Elazar Stern, MK

Member of Knesset (Yesh Atid), Retired IDF Major General

MK Elazar Stern enlisted in the IDF as a paratrooper, eventually becoming the reserve commander of the Paratroopers Brigade in 1991. Stern got involved with officer training and became the Head Youth and Education Officer of the IDF in 1999.

As a leader of Human Resources, Stern oversaw a program meant to convert non-Jewish IDF troops to Judaism. He also led the integration of “Hesder” units, homogeneous units of Orthodox male soldiers combining yeshiva studies with military service into mainstream units.

Stern served as Chairman of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel (2010-2013), and as Chairman of the Ethiopian National Project (2011-2012). In 2013, he was elected to the Knesset as part of Yesh Atid, and served on many committees and lobbies, including the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Special Committee for the Enforcement of the Security Service Law, the National-Civilian Service Law, Lobby of Religion and State, Lobby for Holocaust Survivors, and more. Stern is also the author of Struggling Over Israel’s Soul: An IDF General Speaks of His Controversial Moral Decisions (Gefen Publishing House, 2012).