Avigdor Lieberman

Avigdor Lieberman is a Soviet-born Israeli politician who served as <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Finance_(Israel)/XPKVsRNw">Minister of Finance</a> between 2021 and 2022, having previously served twice as <a href="/facts/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_Israel/PEjbgPtm">Deputy Prime Minister of Israel</a> from 2006 to 2008 and 2009 to 2012.
Born and raised in <a href="/facts/Soviet_Moldova/4q45hBFu">Soviet Moldova</a>, Lieberman <a href="/facts/1970s_Soviet_Union_aliyah/z0LAr1hP">immigrated to Israel</a> with his family in 1978. He entered the Knesset in 1999, and has served in numerous roles in the <a href="/facts/Israeli_government/g3azkmGs">government</a>, including as <a href="/facts/National_Infrastructure_Minister_of_Israel/beUDMxFq">Minister of National Infrastructure</a>, <a href="/facts/Transportation_Minister_of_Israel/8IlkC96v">Minister of Transportation</a>, and <a href="/facts/Strategic_Affairs_Minister_of_Israel/PBT0DvWj">Minister of Strategic Affairs</a>. He served as <a href="/facts/Deputy_leaders_of_Israel/PEjbgPtm">Deputy Prime Minister</a> under Prime Ministers <a href="/facts/Ehud_Olmert/skIkQc7h">Ehud Olmert</a> and <a href="/facts/Benjamin_Netanyahu/581DW7MB">Benjamin Netanyahu</a>. He served under Netanyahu as <a href="/facts/Foreign_Affairs_Minister_of_Israel/JoJPDt9d">Minister of Foreign Affairs</a> from 2009 to 2012 and 2013 to 2015 and as <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Defense_(Israel)/ngCFFGLR">Minister of Defense</a> from 2016 to 2018. On 14 November 2018, he resigned as Defense Minister because of <a href="/facts/Gaza%25E2%2580%2593Israel_clashes_(November_2018)/t4vvYU34">a ceasefire in Gaza</a> which he characterized as "surrendering to terror."
He is the founder and leader of the <a href="/facts/Secularism_in_Israel/v5YCw8hI">secular</a> <a href="/facts/Nationalism/IECpIhm0">nationalist</a> <a href="/facts/Yisrael_Beiteinu/hk5IV5hE">Yisrael Beiteinu</a> (Israel Our Home) party, whose electoral base initially consisted overwhelmingly of <a href="/facts/Russian_Jews_in_Israel/kwK1KH6a">Russian-speaking immigrants</a> from the former <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a>, but later attracted broader support. Lieberman has stated his opposition to forming a coalition with religious parties and refused to join <a href="/facts/Benjamin_Netanyahu/581DW7MB">Benjamin Netanyahu</a>'s coalition in April 2019. As a result of the arrival in Israel during the 1990s of about one million Russian-speaking immigrants, Yisrael Beiteinu has regularly played the "king-maker" role in Israel's coalition governments. He was replaced in the Knesset by <a href="/facts/Elina_Bardach-Yalov/AlnkRgXL">Elina Bardach-Yalov</a> when he became the finance minister.
Lieberman is a polarizing figure in Israeli politics due to his <a href="/facts/Hardliner/Xkjpq6GH">hardliner</a> positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His name is associated with the 2004 <a href="/facts/Lieberman_Plan/NoIJ8Mkj">Lieberman Plan</a>, which advocates land swaps between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and the barring of <a href="/facts/Arab_Israelis/FVxrBcQB">Arab Israelis</a> from <a href="/facts/Israeli_citizenship/bxhmHXjU">Israeli citizenship</a> unless they swear a <a href="/facts/Loyalty_oath/kddYILT5">loyalty oath</a> to Israel. While this has been decried as discriminatory, this however makes him unique among right-wing Israeli figures in that he is not categorically opposed to any form of <a href="/facts/Two-state_solution/qVur4GnX">two-state solution</a> and even ready to cede land from <a href="/facts/Green_Line_(Israel)/CDJMg4Go">the pre-1967 borders</a>. He is nonetheless also known for rhetoric considered violent and <a href="/facts/Hawkish/wzLHgM3P">hawkish</a> in times of military escalation. During the <a href="/facts/2018%25E2%2580%25932019_Gaza_border_protests/m207Vf0V">2018–2019 Gaza border protests</a> and the <a href="/facts/Gaza_war/dmUoIpBw">Gaza war</a>, he iterated that there are "no innocents in Gaza".

Avigdor Lieberman open-in-new

Avigdor Lieberman