Born to a Jewish family in
New York City, Baskin became involved in the
civil rights movement and the
anti–Vietnam War movement during his time as a teenager. In 1978, Baskin received his BA from
New York University in the politics and history of the Middle East. He received his MA (1992) and Ph.D. (1994) from
Greenwich University in International Relations. His Ph.D. dissertation was on
Territory and Sovereignty in the Future of Jerusalem, parts of which became a book,
Jerusalem of Peace, published by
IPCRI.
Activity in Israel, 1978–2011 In September 1978, he made
aliyah (immigrated to Israel), where he joined the
Interns for Peace program. he lived in
Kafr Qara, a
Palestinian Arab village in Israel, where he worked as a community organizer and youth leader beginning to build bridges between the Israeli Palestinian community of
Kafr Qara and nearby Israeli Jewish communities. In 1982, Baskin served in the
Israeli Ministry of Education as coordinator of education for co-existence between the Jewish and Arab school systems. After the outbreak of the
first Intifada in March 1988, Baskin founded the
Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), later renamed Israel Palestine Creative Regional Initiatives, dedicated to the resolution of the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict on the basis of a
"two-states for two peoples" solution. He served as its co-chairman until January 2012. Baskin co-directed IPCRI for 24 years from 1988 until the end of 2011. In mid-1989, Baskin launched in IPCRI the first three Israeli–Palestinian working groups: Economics and Business, the Future of Jerusalem, and the water experts working group. In October 1992, Baskin initiated a series of secret meetings in London with former Israeli security officers and Palestinian officials from the
PLO. These talks laid down the framework for subsequent security undertaking in the
Oslo Accords of September 1993. In 1994, Baskin became an outside adviser on the peace process to a secret team of intelligence officers established by Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin. In 24 years as Co-Director of IPCRI, Baskin, alongside Zakaria al Qaq and
Hanna Siniora, organized and facilitated over 2,000 Israeli-Palestinian working group meetings on topics such as security, economy, water, and peace education.
Gilad Shalit negotiations (2006–2011) In July 2006, six days after
Gilad Shalit was abducted in Gaza, Baskin unofficially opened a back channel with
Hamas. Three months later Baskin successfully got Hamas to deliver a hand written letter from Shalit to his parents which was brought to the Office of the Egyptian Government in Gaza. He continued his behind the scenes efforts to negotiate a deal between Israel and Hamas throughout the five years and four months that Shalit was in captivity. He became the official intermediary between senior Hamas officials and senior Israeli
Mossad Officer
David Meidan Baskin's efforts are detailed in his book
The Negotiator: Freeing Gilad Shalit from Hamas.
Continued talks with Hamas (2011–2023) Immediately after Shalit's return, Baskin and Hamas began discussing the possibility of negotiating a long-term ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. On 1 May 2012, Baskin presented the fourth draft of the proposed agreement to Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak. Barak formed a high level committee, composed of officials from the security establishment, to discuss the proposal. After two months, the committee decided against entering into a formal agreement with Hamas even if, as proposed, it were negotiated and formalized through the Egyptian
General Intelligence Directorate. In the beginning of November 2012, Baskin and Hamad met in Cairo, where they spoke with Egyptian intelligence officers and discussed possible long-term ceasefire arrangements. Later that day Israel killed Jabari in an air strike and started
Operation Pillar of Defense. Even after the assassination of Jabari, Baskin and Hamad remained in contact and continued to negotiate, primarily for the release of the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in 2014,
Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, as well as the two Israeli civilians who were proven to be alive
Avera Mengisto and
Hisham as-Sayed. Baskin continued to negotiate in coordination with the Israeli officials coordinating Israel's efforts Lior Lotan and Yaron Blum. In July 2025, he reported that Hamas also "is prepared for there to be a Palestinian professional civilian government take control of Gaza ... and that Hamas will not be part of that government."
Other back channels In 2022–2023 (prior to 7 October), Baskin was running three separate secret back channels between significant Israelis and Palestinians mainly looking toward the "day after" political changes would take place in Israel and Palestine. One of the back channels was between former Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Alkidwa. Working together with longtime Fatah activist Samer Sinijlawi, they negotiated a joint proposal for the future signed by Olmert and Alkidwa in July 2024. The joint proposal also brings forward the Two States Solution based in the June 4, 1967 lines, with an agreed to 4.4% land swap and a solution for Jerusalem, based on two capitals in Jerusalem and the
Old City of Jerusalem under a Trusteeship of five countries including Israel and Palestine.
Other activities Since stepping down as co-director of IPCRI on 31 December 2011, Baskin became the co-chairman of the Board of IPCRI until April 2018. He was a member of the steering committee of the
Israeli Palestinian Peace NGO Forum until 2016, a member of the Board of Directors of ALLMEP – the
Alliance for Middle East Peace, also until 2016, and was a member of the Israeli Board of
One Voice Movement. He remains a member of the editorial committee of the
Palestine–Israel Journal. As part of their ICO activity, in August 2021, Baskin joined James Holmes in establishing the
Holy Land Bond, a new investment fund registered in the UK, aimed at investing in housing projects for Palestinians in
East Jerusalem, integrated housing projects for Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in Israel's "
mixed cities", and employment and industrial zones that are either cross-boundary Israeli-Palestinian, or for Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. He is co-director of the newly formed International Communities Organisation – Middle East Branch, which is connected to the UK-based International Communities Organisation (ICO). His weekly column is currently published in English in the blog pages of
The Times of Israel, == Awards ==