Ksenia Svetlova

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Ksenia Svetlova
Knesset Member Ksenia Svetlova חברת הכנסת קסניה סבטלובה.jpg
Date of birth (1977-07-28) 28 July 1977 (age 38)
Place of birth Moscow, Soviet Union
Year of aliyah 1991
Knessets 20
Faction represented in Knesset
2015– Zionist Union

Ksenia Svetlova (Hebrew: קסניה סבטלובה‎; Russian: Ксения Светлова, born 28 July 1977) is an Israeli journalist and politician.

Personal life[edit]

Born in Moscow to Igor Svetlov, an art critic and Svetlana Sorokina, a patent lawyer, Svetlova attended School 77 between 1984 and 1991. In 1991 she immigrated to Israel with her mother and joined a religious school in Jerusalem. She later studied Islamic and Middle Eastern history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, gaining bachelors and master's degrees. As of 2015, she is a doctoral candidate in Middle Eastern studies and an associate professor at Hebrew University.[1] She is also a policy fellow at Mitvim, the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies.[2]

She speaks Russian, Hebrew, English, and Arabic. She lives in Modi'in and has two daughters.[1]

Journalism career[edit]

In 2002 she joined the Russian language "Israel Plus" channel as a commentator on Arab affairs. She has also written for several newspapers and media outlets, including the Jerusalem Post, the Jerusalem Report, Haaretz and the BBC Russian Service. She has interviewed Yasser Arafat, Ahmed Yassin, and Mahmoud Abbas.

Political career[edit]

Before the 2015 Knesset elections, she joined the Zionist Union (an alliance of the Labor Party and Hatnuah)[3] and was placed 21st on the list, a slot reserved for a candidate chosen by Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni.[4] She was elected to the Knesset as the alliance won 24 seats.[5] After her election, she was required to give up her Russian citizenship,[6] which had been an asset to her past travel to the Arab world.

In an i24news interview, she stated her priority as an incoming MK would be advancing the peace process.[7] She also pledged to work against racism and discrimination.[8] Once a Knesset member, she joined the Foreign affairs and Defense and Aliyah and Absorbtion committees, as well as heading three parliamentary caucuses: for the protection of Jews from Arab and Islamic countries heritage and culture, a caucus for freedom of speech and expression, and a caucus that supports strengthening the ties between Israel and the Kurdish nation.

She is an advocate for progressive denominations of Judaism, having been refused a divorce for two years by the Chief Rabbinate.[9]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related to Ksenia Svetlova at Wikimedia Commons