A Man of Gold Who Built an Iron Wall of Virtues

Over 300 people packed the large auditorium of Tel Aviv’s Bet Sokolov for an evening seminar in memory of Eri Jabotinsky on the 40th anniversary of his death. The event was a cooperative undertaking by the Jabotinsky Institute, the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, and the Jabotinsky and Rubin families. The emotional evening, “Days of a Different Politics,” was capped with absorbing, poignant speeches and personal anecdotes about Eri Jabotinsky shared for the first time.

The evening’s speeches and stories conjured the image of a singular man, who was only 59 years old at his death. A special commemorative publication, A Time for National Reckoning , was created for the memorial event, featuring three articles by Eri Jabotinsky as well a detailed biography of his life. The publication was distributed to the audience at Bet Sokolov.

The evening opened with greetings by Moshe Fuksman-Sha'al, Deputy Director of the Begin Center, who lauded the cooperative efforts between the Jabotinsky Institute and the Center in organizing the memorial evening. Fuksman-Sha’al told how his own grandfather had immigrated to Israel on the ship Ben Hecht, one of the ma’apilim (illegal immigration) vessels organized by Eri on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. To inspire confidence among the 600 passengers due to set sail on that frigid cold winter day, Eri Jabotinsky had given a fiery speech, ending with his distributing chocolate to the child travelers.

Director General of the Institute Yossi Ahimeir, who moderated the evening, spoke of the special relationship that prevailed between Ze’ev and Eri Jabotinsky, who was not just “the son of.” Eri served as the Netziv Betar in Eretz Yisrael, stood among the organizers of the Af Al Pi illegal immigration by sea, was a pioneer of Hebrew aviation, a prisoner of Zion, a brilliant mathematician, a founding member of the Knesset, a mediator, a politician of a special breed, and an individualist who captivated all those he encountered.
The elder Jabotinsky followed his son’s accomplishments with honor and love, although disagreements along the lines of religion and tradition did break out between the two from time to time. “He is gold, he is my pride and my pillar,” wrote Jabotinsky in 1936 to his wife Johanna of their only son.

Dr. Karni Jabotinsky-Rubin, Eri’s eldest daughter, said, “I do not wish to eulogize my father, for he hated eulogies and the words ‘of blessed memory’ (zichrono l’vracha). Instead, I want to speak of his life.” She then kept her audience spellbound with anecdotes recalled from her childhood, depicting a man with an extraordinary sense of humor who loved to laugh and could instantly relate to strangers. “My father defined himself as a politician who makes a living from mathematics,” she shared. “He used to say that he slid out of Herut and the Knesset on a political banana peel and never found his way back. When asked how it was possible that all his students loved him, he answered, ‘I relate to each and every one of them as a potential voter.’”

The next speaker was Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Eri’s younger son. He too shared personal recollections with the audience and spoke of his father’s knack for quickly connecting with people. “These connections transcended all political camps in the nation.” He also recalled his father’s efforts in the development of Israeli aviation, saying, “When I completed the IDF pilot’s course, this marked a personal closure of my own

Professor Moshe Arens, a personal friend of Eri from the Technion and from the United States, noted in his remarks, “Eri was a Betarist, and in my opinion, above all, he was a symbol. In the Betar branch in the United States where I was a member, we had difficulties explaining the concept hadar. When I met Eri, I said, ‘this is hadar.’” Arens also spoke of how Eri and his family welcomed and assisted him when he first made aliyah to Israel.

Dr. Becky Kook of Ben Gurion University of the Negev is the daughter of Eri’s close friend, the late Hillel Kook (Peter Bergson). She spoke at length of the remarkable friendship between her father and Eri Jabotinsky, of their joint efforts in the United States for the “Committee of National Liberation,” and in the first Knesset, where they resigned from their faction, the Herut Movement. “In a certain sense, the story of Eri’s life is the story of my father’s life as well,” she reflected.

Orientalist Professor Yehoshua Porat spoke of different realms of Eri Jabotinsky’s life. Beginning with Eri’s predilection to raise pandemonium in the Knesset on a range of subjects, Professor Porat focused on Jabotinsky’s adolescent years in Paris and the sources from which he drew his stance on such subjects as religion and zealotry, culminating in Eri’s ongoing, dogged attempts to reform the electoral system in Israel.

The closing speech was presented by Dr. Yaacov Hisdai, who discussed Eri Jabotinsky’s proposal to change the electoral system by designating 80 electoral districts, aspiring to reach a situation where one large governing party is posed against one large opposition party. Thus stability would be maintained within Israeli government.