A memorial evening dedicated to Israel politician and community activist Yuri Shtern took place with EAJC aid in the Moscow Taganka Theater. The event was organized under the aegis of the Embassy of Israel in Russia and the Yuri Shtern Fund as part of the celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Russia and Israel.

Yuri Shtern was born in Moscow. He graduated from the MSU, and was active in the Jewish underground. He repatriated in 1981. In 1990-92, he was the first representative of the Israel Chamber of Commerce in Russia. In 1996, he became a deputy of the Knesset from Yisrael BaAliyah. Afterwards he was elected to the Knesset from Yisrael Beitenu thrice, and was its chairman for many years. He was an active legislator, and he encompassed such diverse spheres as the support of new repatriates and aid to the Israeli cinema, aid to veterans of the Great Patriotic War and defense of the environment.

In 2006, Yuri Shtern fell seriously ill. He courageously fought against illness, and continued to work until he could. He passed away at the beginning of 2007.

He was one of the pioneers of Israeli-Russian relations, and did much to strengthen the political, economic, and cultural connections between these two countries. He was often called “a politician we are not ashamed of.”

The memorial evening was attended by people who had known and lover Shtern, who worked with him and who met with him in informal, friendly company. It turned out there were many such people. The gathering was greeted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Russian Federation Dorit Golender, Minister of Absorption Sofa Landver, the art director of the Taganka Theater Yuri Lyubimov. The bards Yuli Kim and Veronika Dolina, as well as the director of the Nikitin Gates Theater Mark Rozovsky and his troupe, all played before the public. The evening was hosted by the actor and director Boris Lvovich and Yuri Shtern's wife, Elena Shtern.

As the EAJC PR Department Head Roman Spector noted, “Yuri Shtern was a unique person. Even when he became a famous politician, he remained, first and foremost, a community worker, a Jewish activist. His energy, his caring, and the desire to do good for the people attracted an amazing number of friends to him from all walks of life. When he became a resident of Jerusalem, he remained a real university student from Moscow, with everything that this status implies -a deep-going decency, a lack of compromise in views, the ability to be a good friend, and an honest mirth. Today, despite the fact that the different connections between Russia and Israel continue to grow and strengthen, the absence of Yuri Shtern is very much felt.”