On the 17th of May, the legendary Moscow restaurant "Yar" held a reception in honor of the Vice Prime Minister of the State of Israel Eli Yishai. The minister arrived in the Russian capital with an unofficial visit during the 63rd anniversary of the formation of the Jewish state and the 20th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Israel and Russia.
Eli Yishai visited Moscow to meet with the life of the Jewish community at the invitation of the charit fund GMR Planet of Hospitality. The main initiator of the visit was one of the founders of the fund, Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) Vice President Merab Elashvili.

The reception gathered around 200 guests – rabbis, diplomats, leaders of Jewish organizations, resprentatives of the business world. They included the Ambassdor Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Russian Federation Dorit Golander, the Head Rabbi of Russia, Deputy Chairman of the EAJC Rabbi Council Adolph Shaevich, FJC Head Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, EAJC Vice President Yuri Raskin and others. The program was prepared by the Jewish Celebtarion Agency, headed by EAJC Director's Council member Vladimir Fisherman. The evening was hosted by Keren Hayesod representative in Russia Roni Vinnikov.

EAJC Secretary General Professor Michael Chlenov greeted the Israeli Vice Premier on behalf of the Congress and its President Alexander Mashkevich, and presented him him with a memorial gift of a Fedoskin lacquer box with the depiction of a Jew praying at the Wailing Wall and the Congress' logo. The EAJC Secretary General noted: "Today the Jews and the Jewish religion have become an integral part of the multinational Russian society, of Russian culture. Many know of the influence of the great Russian culture on the works of the Jews, but one could also note the Jewish influence on traditional Russian culture. This Fedoskin lacquer box with a miniature that depicts a religious Jew is proof of that."

The evening's host, Merab Elashvili, underscored in his speech that "Twenty years ago it was hard to imagine that the Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs will come to Moscow. It was even harder to imagine that he would come at the invitation of the local Jewish community. Yet today it did happen. This is a sign of respect to our successes in the rebirth of Jewish life, and we value it highly. That the Vice Prime Minister of Israel responded to the invitation of our Jewish community shows just how highly he values the connection of the Jewish Diaspora of Russia to Israel."