Israel beytenu

"When you a close friend, we all even against our will start to bring up old memories - our shared path, our shared experiences. Fate did decree that in the 80's my path and Yuri's seemed to always go in parallel. Yuri, in my regard was and remains the last great romantic in Israeli politics. A man of many trades, a brilliant economist, who could have easily flourished in one of Israel's large firms and then flourished in Russia. Despite this Yuri chose the path of altruism. I don't know another politician who so emerged himself in helping all those who turned to him for help. He was always speaking on the phone, literally drove insane Israel's leaders, the ministers and the city mayors with caring for the fate of a single individual. He always chose the targets that seemed to me the most helpless and always would end with success. As a political romantic, Yuri chose for himself at the beginning of his career, the fight against the USSR that then seemed like an evil empire that no one could unhinge. For me Yuri wasn't only the romantic of Israeli politics, he was the knight of "aliyah". There isn't a single Olim organization, nor a wave of immigration or a single Oleh which doesn’t feel indebted to Yuri. There wasn't an initiative among the Olim, or an initiative for the Jews in the USSR that Yuri wasn't a definitive part of. As I've said Yuri was a man of many trades, and when I start to remember Yuri, immediately I remember, how having just revived a tempting offer from a large company in Israel, he decided instead to be the chairman and founder of the settlement in which I now live – Nokdim. He came to the barren desert, and founded an exemplary settlement. Afterwards when he started his quest for Russian Jewry, who would have imagined that those million Jews he spoke about in the early 80s would one day settle in Israel? He founded many organization, traveled the world, and with only one aim – Aliyah – let my people go! When I came to visit him on his deathbed, there was really only one topic that interested him "what is happening with the law for holocaust Survivors? What is happening with my law for social security? What is happening with the pensioners?" I believe that what he did in his final days – the law for the holocaust survivors – is an example of selflessness and altruism to the highest degree. Had he lived for his own interests his life in his perspective would have been different, but in our perspective our lives would have changed dramatically. Like I've stated, Yuri founded the settlement of Nokdim, he founded the "Yisrael Beytenu" movement – I remember all the doubts and fears that accompanied us, the small group of people and activists, when we contemplated whether to jump into the cold water of Israeli politics and to found our movement. The person who reassured us all and served as our glue – and so I will always remember him, with his smile, his optimism and his joy of life – was Yuri. "Guys, the important thing is not to fear, let us march and succeed." I think that if someone truly founded the Yisrael Beytenu movement, if someone really translated the social activity for the olim and turned it into a political movement, it was Yuri.Today it is hard to talk of him in a past tense, to speak of a friend who is no longer with us. It is hard to properly estimate his contribution to all of his causes – and there were many! He championed the environmental cause with his law regarding antennas; He cared for the private workers and the unemployed with pension laws. It is hard to properly comprehend his achievements, but for me, and I wish to address his family, Yuri truly was a regular in my home, knew his political home, and my home is your home. Never hesitate to call, for Yuri was one of us, and will remain so forever. May his memory be blessed...

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