni resigned from the Knesset. She stated that although she was leaving the Knesset, she was not retiring from public life, as Israel was "too dear" to her. Commenting on decisions she made, which may have contributed to her loss, she stated "I am not sorry for not backing down in the face of political blackmail—even when the price was being in the government—and for not willing to sell the country to the ultra-Orthodox," adding "And I'm definitely not sorry for the main issue I promoted. Even if the Israeli–Palestinian conflict isn't in vogue right now, there's an urgent need to reach a permanent agreement with the Palestinians as well as with the Arab world."{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17908446|title=Tzipi Livni resigns as member of Israeli parliament|publisher=BBC News|date=1 May 2012|access-date=2 May 2012|archive-date=3 May 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503190603/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17908446|df=dmy-all}}

{{Main|2013 Israeli legislative election}}

On 27 November 2012, Livni announced the establishment of a new party, called Hatnua ("The Movement").{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-elections-2013/israeli-elections-news-features/former-israeli-fm-tzipi-livni-announces-return-to-politics-forms-new-party-1.480904|title=Former Israeli FM Tzipi Livni announces return to politics, forms new party|newspaper=Haaretz|date=27 November 2012|access-date=27 November 2012|archive-date=27 November 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127202945/http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-elections-2013/israeli-elections-news-features/former-israeli-fm-tzipi-livni-announces-return-to-politics-forms-new-party-1.480904|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|author=Gil Hoffman|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=27 November 2012|url=http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=293617|title=Livni returns to politics with The Tzipi Livni Party|archive-date=27 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127202626/http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=293617|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} She was joined by seven members of Knesset from the Kadima Party: Yoel Hasson, Robert Tiviaev, Majalli Wahabi, Orit Zuaretz, Rachel Adato, Shlomo Molla and Meir Sheetrit as well as former Labor Party leaders Amram Mitzna and Amir Peretz.

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}

Following the 2013 elections, in which Hatnua won six seats in the Knesset, Livni did not recommend any candidate for prime minister to President Peres. After other party leaders endorsed Netanyahu, Livni led Hatnua in being the first of several parties to agree to join a new coalition under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, forming the thirty-third government of Israel. According to the coalition agreement negotiated between Hatnua and Likud, Livni was appointed justice minister, as well as chief negotiator with the Palestinian Authority. As environmental issues constituted a central plank in Hatnua's platform, Livni required her party be given the environmental protection ministry, to which she appointed Amir Peretz. Fulfilling her constitutional duty as Justice Minister, Livni served as chairwoman of the powerful Ministerial Committee on Legislation. Given her clout and experience with Western leaders, Netanyahu unofficially charged Livni with overseeing Israel's diplomatic relations with the United States and Europe, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman playing a lesser role.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

File:Secretary Kerry, Israeli Justice Minister Livni, and Palestinian Chief Negotiator Erekat Address Reporters (Pic 3).jpg, and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat announce the resumption of peace talks]]

Livni led the Israeli negotiation team in the peace talks, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Middle East envoy Martin Indyk from July 2013 until April 2014. Upon announcing the resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians at a press conference delivered at the U.S. State Department, Livni criticized the "cynicism and pessimism" surrounding Israeli–Palestinian peace process, and expressed hope that the negotiators would do everything in their power to transform a "spark of hope into something real and lasting." In concluding remarks praised for their poignancy, she said, "I believe that history is not made by cynics. It is made by realists who are not afraid to dream. And let us be these people."{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/07/212553.htm|title=Remarks on the Middle East Peace Process Talks}} The process collapsed in April 2014 when internal political difficulties prevented Israel from releasing a promised fourth tranche of pre-Oslo prisoners and the Palestinians reacted by acceding to several international treaties.{{cite magazine|title=The Explosive, Inside Story of How John Kerry Built an Israel-Palestine Peace Plan—and Watched It Crumble|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/118751/how-israel-palestine-peace-deal-died|magazine=New Republic|date=2014-07-20|access-date=2015-12-11|first=Ben|last=Birnbaum}} Indyk cited Israel's settlement policy during the talks as a critical factor leading to the collapse.{{cite web|title=How the Middle East Peace Process Collapsed |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/indyk-netanyahu-and-abbas-loathe-each-other/373922/|website=The Atlantic |date=3 July 2014|access-date=2015-12-11}}

