NCSJ - 01.16.2007

NCSJ Mourns Passing of Yuri Shtern

Knesset Member, Refusenik Dies at Age 58

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- NCSJ mourns the passing of Yuri Shtern who died today of cancer, at age 58. 

Yuri was born in Moscow and immigrated to Israel in 1981. In Moscow he was a Lecturer on Economics at Moscow University. A refusenik, he was active in promoting aliyah from the Soviet Union. 

After immigrating to Israel, he was a co-founder of and spokesperson for the Soviet Jewry Education and Information Center, the Council of Immigrants Association, and the Soviet Jewry Zionist Forum. Yuri was first elected to the Knesset in 1996 on the Yisrael Ba’Aliyah ticket and in 1999 as a member of the Yisrael Beitenu faction. 

A long time friend of NCSJ, he worked tirelessly to improve the integration of Russian-speaking Jews into Israeli society. Yuri also played a leadership role in bringing Jews living in the former Soviet Union closer to Israel and Judaism. 

May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, founded in 1971, represents the organized American Jewish community in monitoring and advocating on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews living in the 15 successor states of the former Soviet Union.