Daniel Ben-Simon

Daniel Ben-Simon was born in 1954 in Meknes

Ben-Simon was born in Meknes, Morocco, in 1954. In 1967 his family moved to Casablanca, where he attended a boarding school. In 1969 he immigrated to Israel alone and was placed in a religious youth village.

He served in the Golani Brigade from 1972 to 1976. He then studied sociology and political science at the University of Haifa, where he chaired the student union. In 1981 he married and went to Boston University for a master's degree in journalism.

Back in Israel, he worked at Davar as a political and parliamentary reporter until it closed in 1996, then joined Haaretz. He wrote four books, including works on Israeli elections, the Negev and Jews in France. He also presented television programs and a documentary series.

In 2008 he joined the Labor Party and was placed 11th on its list. After the 2009 election he chaired the Labor Knesset faction until resigning in October 2009. In 2011 he announced he would leave the party but stayed, and he left the Knesset after the 2013 election.

In October 2014 he began co-hosting a political talk show with Sharon Kidon on Channel 2. He lives in Tel Aviv and is the father of 5.