File:Justice Minister Livni briefs the Israel Project.jpg

Livni continued on as justice minister until 2 December 2014, when a coalition crisis over multiple policy disagreements boiled over, and Netanyahu fired Livni along with Finance Minister Yair Lapid from their posts, accusing the two of plotting to overthrow the government.{{cite news|author=Ilan Ben Zion|date=2 December 2014|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-fires-lapid-livni-from-ministerial-posts/|title=Netanyahu fires Lapid, Livni from ministerial posts|work=The Times of Israel|access-date=16 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216055623/http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-fires-lapid-livni-from-ministerial-posts/|archive-date=16 December 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Livni and Lapid had often criticized government decisions, which Netanyahu claimed amounted to an "opposition within the coalition," and made it "impossible to govern." A particular source of frustration for Netanyahu was Livni's control of the powerful ministerial committee on legislation.Jodi Rudoren, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/world/middleeast/netanyahu-israel-government.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000 Israeli Premier, Seeking to Broaden Coalition, Reserves Crucial Post for Rival], The New York Times, 7 May 2015

In late December 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry told European Union ambassadors that his stance against a unilateral Palestinian measure at the UN Security Council was influenced by his talks with Livni and former president Shimon Peres, who said such a move could serve the political interests of those opposing the peace process such as Netanyahu and Naftuli Bennet.[http://www.timesofisrael.com/livni-takes-credit-for-guarding-israeli-interests-at-security-council/ Livni takes credit for ‘guarding Israeli interests’ at UN], The Times of Israel, (20 December 2014)Barak Ravid, [http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.632816# Kerry: Peres and Livni told me UN vote on Palestine would help Netanyahu and Bennett], Haaretz (20 December 2014)

File:Israeli legislative election, 2015, Herzog + Livni.JPG campaign poster]]

{{Main|2015 Israeli legislative election}}

After the dissolution of the Knesset in December 2014, Labor leader Isaac Herzog and Livni announced a joint slate between Labor and Hatnua, called the Zionist Union, to contest the 2015 elections in an effort to keep Netanyahu, leader of the Likud Party, from securing a fourth term as prime minister. They proposed to share the role of prime minister (an arrangement known in the Knesset as rotation) if they won enough votes, though Livni also stated she would step back if her participation presented a hurdle to coalition building.{{cite news |author=Lahav Harkov, JPost Staff |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Livni-reportedly-forgoes-agreement-to-rotate-prime-ministers-office-with-Herzog-394101 |title=Livni prepared to forgo agreement to rotate prime minister's office with Herzog |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=16 March 2015 |access-date=6 December 2015}} The partnership between Livni and Herzog created significant momentum and galvanized Israel's center-left voters who saw the partnership as having a realistic chance to defeat Netanyahu and form a government.{{cite news|last=Kershner|first=Isabel|date=10 December 2014|access-date=10 December 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/world/middleeast/alliance-adds-twist-to-israeli-elections.html|title=Alliance Adds Twist to Israeli Elections|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216051208/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/world/middleeast/alliance-adds-twist-to-israeli-elections.html|archive-date=16 December 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Many opinion polls during the campaign showed Likud and the Zionist Union in dead heat, and the few weeks leading up to the elections suggested Livni and Herzog had overtaken Netanyahu, and would emerge with a plurality of voters. Initial exit polls indicated that the combined parties had won 27 seats, but the final count showed the Zionist Union garnering only 24 to Likud's 30. Following the elections, Livni and the Zionist Union went into opposition.

File:Tzipi Livni in Beersheba.jpg event in Be'er Sheva]]

Livni served as a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. In August 2015, in response to the submission of a motion to raise the Palestinian flag at the UN headquarters, Livni initiated the creation of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee on International Lawfare, which she chaired. At the committee's inaugural meeting, Livni characterized the Palestinian motion as "part of an orchestrated diplomatic and legal struggle that is meant to create legitimacy for a Palestinian state with all that that means, and to deny legitimacy to the State of Israel." She argued that despite the lack of attention it receives, "[lawfare] is a war front as any other." The committee's mandate, according to Livni, is to "deal with lawfare not only to see how we can defend ourselves, but also to try to change international trends against Israel in a legal context and how to deal with moves the Palestinians are trying to make over Israel's head."{{cite news|last=Harkov|first=Lahav|date=17 August 2015|access-date=3 September 2015 |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Livni-to-head-new-Knesset-subcommittee-on-lawfare-412382?|title=Tzipi Livni to head new Knesset subcommittee on lawfare|work=The Jerusalem Post}}

