His father, a successful businessman, and close associate of the Radomsker Rebbe, moved to pre-war Palestine.
He helped to find Jews and rebuild Jewish life in Poland towards the end of the communist era, partnering with Ronald S. Lauder.
In addition to his work to restore Jewish communal life, he also helped restore many Jewish holy sites in Poland, negotiating with the Polish government on preserving the legacy of Polish Jewry before the war.
His two other children are Mrs. Debbie Rosenberg of London, England and Rabbi Naftali Besser of Brooklyn, New York.
In 1992, Besser sent Bookstein to Poland to work at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation Summer Camp with Rabbi Schudrich.