Yuli (Yoel) Edelstein

 
Graduate of Cohort 7, Jerusalem Fellows

Minister of Information and Diaspora, and Minister in Charge of the Israel Broadcasting Authority


Yuli Edelstein was born and educated in the Former Soviet Union. He received a degree in foreign languages from the Moscow Institute for Teacher Training. As a former Aliyah activist, Edelstein was involved in Zionist circles in Moscow, and taught Hebrew in the underground. He immigrated to Israel in 1987 after serving three years as a "prisoner of Zion".

Prior to his studies at the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows program he was Vice President of the Zionist Forum in Israel. After graduating Mandel he became involved in Israeli politics,and was a founding member of the Yisrael Be-Aliya party.

Since his election to the Knesset in 1996, Edelstein has served as Minister of Immigrant Absorption, the Deputy Chairman of the Knesset and as Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption.

Currently he is the Minister of Information and Diaspora and Minister in Charge of the Israel Broadcasting Authority. In this capacity he is responsible for promoting relations with Jewish communities around the world and is also responsible for the Government Press Office, the Israel Government Advertising Agency, and the Israel Government Information Center.