Business and technologyרפאל בנבנשתי

Refael Benvenisti

Refael (Rafi) Benvenisti is an Israeli economist who headed Israel's Investment Authority and took part in negotiating the Israel-Jordan peace treaty.

born 1937Heading Israel's Investment AuthorityIsrael-Jordan peace treaty negotiationsThe Red Sea-Dead Sea conduit planResearch on ancient Mesopotamian economy

Born: 22 May 1937, Jerusalem
Occupation: economist
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Refael Benvenisti was born in 1937 in Jerusalem

Benvenisti was born in Jerusalem on May 22, 1937, and grew up there. His family descends from a rabbinic family in Salonika. He is the son of Israel Prize recipient David Benvenisti and the brother of Meron Benvenisti.

He studied economics and geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning B.A. and M.A. degrees. In 2013 he received a PhD there, with a dissertation on economic institutions of Old Assyrian trade.

He headed the planning division at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and later worked at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank in Washington. He then led Israel's Investment Authority, promoting foreign investment, including semiconductor plants such as Intel's. He helped found the World Bank's FIAS and advised governments in 40 countries on foreign investment, among them China and Lesotho.

From 1993 he advised Shimon Peres and Avraham Shochat on regional cooperation projects. He was part of the team that negotiated the Israel-Jordan peace treaty and promoted a new plan for the Red Sea-Dead Sea conduit. He was co-chairman of the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information.

He has published books on the economy of ancient Mesopotamia, in Hebrew in 2016 and in English in 2024.