Dr Victor Brailovsky ( he, ויקטור בריילובסקי, born 27 December 1935) is a computer scientist, mathematician,

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

activist and a former

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i politician. He served as Minister of Science and Technology for six days in 2004. In May 1986 Brailovsky was awarded an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Degree from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Biography

Brailovsky was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1935. He was an activist for

and

refusenik Refusenik (russian: отказник, otkaznik, ; alternatively spelt refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authori ...

between 1972 and 1987, and was a

Prisoner of Zion In Israel, a prisoner of Zion is a Jew who was imprisoned or deported for Zionism, Zionist activity in a country where such activity was prohibited. The phrase is taken from words of Rabbi Judah Halevi: "Oh Zion, will you not ask after the welf ...

between 1981 and 1984. In 1987 he was allowed to immigrate with his family to Israel, where he worked as a professor of mathematics and computer science in Tel-Aviv University. In the

1999 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1999. * 1999 electoral calendar Africa * 1999 Algerian presidential election * 1999 Botswana general election * 1999 Beninese parliamentary election * 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...

he was voted into the Knesset on

Shinui Shinui ( he, שִׁינּוּי, lit. ''Change'') was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a ...

's list, and became a member of the Science and Technology and Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs committees. Following the 2003 elections, in which Brailovsky retained his seat, Shinui joined

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. On 5 March 2003 he was appointed Deputy

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. On 29 November 2004 he became Minister of Science and Technology, replacing fellow Shinui member

Ilan Shalgi Ilan Shalgi ( he, אילן שלגי, born 13 July 1945) is an Israeli lawyer, politician and a former member of the Knesset. Background After his national service in the IDF, in which he served as a lieutenant-colonel, Shalgi gained an LLB and a ...

. However, Shinui pulled out of the government less than a week later, and Brailovsky lost his cabinet post. Following the split in Shinui, Brailovsky joined the Secular Faction (later Hetz). The party failed to cross the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

in the 2006 elections and he lost his seat.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brailovsky, Victor 1935 births Mathematicians from Moscow Russian Jews Refuseniks Shinui politicians Hetz (political party) politicians Living people Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Ministers of Science of Israel Soviet emigrants to Israel