Yuli Edelstein | |
|---|---|
יולי אדלשטיין | |
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 1996–1999 | Minister of Immigrant Absorption |
| 2009–2013 | Minister of Information & Diaspora |
| 2020–2021 | Minister of Health |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 1996–2003 | Yisrael BaAliyah |
| 2003–2006 | Likud |
| 2007– | Likud |
| Other roles | |
| 2013–2020 | Speaker of the Knesset |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Yulian Yur'evich Edelshtein (Юлиан Юрьевич Эдельштейн)[a] (1958-08-05)5 August 1958 (age 67) |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Leonid Nevzlin (father-in-law) |
| Residence(s) | Neve Daniel,West Bank |
| Education | Moscow Pedagogical Institute (expelled) |
| This article is part ofa series on |
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Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (Hebrew:יולי יואל אדלשטיין, Russian:Юлий Йоэль Эдельштейн; born 5 August 1958)[1] is an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Health from 2020 to 2021 and served as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee from 2022[2] until 2025. One of the most prominentrefuseniks in the Soviet Union, he was the 16thSpeaker of the Knesset from 2013 until his resignation on 25 March 2020.[3]
Yuli Edelstein was born inChernivtsi in theSoviet Union[1] (nowUkraine) to a Jewish family. His mother, Anita Edelstein, was Jewish, while his father,Yuri Edelstein [ru], is the son of a Jewish father and Christian mother. Both converted to Christianity and Yuri is now aRussian Orthodox priest in Karabanovo ofKostroma Oblast named Father George.[4][5] While his parents taught at universities in the countryside, Edelstein was raised by his maternal grandparents. His grandfather had taught himselfHebrew at the age of 70 and used to listen to theVoice of Israel on a shortwave radio. When Edelstein's grandfather died, Yuli began to study Hebrew and read books such asExodus byLeon Uris.[6]
In 1977, during his second year of university, Edelstein applied for an exit visa toemigrate to Israel. Turned down, he began to associate with a small group of Hebrew teachers who held classes in their apartments.[6] One of Edelstein's students wasrefusenikAlexander Smukler.[7] In 1979, alongside Ephraim Kholmianski and Yuri Koroshovsky, Edelstein founded an underground organization, known as the 'City Project', with the intent of training Hebrew teachers and distributing Hebrew learning materials.[8] That year, he was expelled from university and suffered harassment by theKGB and local police. During this time, he found odd jobs as a street cleaner, security guard, and more.[6]
In 1984, he and other Hebrew teachers were arrested on fabricated charges, Edelstein himself being charged with possession of drugs,[9][10][11][12][13][14] and sentenced to three years. He was then sent toSiberianpenal colonies and did hard labor, first inBuryatia and then inNovosibirsk. He broke several bones after falling from a construction tower. He was due to be transferred back to Buryatia, but his wife, Tatiana (Tanya), threatened to go onhunger strike if he was returned there.[15]
Edelstein was released in May 1987,[15] on the eve ofIsraeli Independence Day, the next to last of therefuseniks to be freed.[6] He thenemigrated to Israel, moving to theWest Bank settlement ofAlon Shvut. He did his national service in theIsrael Defense Forces, attaining the rank ofCorporal.[16]
Initially a member of theNational Religious Party and a vice-president of the Zionist Forum, Edelstein founded theYisrael BaAliyah party together with fellow Soviet dissidentNatan Sharansky. He was elected to the Knesset in1996, and was appointedMinister of Immigrant Absorption inBenjamin Netanyahu'sLikud-ledgovernment.[6] The long-term project of subsidizing housing for elderlymigrants prepared by the ministry under his supervision and cooperation with theMinistry of Construction raised controversy over expenditures overrun incurred by the project. Edelstein claimed that the investigative commission found such claims unsubstantiated.[17] He was re-elected in1999, and was appointed Deputy Immigrant Absorption Minister byAriel Sharon in 2001.[18]
He retained his seat in the2003 elections, shortly after which Yisrael BaAliyah merged into Likud. Although Edelstein lost his seat in the2006 elections, in which Likud was reduced to 12 seats (Edelstein was 14th on the party's list), he re-entered the Knesset as a replacement forDan Naveh in February 2007. He retained his seat in the2009 elections after being placed twelfth on the party's list, and was appointedMinister of Information and Diaspora in theNetanyahu government.[19] He was subsequently re-elected in2013 after being placed on the eighteenth spot of theLikud Yisrael Beiteinu list.[20]
