ABSTRACT
In June 1999 I took a leave of absence from my law firm to work as chief negotiator to the peace talks under the newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The Israeli public had high hopes for Barak to carry on the legacy of the late Yitzhak Rabin and Barak seemed determined to fulfill these expectations. Building a broad secular-liberal coalition that would promote a civic agenda while focusing on foreign policy and resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, Barak did not disqualify any party from membership in his government, as long as they agreed on the guidelines that reflected his policies and goals.
