Contributor

Ksenia Svetlova

Member of Israeli Knesset, expert on the Middle East

Ksenia Svetlova currently serves as a Member of Knesset in Israel’s 20th Knesset, within the Zionist Union party. Mrs. Svetlova is a Ph.D. student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Islamic Studies and the Middle East from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Prior to the Knesset elections in 2015, Ksenia Svetlova worked as a writer and commentator on Arab Affairs for Channel 9 (Israel), and as a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, the Jerusalem Report, BBC Russian service, slon.ru and many other international and Israeli media outlets. She covered the War in Iraq from a U.S. assault ship in the Persian Gulf, conducted exclusive interviews in Lebanon, Syria and Libya, worked in Gaza and West Bank during the second Palestinian Intidafa, and reported on the Arab springs dramatic developments from Tahrir square in Cairo and Tunisia. Ksenia Svetlova is a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense committee, and the Aliyah and Absorption committee in Knesset. She is the chairperson of several Knesset lobbies, including the Lobby for Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression, the Lobby for the Preservation of the Culture of Jews from Islamic Countries, the Lobby for Strengthening Relations between the State of Israel and the Kurdish people, and the Women's Lobby for Peace and Security.