Year of aliyah 1991 | Name Ksenia Svetlova Role Politician | |
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Date of birth (1977-07-28) 28 July 1977 (age 38) Parents Svetlana Sorokina, Igor Svetlov Profiles | ||
Mk ksenia svetlova zionist union
Ksenia Svetlova (Hebrew: קסניה סבטלובה; Russian: Ксения Светлова, born Moscow 28 July 1977) is an Israeli politician, journalist, associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and policy fellow at the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies. She serves as a member of Knesset for the Zionist Union.
Contents
- Mk ksenia svetlova zionist union
- Interview with ksenia svetlova 29 03 2015
- Personal life
- Journalism career
- Political career
- Knesset positions
- References
Interview with ksenia svetlova 29 03 2015
Personal life
Born in Moscow to a family of intelligentsia. Her father Professor Igor Svetlov, an art historian and member of the Russian Academy of Arts, and her mother Svetlana Sorokina, a patent lawyer. Her paternal grandfather Konstantin Dmitrievich Valerius was the chief of metallurgy production of the USSR and recipient of the Order of Lenin, before he was executed by Josef Stalin in 1938 and posthumously rehabilitated by Nikita Khrushchev in 1958.
Her stepgrandfather was Yevgeny Vuchetich, the famous sculptor behind The Motherland Calls, who married her paternal grandmother, the art historian Sarah (née Samuel) Valerius. Her maternal grandmother, Dr. Victoria Moiseevna, was the head of the department of neurology, of First City hospital Moscow.
Between 1984 and 1991, Svetlova attended School 77 in Moscow. In 1991, at age 14, she immigrated to Israel with her mother. Her mother said that the only country they could immigrate to was Israel, stating: "If we must leave our beloved city, our native Moscow, then we can only leave it for home."
In Israel, she attended Bat Zion Orthodox boarding school in Jerusalem. She later studied Islamic and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning Bachelor's and Master's degrees. As of 2015, she is a doctoral candidate in Middle Eastern studies and an associate professor at Hebrew University. She is also a policy fellow at Mitvim, the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies.
She speaks Russian, Hebrew, English, and Arabic. She lives in Modi'in and has two daughters.
Journalism career
In 2002 she joined the Russian language "Israel Plus" channel as a commentator on Arab affairs. She has written for newspapers and media outlets, including the Jerusalem Post, the Jerusalem Report, Haaretz and the BBC Russian Service. In her capacity as a journalist, she has interviewed Yasser Arafat, Ahmed Yassin, and Mahmoud Abbas.
Political career
Before the 2015 Knesset elections, she joined the Zionist Union (an alliance of the Labor Party and Hatnuah) and was placed 21st on the list, a slot reserved for a candidate chosen by Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni. She was elected to the Knesset as the alliance won 24 seats. After her election, she was required to give up her Russian citizenship, 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. She also pledged to work against racism and discrimination. Once a Knesset member, she joined the Foreign affairs and Defense and Aliyah and Absorption 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.
Knesset positions
In the 20th Knesset, she serves in the following positions: