MK Yuri Shtern 1949-2007: ICEJ Tribute

A selfless champion of deepening Jewish-Christian ties

By Rev. Malcolm Hedding

16 Jan 2007

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved friend Dr. Yuri Shtern, Member of Knesset and chairman of the Knesset Christian Allies' Caucus. In our hearts, he will always be remembered as a gentle, selfless champion of the historic deepening of Christian-Jewish relations in our time.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has been closely acquainted with Dr. Shtern for over two decades, and thus came to appreciate his genuine openness to Christians long before he realized his vision of creating a forum in the Israeli parliament to engage with the Christian world.

Yuri possessed a rare combination of graciousness, honesty, intellect and foresight that uniquely qualified him to be a leading pioneer of this new era of warmer relations between Israel and her Christian admirers worldwide. 

Despite his protracted battle with cancer, Yuri continued to tirelessly work on Israel's behalf to strengthen ties with Christians without any thought for himself. His persistence and sacrifice were truly inspiring, as was his ability to identify and address the most daunting challenges of our day.

Though we share Yuri's trust in Providence, we cannot help but sense that we lost him before his time. It is our duty and privilege to build on his noble legacy.

Rev Hedding serves as the Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem

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