Yuli Yoel Edelstein
Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset
Yuli Yoel Edelstein is currently the Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset, the Parliament of Israel, having previously served as the Speaker of the Knesset in the years 2013-19 (19th, 20th, and 21st Knessets). In the parliament, he is a member of Yisrael Be'Aliyah, Likud, Likud - Yisrael Beitenu, and Likud - National Liberal Movement groups. Born in 1958 in Chernovitz, Ukraine (then former USSR), he was a Prisoner of Zion and a “refusenik.” He finally immigrated to Israel in 1987 where he graduated from the Mandel Leadership Institute. Mr Edelstein was one of the founders and leaders of Yisrael ba-Aliya political party. In 2003, he, together with other members of Yisrael ba-Aliya, merged with the Likud and soon became one of its leaders. In his career, Mr Edelstein served as Vice President of the Zionist Forum, Minister of Immigration and Absorption, and Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs.
Updated: April 19, 2024