Coincidentally, our meeting took place on the anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin according to the Hebrew calendar. Eskin had just come out of the Russian-language Channel 9 studio where he'd taken part in a special broadcast to mark the date.
The subject was what life in Israel would be like if the prime minister had not been murdered. Eskin's answer was blunt: In the wake of the assassination, the country is a lot better off. When asked if he was sorry for the pulsa dinura ceremony a pseudo-kabbalistic ritual in which a death spell is cast which he had organized earlier against Rabin, he immediately responded, "Only that I didn't do it sooner.
Eskin was confident and arrogant. That's a total victory. Only 7 percent were opposed, the rest were undecided. A production staffer's comments that the vote did not truly represent the views of the entire public, and that "this broadcast slot is known for its fascist viewing audience" did not dampen Eskin's euphoria.
The name Avigdor Eskin first became known to the Israeli public in the late s when he was a key activist in the Kach movement, and one of the closest supporters of its leader, Rabbi Meir Kahane. The movement's archive contains photos of the two of them and advertisements published in newspapers, in which the public was invited to come listen to their views.
After a year of joint activity, disagreements arose between Eskin and Kahane, however. People who belonged to Kach then say Eskin tried to promote a more elitist line and to use the movement's racist ideology to appeal to more educated populations, whereas Kahane preferred the support of the masses.
I thought the reality was a lot more complex Eskin thus left the movement, but says he remained in contact with Kahane and continued to assist him. Eskin subsequently dallied with a few fleeting right-wing movements, until he retired, temporarily, from political activity in the mids. He began studying philosophy and political science at the Open University, and worked as a journalist and editor in the Russian-language press.
One interview he conducted left a big impression on him: a minute conversation with Yitzhak Rabin in the late s. I asked him about the Altalena [refering to the sinking of an Irgun underground weapons ship in by Israel's nascent government]: 'Did you regret that you killed people? But I do not rejoice at all in an enemy's death. Subsequently, Eskin began to earn a livelihood, which he still does today, from forging business ties in Russia for Western companies.
His name returned to the headlines in when he sought to disrupt a ceremony at Yad Vashem commemorating gay and lesbian Holocaust victims. A year later, he gained notoriety for his protests against the Oslo Accords, which peaked with the pulsa dinura ceremony he organized against Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a month before the assassination - an event of which he is still proud. Beforehand, Eskin approached Yossi Dayan, a former Kach activist who now calls himself a rabbi.
Dayan, who came up with the text of the prayer and took part in the ceremony, recalls events differently. According to him, "The public ceremony that was held was not the real one.
The ceremony organized with Eskin, he says, was intended merely for public consumption, while "the real one was held a day earlier in the presence of about 20 rabbis in Safed.
Eskin claims the pulsa dinura ceremony was held with the involvement and blessing of one of the country's major rabbis, whom he refuses to name: "Without the approval of rabbis at these levels, we wouldn't have performed it. I also don't think Yigal Amir would have gone ahead with the assassination if he didn't have rabbinical backing.
Asked if he really believes in the curse, Eskin says: "Look, the fact is that it worked: We halted the Oslo process and that's what matters. It could have been a destructive process that would have brought ruin upon the Jewish people. The assassination was a one-time event in history. It mustn't be repeated.
On the personal level, of course, I feel compassion for people like Dalia Rabin. When I see her on television, I identify with the pain she feels as someone who lost her father. It's a natural human emotion. In summary, today, Eskin has one message: "We won. Eskin says that while he never met Amir before the assassination, he has subsequently become one of the people closest to him and his wife, Larisa Trimbobler, and their families.
Eskin adds that the Shin Bet security service has prohibited him from speaking directly with the Amir brothers, Yigal and Hagai, for the past six years, but before that they were in almost daily contact. Since Rabin's assassination, Eskin's name has found its way into the headlines numerous times, primarily in the wake of provocations he committed as a far-right activist. In he was convicted for his part in a conspiracy to set fire to a branch of the Dor Shalom peace movement in Jerusalem, and for planning to place a pig's head on a tombstone in a Muslim cemetery in Nesher.
Eskin was sentenced to two and half years in prison, and at the recommendation of the Shin Bet, was not allowed an early release. After his release, Eskin tried to maintain a low profile.
His current activities are international in scope. By combining ideology and business interests, he is making inroads into far-right movements throughout the world. He tends to disregard the anti-Semitic background of these movements, and finds that he and they have much in common. He feels he is building up a global front against "the real threats" to humanity and civilization. And these movements, for their part, are always glad to have the support of a "nationalist" Jew like him, since legitimation is also the name of the game on that side of the political map.
Three weeks ago, Eskin returned from a day trip to South Africa, to lend his support to the segregationist Afrikaner organizations calling for the establishment of a whites-only state.
Eskin's visit received relatively minimal media coverage, but much interest on local and international websites associated with right-wing organizations. It's not every day that a skullcap-wearing, right-wing Israeli activist who calls himself a Zionist comes out in support of Afrikaner Boers. On forums that reported on the visit, a wide range of opinions were expressed: Some praised Eskin and called upon Afrikaners to learn a lesson about how to treat the blacks from his activities and Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
Others insisted that "one shouldn't listen to a word that comes out of the mouth of this Antichrist. Many credited him with the "success" of the pulsa dinura ceremony. In Eskin called for the Russian intervention in Ukraine during the Euromaidan revolution, and attempted to rally Knesset's support for it.
Since the start of the War In Donbass he was a staunch supporter of the separatists. Personal life Eskin is married with seven children. He lives in Jerusalem but spends part of his time in Russia, and works as a consultant for Israeli companies doing business in Russia.
Biography Lists News Also Viewed. Avigdor Eskin. The basics. Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription. Two Jewish extremists held Sat, Dec 27, , Most Viewed. Watch More Videos. He emigrated to Israel in January at the age of Years later, Eskins mother and sisters immigrated to Israel.
In Israel, Eskin did military service in the Israel Defense Forces as part of the Hesder program, which combines regular military service with religious studies. Eskin was a founder of Israeli New Right movement together with the former MK Michael Kleiner and was behind the alliance between the Israeli right and American conservatives, led by senator Jesse Helms. Additionally, he organised the arms supply to the anti-communist guerrillas in Nicaragua.
The most controversial of his activities was his support of the White regime in South Africa due to its staunch anti-communist politics, until its collapse in the early s. For this, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, until 20 February In May , Eskin won a slander case that he filed against Barry Chamish.
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