Ben-Zion Shkolnik, a brother of Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, arrived yesterday from Russia for a reunion visit with the Premier, after a separation of nearly 50 years.
The 57-year-old engineer, who lives with his family near Odessa, was visited by Mrs. Rachel Ben-Zvi, widow of Israel’s second President, when she was in Moscow last year. The brother expressed a desire to visit the Premier in Israel. After Mrs. Ben-Zvi returned to Israel and conveyed the message to the Premier, the brothers exchanged letters on the matter. A request was submitted to Soviet authorities for permission for the engineer to visit Israel.
The brothers had not seen each other since Mr. Eshkol came to Palestine nearly a half-decade ago. Two more of the Premier’s brothers live in Moscow. Mr. Eshkol Hebraized his name from Shkolnik when Israel achieved statehood, in a general custom followed by leaders in Israel.
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