Yuli-Yoel Edelstein
| Yuli-Yoel Edelstein | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Date of birth | 5 August 1958 |
| Place of birth | Chernivtsi, Soviet Union |
| Year of aliyah | 1987 |
| Knessets | 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
| Faction represented in Knesset | |
| 1996–2003 | Yisrael BaAliyah |
| 2003–2006 | Likud |
| 2007– | Likud |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 1996–1999 | Minister of Immigrant Absorption |
| 2009–2013 | Minister of Information & Diaspora |
| Other roles | |
| 2013– | Speaker of the Knesset |
Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (Hebrew: יולי-יואל אדלשטיין, Russian: Ю́лий Ю́рьевич Эдельште́йн, Ukrainian: Ю́лий Ю́рійович Едельште́йн, born 5 August 1958) is an Israeli politician. One of the most prominent refuseniks in the Soviet Union, he has been Speaker of the Knesset since 2013.
Yuli Edelstein was born in Chernivtsi in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine) to a Jewish family. His mother, Anita Edelstein was Jewish, while his father, Yuri Edelstein, is the son of a Jewish father and Christian mother. Both converted to Christianity, and Yuri is now a Russian Orthodox priest in Karabanovo of Kostroma Oblast named Father Georgy. While his parents taught at universities in the countryside, Edelstein was raised by his maternal grandparents. His grandfather had taught himself Hebrew at the age of 70 and used to listen to the Voice of Israel on a shortwave radio. When Edelstein's grandfather died, Yuli began to study Hebrew and read books such as Exodus by Leon Uris, which inspired him.
In 1977, during his second year of university, Edelstein applied for an exit visa to immigrate to Israel. Turned down, he began to associate with a small group of Hebrew teachers who held classes in their apartments.
In 1979, he was expelled from the university and suffered harassment by the KGB and local police. During this time, he found odd jobs as a street cleaner, security guard, and more.
In 1984, he and other Hebrew teachers were arrested on fabricated charges, Edelstein himself being charged with possession of drugs, and sentenced to three years. He was then sent to Siberian gulags and did hard labor, first in Buryatia and then in Novosibirsk. He broke several bones after falling from a construction tower. He was due to be transferred back to Buryatia, but his wife, Tanya, threatened to go on hunger strike if he was returned there.
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