Following the 2013 elections, Edelstein was nominated by Likud Yisrael Beitenu to replace thenSpeaker of the KnessetReuven Rivlin. His nomination was approved by all members of the party's parliamentary caucus excluding Rivlin, who chose to abstain.[21] It was then approved by the Knesset, with 96 members voting in favor and 8 abstaining.[22] Edelstein was sworn in as speaker on 14 March.[23] Edelstein was elected to the third place on the Likud list ahead of the2015 election. He was subsequently re-elected to the Knesset and then as Speaker, with 103 Members of the Knesset voting in favor and 7 abstaining.[24] During his tenure as speaker, Edelstein supported theNation-State Bill.[25] Ahead of theApril 2019 election, Edelstein was elected to the second place on the Likud list.[26] After the election, he was re-elected as Speaker, with 101 MKs voting in favor and 4 abstaining.[27]
Following the2020 election, a bloc led byBenny Gantz agreed to replace Edelstein as speaker of the Knesset. Despite this he refused to convene the plenary to vote on his replacement. TheMovement for Quality Government in Israel appealed to theSupreme Court, which ordered Edelstein to convene the Knesset. On 25 March, Edelstein resigned as speaker to prevent a constitutional crisis.[28] On 26 March, a newly formed coalition led by Netanyahu and Gantz elected the latter to be sworn in as the new Knesset Speaker.[29]
Following the establishment of thethirty-fifth government, Edelstein was sworn in asminister of health on 17 May 2020, and remained as minister until thethirty-sixth government was sworn in on 13 June 2021.[18] On 11 October, he announced his intention to challenge Netanyahu for the leadership of the Likud in the next leadership election.[30] Ahead of the2022 election, he withdrew from the race,[31] leading to its cancellation due to a lack of candidates.[32] In primaries for the party list held in August, Edelstein was placed on the 18th place on the Likud list and returned back to theKnesset.[33] Upon the Knesset's inauguration, Edelstein was elected Chairman of the Knesset'sForeign Affairs and Defense Committee.[2] Likud voted to replace him withBoaz Bismuth on 23 July 2025,[34] over his unwillingness to put forth a Haredi draft law.[35] Over a week later, the Knesset House Committee approved Bismuth's appointment, with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee voting in favor of it shortly after.[36] Edelstein sent his proposed version of the draft law, which would have implemented various penalties for draft evaders, including cancellation of drivers licenses and banning their international travel, to lawmakers earlier in the day.[37]
In December 2014, in an interview withThe Jerusalem Post, Edelstein warned world leaders against creating a Palestinian state that he thought would go to war with Israel.[38]
In the same interview, Edelstein stated that he believes in Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. In 2014, he was one of several members of Knesset (MKs) who submitted complaints against Arab-Israeli MKHaneen Zoabi for supportingHamas, which led to her six-month suspension. "I have been in the Knesset for almost 19 years," Edelstein said. "I remember Arab MKs joining me at theMarch of the Living and proposing social-oriented legislation with me. That is definitely not Zoabi. I believe in coexistence and fighting against those who harm it and I think that Zoabi's words and actions hurt coexistence. People hear her and think all Arabs must hate us and want to kill us. That is unhealthy, and we have to put an end to it."[citation needed]
Edelstein criticized2020 US presidential candidateBernie Sanders for saying thatUS military aid to Israel should instead be diverted toward assistance to Palestinians in theHamas-runGaza Strip. Edelstein said that Sanders should "stop talking nonsense," reported Allison Kaplan Sommer forHaaretz.[39]
In July 2014,Israeli military police visited theSde Teiman detention camp to detain nine Israeli soldiers suspected of abusing aPalestinian prisoner. Edelman condemned the situation, tellingHaaretz, "It is unacceptable for masked military police to raid an IDF base… Our soldiers are not criminals, and this despicable pursuit of our fighters cannot be tolerated."[40]
After leaving Alon Shvut, Edelstein moved toNeve Daniel, another settlement in the West Bank. He was married to Tatiana (Tanya) Edelstein, who was a Zionist activist, for 33 years. They met in the Soviet Union when she attended a Hebrew class he was teaching. After immigrating to Israel, she worked as a civil engineer at theCivil Aviation Authority. Tanya and Yuli Edelstein had two children together. In 2014, Tanya died of cancer at the age of 63.[41]
In June 2016, Edelstein marriedIrina Nevzlin, daughter of Russian-Israeli billionaireLeonid Nevzlin, Chair of the Board of Directors ofAnu - Museum of the Jewish People[1], and President of theNADAV Foundation.
I continued with my course on civil engineering and construction during the day, and from 1980 onward, I studied Hebrew with Yuli Edelstein in the evening, behind closed doors.
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| Preceded by | Speaker of the Knesset 2013–2020 | Next: Benny Gantz |
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