Ksenia Svetlova is an expert in Middle Eastern affairs, an expert on radical Islam and modern Egypt. Svetlova is a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS) at the Reichman University. Ms. Svetlova has been as Knesset member 2015-2019. She has been a member of Foreign affairs and Defense committee as well as Aliya and Integration committee at the Knesset and a chair of three parliamentary lobbies: “Women for peace and security”, “Freedom of press and expression” and “Israel-Kurdish alliance .” Prior to her election to the Knesset, Ksenia Svetlova has served as senior analyst and reporter on Arab affairs on Channel 9 (Israel). In 2003 she covered the War in Iraq while on a U.S. assault ship in the Persian Gulf, conducted exclusive interviews in Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Gaza, and West Bank during the second Palestinian Intifada, and reported on the Arab springs dramatic developments from Tahrir square. She interviewed many Arab leaders such as PA chairman Yassir Arafat, HAMAS leader Ahmad Yassin and Jordanian prince HE Hassan BinTalal. She had published many features, special reports and op-eds at the Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Report, BBC Russian service, Times of Israel and AlMonitor.

Ksenia Svetlova has BA and MA in journalism and Middle Eastern Studies from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She wrote her MA thesis “Teleislamism: the case of Amru Khaled” under the supervision of Prof. Emmanuel Sivan. She is now a PhD student at Bar-Ilan university. She is fluent in four languages: Hebrew, Russian, English, and Arabic Her upcoming book “Through Middle East on heels” (Pardes) takes the reader into a facinating journey through Beirut, Damascus, Tripoli and Cairo, revolutionary squares of the Arab Spring, headquarters of HAMAS and Hizballah and homes of Jewish notables in Damascus,