Dan Bavly

Dan Abraham Bavly (Hebrew: דן אברהם בבלי, born August 29, 1929) is a progressive Israeli thinker, a journalist, and a former Executive Partner of Bavly Millner & Co.

Biography

Born in Jerusalem, Bavly was the firstborn child of Fanny Smith, and Eliezer Bavly (Bawly). Smith had immigrated to Mandate Palestine from the US in 1928, and Bavly came from Amsterdam in 1919. Soon after his birth, Bavly’s family moved to Tel-Aviv, where he attended the Balfour School and the Pardes-Hana Agricultural Boarding School.

During Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, Bavly joined the Giv'ati Brigade, and took part in the attempts to break the siege over Jerusalem, as well as battle the advancing Egyptian Army in the southern front. In June 1948 Bavly was wounded in the battle of Ashdod. In 1951 Bavly completed Officer’s Training, and after fulfilling various positions in the IDF’s Reserves he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1976.

While serving in the Military Government imposed by Israel over the Palestinians in the West Bank after the 1967 War, Bavly interacted with various Palestinian leaders, some of which proposed ways to the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, and the establishment of a Palestinian State alongside the State of Israel. In addition, Bavly held discussions with Jordanian bankers trying to stabilize the economic conditions of the West Bank. Bavly described his experience during that time in his book “Dreams and Missed Opportunities: 1967-1973.”

Bavly began his studies in the Hebrew University in October 1949, where he studied Economy and Political Science. In 1955 he became a journalist for the Israeli daily newspaper the Jerusalem Post where he worked until 1957, not before traveling to Ethiopia (then Khabash) to interview the Emperor of Khabash.

In 1957 Bavly joined Bavly Milner & Co. – an accounting firm established by his father in May 1933. After completing his certification as a CPA, Bavly was made a partner in 1960. After a decade in the office, Bavly was made the Executive Partner. Under his management, the firm developed and joined Horwath International, where Bavly served on the Executive Council.

Among the firm’s notable clients were Tadiran, Dan Hotels, El-Al, and Bank Leumi. Following the Beisky Commission which investigated the 1983 Israeli Bank stock crisis, Bavly, in his capacity is managing partner overseeing the auditing of Bank Leumi, was charged, together with the other accountants and bank managers, with fraudulent misrepresentation of corporate documents. While the other accountants concluded plea-bargains with the prosecution, Bavly insisted on his innocence, but was convicted by Judge Naor at the Jerusalem District Court. Bavly appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court which, in a unanimous vote led by Judge Levin, overturned the District Court’s guilty verdict, and exonerated Bavly from any and all fault. Bavly retired from his practice in 1995.

Following his retirement from active practice, Bavly spent a year as a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Upon his return to Israel in 1996 he was made Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Tel-Hai Academic College, a position he carried until 1999. Throughout the years, Bavly was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University, the Board of Governors of the University of Haifa, the Board of governors of the Open University, the Board of the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Research, the Israel Diaspora Institute, the Israel Museum, and other public institutions. From 2003 to 2009 Bavly served as the chairman of the Jewish-Arab Center in the University of Haifa.

Bavly now resides in Harashim, a small community in the Galilee mountains. He is married to Ilon Bavly (Zipshtein), the father of two daughters and three sons, and the grandfather of five granddaughters and three grandsons.

Publications

• The Sandstorm – The Arab Israeli War of 1967: Prelude and Aftermath. Jointly authored with David Kimche.
• The Subterranean Economy – published in the US by McGraw Hill, describing the tax revolt of the affluent society. 1982.
• Fire in Beirut – Israel’s War in Lebanon with the PLO. (Jointly authored with Eliahu Salpeter), published Stein and Day in the US. 1983
• Corporate Governance and Accountability – What Role for the Regulator, Director and Auditor, published by Quorum Books in the US published by Quorum Books. 1999.
• Dreams and Missed Opportunities 1967–1973. (Published in Hebrew by Carmel Publications).