January 23, 2003

Zhirinovsky kept out
of Yisrael B'Aliya rally

By The Jerusalem Post Staff

Yisrael B'Aliya activists prevented Deputy Speaker of the Russian Parliament Vladimir Zhirinovsky from entering a party rally Wednesday night in Ashdod.

The ultra-nationalist Russian politician arrived in Israel on Monday as the guest the Advancement for Liberal Democracy Party, a small Russian party.

The Ashdod-based party's activists accompanied Zhirinovsky to the rally, where he demanded to debate party leader Construction and Housing Minister Natan Sharansky.

When he was prevented him from entering, Zhirinovsky shouted some insults at Sharansky.

In response, Sharansky said: "I am sorry I wasn't able to prevent Zhirinovsky from entering Israel, but I succeeded in keeping him from entering the party gathering."

Earlier in the day, Zhirinovsky visited Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Zhirinovsky is known for anti-Semitic comments, a friendship with Iraq's Saddam Hussein, and outlandish antics.

A Foreign Ministry official said the ministry decided to grant him a visa after concluding the harm of denying him one would be worse then letting him in.

The official said denying entry to him would have created a diplomatic incident with the Duma, something which Israel wanted to avoid.

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