MK Ksenia Svetlova (The Zionist Union), head of the Knesset Caucus for Freedom of the Press, sopke at JPC about the threats to the freedom of the press in Israel today. MK Svetlova expressed her concerns re pressures laid on journalists and editors by publishers with a certain aganda, and the internal, self censorship, journalists are driven to adopt. She spoke about physical violence IDF soldiers and Police officers use against journalists, in intense moments and scenes, and said that she raised the issue several times in the Committee of Security and Foreign Affair, where she is a member.
About the speaker:
Ksenia Svetlova is currently serving as Knesset Member (Zionist Union) in Israel’s 20th Knesset. Ms. Stvetlova is a PhD student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and holds a BA and MA in Islamic Studies and the Middle East from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Before the 2015 Knesset elections, Ksenia Svetlova worked as a writer and commentator on Arab Affairs for Channel Nine, a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, BBC, Kommersant (Russia) and others. Through her journalistic work, she has visited many Arab countries, including Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, and Malaysia. She covered the War in Iraq from a U.S. battleship in the Persian Gulf, has many year of experience working in the Palestinian territories, and has published exclusive articles from Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution.
Ksenia Svetlova is a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense and Aliyah and Absorption committees, as well as heading three parliamentary caucuses: for the Preservation of the Culture of Jews from Islamic Countries, a caucus for Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression, and a caucus for Strengthening Relations between the State of Israel and the Kurdish people.
