Victor Brailovsky

Victor Brailovsky was born in 1935 in Moscow

Brailovsky was born in Moscow in 1935. From 1972 to 1987 he was a refusenik and campaigned for the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel. He lost his job and organized a seminar for Jewish scientists who had been refused exit visas.

He was arrested and sentenced to 4 years in prison, and he was a Prisoner of Zion from 1981 to 1984. In 1987 he immigrated to Israel with his family. He became a professor of mathematics and computer science at Tel Aviv University.

In 1999 he entered the Knesset on the Shinui list and sat on the science and immigration committees. After the 2003 elections Shinui joined the Sharon government, and he became Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. On 29 November 2004 he was appointed Minister of Science and Technology, but he was dismissed on 4 December after Shinui voted against the state budget.

After Shinui split, he joined the Secular Faction, later called Hetz. The party did not pass the electoral threshold in 2006, and he left the Knesset. He is married and has 2 children.