Larisa Gershtein (Hebrew: לריסה גרשטיין, Russian: Герштейн, Лариса Иосифовна; 20 August 1951 – 9 December 2023) was a Soviet-born Israeli activist, singer and politician. She served as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003. She founded the Bulat Okudzhava Foundation in Israel and was Chairman of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy and Human Rights.
Larisa Gershtein | |
|---|---|
לריסה גרשטיין | |
 | |
| Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem | |
| In office 2 November 1993 – 16 February 2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 August 1951 Kirghiz SSR, USSR |
| Died | 9 December 2023 (aged 72) Israel |
Early life and education
editLarisa Gershtein was born on 20 August 1951. Her father was Joseph Abramovich Gershtein (11 March 1919, Kyiv – 15 December 2018, Jerusalem), a Kyrgyz Soviet documentary film director.[1][2] Her mother's family was exiled to the Kyrgyz SSR in 1940 from Western Ukraine. In 1952, the family moved to Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, and in 1961 to Leningrad.
Gershtein graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute, then repatriated to Israel with her parents in 1975.[3] For some time, she worked at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. In 1990, she married Eduard Kuznetsov. She worked with her husband at Radio Liberty.
Career
editGershtein served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem from December 1993 to February 2003. She adhered to right-wing political views and was opposed to compromise in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since the late 1970s she has performed songs by Bulat Okudzhava at concerts. In 1978, she made a tour of the United States. She performed songs in seven languages: Russian, Hebrew, English, Spanish, Yiddish, Judaeo-Spanish and Romani. She also translated Okudzhava's songs into Hebrew.[4][5]
Death
editGershtein died on 9 December 2023, at the age of 72.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Так говорит Юз Герштейн". csdfmuseum.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 December 2023.
- ^ "Прерванная песня Ларисы". isrageo.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023.
- ^ "Центральный совет евреев в Германии: С политической сцены на настоящие подмостки". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
- ^ "Лариса Герштейн - биография, дискография, интервью, статьи | Энциклопедия шансона". www.russhanson.org. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ RitaR (16 July 2019). "Проект Линия жизни представляет: Лариса Герштейн в программе «Две дороги…»". ISRAELI CULTURE (in Russian). Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ "В возрасте 72 лет умерла Лариса Герштейн". www.newsru.co.il.