Avigdor Lieberman |
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Avigdor Lieberman (Hebrew: אביגדור ליברמן (audio) (help·info), Russian: Авигдор (Эве́т Львович) Либерман, born 5 June 1958 as Evet Lieberman) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician and Member of the Knesset as well as the current Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel. He is the founder and leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, whose electoral base are the immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
A polarizing figure within Israeli politics, Lieberman is quoted as saying, "I've always been controversial because I offer new ideas. For me to be controversial, I think this is positive." Lieberman has called to redraw the border between Israel and the West Bank so that Israel would include large Jewish settlement blocs and the Palestinian state would include large Arab-Israeli population centers. He believes that Israel's citizens should sign a loyalty oath or lose their right to vote.
Lieberman first entered the Knesset in 1999, and has since served in numerous roles in the government, including as Minister of National Infrastructure, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Strategic Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Affairs Minister.