On 11 February 2017, it was reported that UN Secretary-General António Guterres had offered Livni the post of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, although this never materialised.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.771145|title=UN Chief Offered Israeli Lawmaker Tzipi Livni a Senior Role|author=Yossi Verter|newspaper=Haaretz|date=11 February 2017}}

On 1 January 2019 at a televised Zionist Union party meeting, Labor leader Avi Gabay announced that Labor would not run with Hatnua in the April 2019 Israeli legislative election, surprising Livni.[https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Avi-Gabbay-announces-end-to-partnership-with-Tzipi-Livni-576008 GABBAY SHOCKS LIVNI ON LIVE TV, KICKS HER OUT OF ZIONIST UNION], JPost, 1 January 2019 Electoral polls showed that Hatnua was not close to crossing the 3.25% electoral threshold, and Livni announced her retirement from politics on 18 February 2019 as well as Hatnua's withdrawal from the election so as not to split the centre-left vote.[https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Livni-likely-to-quit-politics-this-week-Gantz-party-falls-in-polls-580955 TEARFUL TZIPI LIVNI QUITS POLITICS], Jpost, 18 February 2019

In September 2019, Livni was named a Fisher Family Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.{{Cite web|url=https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/tzipi-livni-named-future-diplomacy-project-fisher-family-fellow-harvard-kennedy-schools|title = Tzipi Livni Named Future of Diplomacy Project Fisher Family Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center| date=25 September 2019 }}

Livni lauded Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, stating that Biden is committed to democratic principles and that his election is "a blessing" for the United States, Israel, and the rest of the free world.{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-biden-is-good-for-israel-1.9295946|title=Biden Is Good for Israel|author=Tzipi Livni|newspaper=Haaretz|date=November 7, 2020}}

In a May 2024 interview, Livni called on the Israeli government to plan for the postwar governance of Gaza after the resolution of the Gaza war and warned that delays in engaging with Arab partners such as the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia could be a costly mistake.{{Cite news |last1=Cave |first1=Damien |last2=Rasgon |first2=Adam |date=2024-05-14 |title=Israeli Military Leaders See Danger in Lack of a Plan to Govern Gaza |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/14/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-war-government.html |access-date=2024-06-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

On 11 July 2024, The Jerusalem Post reported that Yair Golan, leader of the newly formed Democrats party, was considering appointing Livni to the second position in the new party's electoral list.{{cite news |last1=Breuer |first1=Eliav |title=Labor, Meretz delegates to approve merger in Tel Aviv convention |url=https://m.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-809933 |access-date=11 July 2024 |work=Jerusalem Post |date=11 July 2024}}

• 2004: Knight of Quality Government Award {{cite web| url = https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=213| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040417005924/http://knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=213| archive-date = 2004-04-17| title = Knesset Member, Tzipi Livni}}
• 2004: Abirat Ha-Shilton ("Quality of Governance") award.
• 2009: Honored by Yale University as a Chubb Fellow.
• 2009: International Hall of Fame Award from the International Women's Forum.
• 2018: Golden Arrow Award {{cite web| url = http://comsult.create-connections.com/golden-arrow/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222014223/http://comsult.create-connections.com/golden-arrow/| archive-date = 2015-12-22| title = Golden Arrow {{!}} Com.sult}}

• A board member of the International Crisis Group
• A member of The Aspen Ministers Forum
• A member of the international group of leaders who wrote the Declaration of Principles for Freedom Prosperity and Peace.
• Senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School
• Global steering committee of "Campaign for nature" (founded by Wyss Foundation)

{{reflist}}

{{sister project links|d=Q151796|b=no|v=no|wikt=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|voy=no|s=no}}

• [http://www.tzipilivni.co.il Tzipi Livni's official website] {{in lang|he}}
• {{MKlink|id=213}}
• {{C-SPAN|1021230}}
• {{Charlie Rose view|339}}
• {{Guardian topic}}
• {{Haaretztopic|Tzipi_Livni}}
• {{JPosttopic|Tzipi_Livni}}
• {{NYTtopic|people/l/tzipi_livni}}
• [http://fathomjournal.org/symposium-on-rabins-legacy-tzipi-livni/ Symposium on Rabin's legacy, Tzipi Livni – Fathom Journal]

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