Faina Kirschenbaum ( he, פאינה קירשנבאום, born 27 November 1955) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּיתֵנוּ, russian: Наш Дом Израиль, lit. ''Israel Our Home'') is a secularist, nationalist right-wing political party in Israel. The party's base was originally secular Russi ...

between 2009 and 2015. In July 2021 she was sentenced to ten years in prison following a conviction for

bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Co ...

Life and career

Born in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

in the

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

of 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, ...

(today in

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 invas ...

), Kirschenbaum made

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

to Israel on 31 December 1973. She trained as a nurse at the Beilinson School of Nursing, as well as gaining a BA in general studies from

Thames Valley University The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing ...

, an MBA from the

University of Derby , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, ...

, a certificate in director's training at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic ...

. In 1981 she moved to the Israeli settlement of

Nili NILI was a Jewish espionage network which assisted the United Kingdom in its fight against the Ottoman Empire in Palestine between 1915 and 1917, during World War I. NILI is an acronym which stands for the Hebrew phrase "Netzah Yisrael Lo Yesha ...

in 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 ...

. She served as its council secretary, and was a member of

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Mateh Binyamin Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה בנימין, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a regional council governing 46 Israeli settlements and outposts in ...

. She has also served as deputy chairwoman of the Israeli branch of the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act a ...

, and as a member of the board of directors of the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora. The party's director general, prior to the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum * ...

she was placed tenth on the Yisrael Beiteinu list and entered the Knesset as the party won 15 seats. Together with Likud MK

Danny Danon Danny Danon (Hebrew: דני דנון, born 8 May 1971) served as Israel’s 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and currently serves as Chairman of the World Likud. Danon previously served as a member of the Knesset from the Liku ...

she proposed the controversial law to set up two parliamentary panels of inquiry into left-wing human rights and anti-occupation Israeli NGOs. After several month-long discussion in Knesset and Israeli press, the law, opposed by Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

and opposition leader

Tzipi Livni Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former fore ...

, was voted against by Knesset. She was re-elected in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

, and joined the new government as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs on 18 March 2013. Kirschenbaum retired from politics in January 2015 after a police investigation into corruption. Kirschenbaum is married with three children.

Corruption trial

Kirschenbaum was one of several senior government officials arrested in December 2014 on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Her trial at the Tel Aviv District Court opened in September 2017, during which she pled not guilty to all charges. In March, 2021 she was found guilty of breach of trust, bribery, fraud, money laundering and tax offences, with the court ruling that she had accepted bribes from eight sources over six years. In July 2021 the Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Kirschenbaum to ten years in prison and fined her NIS 900,000 ($274,000).Ex-Yisrael Beytenu MK Kirshenbaum sentenced to 10 years in bribery case
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirschenbaum, Faina 1955 births Living people Alumni of the University of Derby Alumni of the University of West London Bar-Ilan University alumni Deputy ministers of Israel Israeli nurses Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Israeli settlers Women members of the Knesset Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Soviet emigrants to Israel Soviet Jews Ukrainian Jews Yisrael Beiteinu politicians 21st-century Israeli women politicians Israeli politicians convicted of crimes