Shlomo Nakdimon

Biography

Born in Haifa in 1936, Shlomo Nakdimon's father, Yitzhak Asher Kaminker, was a pioneer who immigrated to Israel from Eastern Galicia. In Israel, he was one of the founders of the Workers of Zion organization and held membership number 1. A street in Petah Tikva is named after him. During his military service in the Military Advocate General's Corps, Yitzhak Asher Kaminker served as an unofficial spokesperson for military tribunals.

Professional Career

After completing his military service, Nakdimon began writing for "Rimon," a magazine established by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), with the aim of exposing what was referred to as "the other world." Subsequently, he joined the newspaper "Herut," where he embarked on his professional career. In 1965, following the closure of "Herut," he moved to "Yedioth Ahronoth," where he initially covered labor issues and quickly transitioned into political reporting.

Nakdimon specialized in investigative journalism, focusing on the political and party arenas, as well as the decision-making processes within the government.

He was responsible for numerous scoops and exclusive interviews. Notable among his scoops were the revelation of Shalhevet Freier, the chairman of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission, and the publication of the secret protocols related to the dismissal of Levi Eshkol as Israel's Defense Minister.

He also uncovered Israel's assistance to the Kurds, the decision-making process leading up to the Yom Kippur War, the suicide of Minister Abraham Ofer, and an interview with the key figure behind Iraq's nuclear program, Haidar Hamid, in the United States.

During the "Lavon Affair" in 1961, Nakdimon hid in a Tel Aviv house, from which he reported on a pivotal meeting of the Mapai Central Committee. At this meeting, Pinhas Lavon was dismissed from his position as Secretary-General of the Histadrut Labor Federation. Nakdimon was charged with "unlawful entry into a closed hall," but he was acquitted as the court found "no case to answer."

From 1978 to 1980, during the negotiations for the peace agreement with Egypt, Nakdimon served as a communication advisor to Prime Minister Menachem Begin. He also officially visited Egypt as Begin's representative.

In 1983 and 1984, Nakdimon traveled to Hong Kong as part of his investigative work to interview Avraham Tehomi regarding the assassination of Jacob Israel de Haan, the first political assassination in Israel.

Book - De Haan: The First Political Assassination in Israel

Avraham Tehomi was the deputy commander of the "Haganah" branch in Jerusalem, one of the founders of the Haganah, and its first commander. He was involved in the assassination of the ultra-Orthodox leader Jacob Israel de Haan in 1924.

Tehomi spent his later years in Hong Kong. During interviews with Nakdimon, Tehomi did not explicitly admit to being the one who fired the fatal shot at de Haan, but he claimed personal responsibility for the assassination, considering it a national mission that had to be carried out.

According to Tehomi, the mission was assigned to him by Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the head of the Jewish National Council, Joseph HaCohen, the national commander of the Haganah, and Ze'ev Urieli, the commander of the Haganah branch in Jerusalem. In contrast, Nakdimon presented an authentic document signed by Tehomi in which he acknowledged his personal involvement in the assassination.

Personal Life

Shlomo Nakdimon is married to Zahava, a former prosecutor in the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office. They have two sons and are grandparents to four grandchildren. His son, attorney Yishai Nakdimon, serves as the legal advisor to a news company and previously held a brief tenure as a judge in the Ramle Magistrate's Court.