His great grandfather, author Simcha BenZion (Gutman) was among the founders of Tel Aviv in 1909. His grandfather, Barukh Binah MBE (a survivor of the infamous Chisinau pogrom of 1903), served as the District Officer of Haifa and Samaria in the British mandatory government of Palestine and founded the news- paper Hadashot Mehaaretz (News from the Land), which later became the leading Israeli daily Haaretz. In 1992, he was assigned ot the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. as Counselor for Congressional Affairs, later becoming the Embassy's Minister - Counselor for Public Affairs. From 1999 to 2001, Binah served as Director of Congressional Affairs and Consulates in the United States. He also held a variety of research and policy planning positions, including Comptroller of Research Quality. From 2001 to 2005, he served as the Head of the International Affairs Bureau in the Center for Political Research of the Foreign Ministry. In 2005, Binah was ap- pointed as Israel's Consul General to the Midwest, based in Chicago, a post he held until 2008. In this capacity, he published many Op-Ed pieces. On April 2, 2008, at the conclusion of his service, Binah was honored by the Illinois General Assembly for his service. In 2008, Binah was appointed the Deputy Director General for North America in charge of relations with the United States and Canada at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. He served in this capacity until January 2012.