Toby Axelrod writes in the 2002 American Jewish Year Book: Stein not only had the unenviable task of representing his country to one of its most important supporters during an exceptionally difficult time in Israel's history, but he also followed a very popular ambassador, Avi Primor, who, in pre-intifada days, often criticized his own government—in fluent German—and was a darling of the country's official, intellectual, and media circles.

[2] On 11 August 2002 he attended a memorial marking the 30th anniversary of the Munich massacre, where during the 1972 Summer Olympics Israeli athletes were held hostage by Black September, who eventually killed 11 of them.

[7] Previously, he was a senior analyst at the Centre for Political Research, and held a number of posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[8] In 2006 Stein called on the German government to stop Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from visiting the FIFA World Cup.

[13] He said in 2010 of the disparity between government support and popular criticism of Israel in Germany: "This worries me because in democracies, political parties seek public approval for their policies.