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July 02, 2006
"Inform the Jewish People That You in Israel Will Have No Problems.
Haaretz tells the riveting story of how Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the poster boy for anti-Semitism in his country, acknowledged his Jewish roots by discovering the grave of his father Wolf Eidelshtein -- in Israel. Zhirinovsky has long denied the rumors, but now he's talking about the truth and his feelings for Israel, in the article "The Jewish Side of the Family." With Zhirinovsky playing an increasingly larger role in the Russian Duma, those feelings matter.
Zhirinovsky, born in Alma-Ata, Khazakstan, last saw his father when he was only two months old.
"For my whole life I searched for my father," he says. "I didn't know what happened to him. I sent requests to the Red Cross, asking them to locate my father. I tried to look for him in Western Europe and I even contacted people in the United States. But in vain. The only place I didn't try, for some reason, was Israel."
Here's one of many eye-opening quotes in the story, from a master of the pithy quote:
"Inform the Jewish people that if I am elected president or if I am in the government, you in Israel will have no problems, not with Iran's nuclear program and not with the Hamas terrorists. I will know how to deal with them. After all, my father is buried here, in your soil."
If this story is accurate and Zhirinovsky gains more power, what might the implications be for Russia's relations with Israel and Arab states? How will Arab governments relate to an aggressive Russian leader who's proud of his Jewish roots? Might Zhirinovsky swing from being an anti-Semitic crank to a pro-Semitic crank?
I have no idea. But in the mean time, welcome to the tribe, tovarishch.
Van | 07/02/06 at 09:03 AM | Categories: - Good news from Israel
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Comments
This is a great read. I just spent some time blogging a link to the story thanks to your attention.
It's hard to think about a story such as Zhirinovsky's this morning when tensions are so high following threats from the Hamas groups holding Gilad Shalit.
Targeted killings seem to have become a trend for all quarters...Hariri, Zarqawy, attempts to take out Zawahiri, hundreds of Iraqi examples.
A shark like Shirinovsky could swim in those waters all day and never be intimidated. Your reflections about a "pro-Semitic crank" may be more pertinent than you might think.
Hootsbuddy ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.keshertalk.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| July 3, 2006 11:08 AM
I guess any good news is good news, but Zhirinovsky is such a loose cannon, that I wouldn't put too much faith in his assurances.
Also, I wonder if his father's hitherto unexplained absence was actually the inspiration for Zhirinovsky's anti-semitism, that the family denegrated Jews because Daddy Z was one and left the family behind in the USSR. Unbenknownst to him until he was in university, former Ontario premier Bob Rae had a Jewish grandfather (paternal), but the family used the grandmother's surname instead of Cohen because Cohen was a gambler who deserted his wife and three children.
Lynne | July 4, 2006 12:25 PM
