Openstein (Oppenstein) Shmerl (Schmerl) Izrailevich (12 January 1938, Riga) — musician.

Shmerl Openstein was the son of Israel Openstein (1912, Riga — 1970) and Melta Openstein (née Klopman) (1919, Cēsis). In 1941 Openstein was evacuated to the town of Sovetsk in Kirov Oblast. In 1943 he moved to Gorky Oblast, and in 1945 the family returned to Riga.

In 1956 he graduated from Riga Secondary School No. 15 and entered the Jelgava Music College, from which he was expelled in 1958. In 1959 and 1962 he worked as a musician in a restaurant in Sukhumi. In 1960–1961 he was a musician in the Variety Orchestra of the Riga Philharmonic. From 1963 onward, he worked as a musician with the Bureau of Variety Orchestras of Riga.

In 1971 Shmerl Openstein received permission to emigrate to Israel at the invitation of his mother’s sisters, Lina Likover (née Klopman) (1915, Cēsis) and Sara Kestenberg (née Klopman) (1922, Cēsis).

Family:

Israel Openstein (1912, Riga — 1970) — father
Melta Openstein (née Klopman) (1919, Cēsis) — mother
Herman Openstein (1947, Riga) — brother