Roman Bronfman ( he, רומן ברונפמן, born 22 April 1954) is a Ukrainian-born

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He speaks Hebrew ,English, Russian, and Ukrainian.

Biography

Bronfman was born in Chernivtsi,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

),Ex-Soviet immigrants change Israel
''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

'' (30 December 2012) in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He studied at

Chernivtsi University Chernivtsi National University (full name Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, uk, Чернівецький національний університет імені Юрія Федьковича) is a public university in the City o ...

from 1971 to 1976. He was a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, and published articles in major newspapers 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 millio ...

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Bronfman

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel in 1980. He served in the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

, and participated in the 1982 Lebanon War. Following his military service, he studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and graduated with a PhD in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1989. From 1986 to 1993, he was a lecturer at the Hebrew University and the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...

. In the 1990s, he was a journalist for the Russian-language newspaper ''Aleph'' and for

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and '' Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms ...

, and an announcer on

Kol Israel ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcasti ...

's Russian-language service.

Political career

In 1993 he became the Head of the Haifa Municipality Absorption Authority, and has held that post since then. That year he also was elected to the Haifa City Council, and became the Deputy Chairman of the Zionist Forum. He held both of those posts until 1996 when he was first elected to Knesset. During his time in Knesset he was a member of

Yisrael BaAliyah Yisrael BaAliyah ( he, ישראל בעלייה, ; lit., ''Israel on the up'') was a political party in Israel between its formation in 1996 and its merger into Likud in 2003. It was formed to represent the interests of Russian immigrants by forme ...

and then the Democratic Choice. He was a member of the House Committee, State Control Committee, Public Petitions Committee, Economic Affairs Committee, Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, Committee on Drug Abuse, and the Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs. During his time as a member of Knesset he was also a member of the Social-Environmental Lobby, Environmental Lobby, Lobby for the War Against Drugs in Israel, and the Lobby for the Galil and the Negev. He lost the 2006 Knesset election, and no longer serves as a member of the Knesset.

Views and opinions

Bronfman has said that the Two State Solution is the only humane solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The unacceptable alternatives are to have a mass deportation of Palestinians from Gaza and the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, or to brutally rule over the Palestinians in these territories. In 2005 Bronfman submitted a bill to the Knesset that would amend the Dangerous Drugs Order so it would be legal to possess 50 grams, or about 1.8 ounces of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

, when before the legal amount to have in your possession was 15 grams, or 0.5 ounces. He said the total ban on cannabis had failed to stop cannabis use, and the way to stop its use was to go after drug dealers.

Published works

*''The Million that Changed the Middle East: Immigrants from the Former USSR,'' coauthored with Lily GaliliThe Million Russians that Changed Israel to its Core
'' Haaretz''

References

External links

*
Dissent is not disloyalty
article by Roman Bronfman in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''
Fanning the flames of hatred
By Roman Bronfman in '' Haaretz'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bronfman, Roman 1954 births Living people Israeli Jews Leaders of political parties in Israel Soviet emigrants to Israel Soviet Jews Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Democratic Choice (Israel) politicians Yisrael BaAliyah politicians Meretz politicians Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Chernivtsi University alumni