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'My son is no Nazi - he is a childish sort' By Moti Katz Tags: Russian, neo-Nazi, Israel "Perhaps it's a pity Dima wasn't in Russia and didn't personally experience what anti-Semitism is," says Alexei of his son, one of the minors arrested last week on suspicion of belonging to a neo-Nazi gang. "Only then would he have understood what his family went through, and, for sure, this would never have happened." Dima [the names have been changed for this article] is the only child of Alexei and Eva, who immigrated to Israel in 2000 from St. Petersburg, Russia. The parents refuse to believe their son is involved in the case. Earlier this month, eight suspects were arrested, including the suspected ringleader, Eli Boanitov, 19, of Petah Tikva, known as "Eli the Nazi." Last week indictments were brought against the eight suspects, charging them with membership in a neo-Nazi cell; assaulting foreign workers, homeless people and ultra-Orthodox Jews; and vandalizing synagogues in the Petah Tikva region. Advertisement After Dima's arrest, Alexei searched his son's room and found a contract he says was written "in very simple and poor Russian," which stated that group members pledge loyalty to the group. Anyone who quits the group or rats on its members "will find himself under the sand," the document said, which Alexei interpreted to mean that person would be killed. "The contract was unsigned," Alexei said. "I think Dima was afraid to leave the group, maybe he even received threats from them." Police found the explosive TNT at Dima's home, which the group allegedly planned to use as deterrence against a Petah Tikva punk gang. Alexei does not deny this: "My son liked pyrotechnics. The sack containing the material sat in the corner of the living room and we knew about it. Dima would make firecrackers for family birthdays and mess around with it. It wasn't a secret. I understood in court that 'Eli the Nazi' told him to help them scare the punks with the explosives, and that 'it'll be fun,' so my son agreed. He always agrees to help. But he certainly didn't intend to hurt anyone with this material." Dima's parents say they assimilated successfully after immigrating and feel Israeli. Alexei works as an engineer at a well-known company, and Eva has a private physiotherapy practice. Unlike many of the immigrants who came from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s under the Law of Return, both husband and wife are Jewish. Despite his solid middle-class upbringing, Dima ran into trouble. "He didn't get along so well at school," Alexei says. "There is such a phenomenon among new immigrants, who feel that Israeli society tramples them. That's how Dima felt." On the bright side, Dima turned out to be a gifted athlete who is considered a leading contender for Israel's Olympic delegation. "Despite all his suffering as a new immigrant, Dima felt like a Zionist and a patriot and wanted very much to enlist in the army," his father said. Eva hardly takes part in the conversation and cries throughout. Alexei pats her head and tries to calm her. "She took it very hard. She cannot believe what they're accusing her son of. She came to Israel because she is Jewish and now they're saying her son is a Nazi," he says. "I saw 'Eli the Nazi' in court. He had an evil look in his eyes, bad eyes. My son has good eyes, the eyes of a person who wouldn't harm anyone." The family of Andrei, the other minor arrested in the case, also has a hard time believing that he belonged to a neo-Nazi gang. The mother, Yekaterina, a well-groomed woman in her 50s, is accompanied by her elderly mother, Marina, a Holocaust survivor. Yekaterina recounts the family's difficult absorption process since moving to Israel from Ukraine. She is a physician by profession, but works as a caregiver at a nursing home because the state refuses to recognize her medical degree unless she takes exams for a new license. "We wanted to immigrate to Israel," she says, "and my husband, who is not Jewish, agreed to come with me. We wanted our children to receive a Jewish education. We were told that children have a future in this country. I knew there were wars here, I knew you have to send the children to the army, but I made a decision that my children would live some place where there is no anti-Semitism. We are used to being scarred emotionally. As Russians, we were taught our whole lives that the state and the party come first and only after that the person - the individual. In Ukraine they called us 'stinking Jews' and here they call us 'stinking Russians.' We constantly have to prove we're worth something." Andrei was 15 when they moved to Israel and had a hard time adjusting. "My son is not a Nazi," Yekaterina is convinced, "he is simply a childish sort." Bookmark to del.icio.us   In his father's memory Gilad Sharon's son plans to write his father's memoirs as he lies in a coma. Jammed FM Police close an English radio station which encourages Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.   1.   These Kids ARE Jews 21:36  |  E.L. 18/09/07   2.   Russians 22:30  |  Jeff 18/09/07   3.   Parents` view belies depth of the problem 22:36  |  Oleh 18/09/07   4.   These Kids ARE Israelis! 12:53  |  Alex 19/09/07   5.   Big deal, Mussolini`s mistress Margherita Sarfatti was Jewish 18:35  |  Jake 21/09/07   6.   Too long in focus 16:56  |  Alex 23/09/07   7.   They are not Jews 22:57  |  Ben Plonie 08/04/08

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