Marina Solodkin - Biography

Biography

Born in Moscow in the Soviet Union (now Russia), Solodkin studied at Moscow State University, where she gained a PhD in economic and social history, and went on to work as a scientist. She immigrated to Israel in the early 1990s.

Once in Israel, Solodkin joined the Russian-immigrant party, Yisrael BaAliyah led by Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky. She was elected to the Knesset in the 1996 elections on the party's list and chaired the Committee on the Status of Women. After retaining her seat in the 1999 elections, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption, a post she regained during the 16th Knesset after Yisrael BaAliyah had merged into Likud.

Shortly before the 2006 elections Solodkin resigned from the Knesset in order to join Kadima. She gained 6th place on the party's list and was re-elected. However, in protest at not being appointed a Minister despite her high position on on Kadima's list, she was absent from the swearing-in ceremony of the new government. Her absence from the cabinet was unpopular with many Russian immigrants.

She has called for foreign agricultural workers to be replaced with Ethiopian immigrants, and demanded that Ariel Toaff be put on trial for writing about blood libel. She has also said that Ehud Olmert should resign over the 2006 Lebanon War.

She retained her seat in the 2009 elections after being placed tenth on the party's list. On 5 December 2012, in the days leading up to the 2013 elections, while polls showed Kadima either barely getting into the Knesset or not even passing the threshold, Solodkin announced she was dropping out of the race.

Outside the Knesset, Solodkin has produced three books:

• Dictionary of Economic History (in Russian, 1995)
• Civilization Discomfort: Soviet Jewry in Israel in the 90's (in Russian, 1996)
• Not another Generation of the Wilderness (in Hebrew)

She also writes articles for newspapers and magazines. Married with two children, Solodkin lives in Ashkelon.