There was no love lost between members of Shoul Eisenberg’s family only a lot of bad blood. Eisenberg was a difficult, domineering man. But did he not know what would happen after his will was read? Did he not understand that all the hatred bottled up during his lifetime would burst forth after his death? Maybe he thought he would never die. And maybe this is exactly what he wanted.
Shoul Nehemia Eisenberg was a brilliant, clever genius. How could he not have known that the moment he signed his last will and testament, he would be directing the force of ill-will towards his only son Erwin. It couldn’t be that he hated Erwin that much. Perhaps he wanted to say: You want money? Take it and choke on it."
Maybe Eisenberg is sitting on high, laughing a bitter, cruel laugh. Or maybe, just maybe, he had other intentions and wrote otherwise? Another will? Perhaps this will is a forgery ("illegal" was the word used in the lawsuit). Perhaps he thought Erwin would continue looking out for mother, the girls and their children, acting only as a caretaker.
Did Shoul Eisenberg betray his family or is it Erwin who made the decision to read the map differently?
Ask Erwin What He Thinks
Outside of earshot, they call him the samurai. Controlled and hard, with one sweep of his sword he has cut off his mother and family. Did he hate his father so? Does he love his mother? Maybe he’s just misunderstood. Maybe he sees things another way.
His life has not been easy. His father named him his successor in business. The heir to an empire. His training was rough and cruel. His father did not believe in the easy life, did not believe that people who had it good were able to manage global commercial enterprises.
His supporters say he is a man of great analytical skill, quiet, a listener, who considers others opinions and in the end, makes the final decision in a quiet voice. He is quick to understand, quick to learn and quick to decide. He made the decision to lay-off Matti Morgenstern, former ZIM general manager, within 24 hours. Within a few hours he moved Moshe Arens from his post at ZIM. Two hours after learning of his father’s death, he was on the phone, telling those who needed to know he was exercising his option to acquire ICL shares from the State. The check was transferred while his father’s casket was being flown back from China to Israel.
At the shiva [seven days of mourning rite], the family sat in the living room of the big house. Erwin sat near his mother. His sisters sat at a slight distance. Esther Zochovitzky sat a bit farther away. Leah, the mother, seemed dependent on her son. Ask Erwin. Ask Erwin what he thinks.
At the end of the shiva period, immediately after reading the will from a xeroxed copy, the family was stunned to discover their mother had been left with the right to inhabit the house, plus $2 million to fund the rest of her life. Her driver was taken away, as were several watchmen, some of the best cooks. Quietly Erwin indicated: From now on you are completely dependent on me. Start begging.
Vulnerable and Dependent on Her Son
The daughter of a noble Japanese family, she was the bridge between Far East tradition over which the young, Jewish Eastern European emigree Shoul Nehemia trod. Her family opened the door for Eisenberg to enter Japan’s fatigued, collapsed post-War commercial scene. Her presence assisted him in being accepted by the Far East. She converted to Judaism for him, bore him five daughters and one son, supported him, raised the children to fear, worship and respect him.
In the end, he betrayed her. His will left her vulnerable and dependent on her son. Something terrible must happen for a mother to confront her son over money.
Five Daughters
Esther Zochvitzky, Liz Hardy, Edith Rosenfeld, Emily Forman and the late Elfrida Diamant. Upon her marriage, each daughter received a house, a place of residence. Liz and Esther in Kfar Shmaryahu. Elfrida in London and Savyon. Emily in London and Edith in Savyon and Jaffa.
As far as is known, each daughter received an identical monthly allowance of $25-30,000 to maintain their homes and families. Four of the daughters’ families - Diamant, Hardy, Rosenfeld and Forman - received 5% of their father estate each, out of a total $1.25 billion.
Elfrida: She Brought Yigal Diamant Into the Fold
Elfrida was married to Yigal Diamant. At a certain stage she decided to live without him. Her father was very angry, and maintained contact with his son-in-law, who continued to manage Eisenberg’s business interests in London. When she fell seriously ill, Yigal came home and cared for her until the end.
Yigal is the brother-in-law closest to Erwin, who does not keep contact with any other of his sisters’ husbands.
Liz: Held Back Her Anger
Liz married Doram Hardy, a self-made businessman. At a certain stage he integrated into the family network. She also tried her hand at business, buying and managing Eldan-Tech. Within a short time, the company was in the red.
Erwin requested the deal be terminated. His father supported the decision. Liz was angry but kept her feelings inside.
Edith Rosenfeld: Distanced from Family Matters
Edith detached herself from the family and its business affairs. She bought a studio in old Jaffa and is considered a very talented painter.
Edith has a quiet marriage with Meir Rosenfeld, who joined his father-in-laws business but also maintains a distance from the storms raging about him.
Emily: Contesting the Validity of the Will
Emily Forman, the youngest daughter, apparently has the greatest influence on her mother. She is the force behind moves to contest the validity of her father’s will. She sees - and has always seen - herself as capable of managing a business enterprise, something her father and brother would not let her do.
For many years, Emily lived in London with her husband, Horatio Forman. There are those who say that, at a certain point, her father gave in and acquired a London investment house for her but this is unclear. In any case, she feels capable of business management, and of representing her mother’s part in her father’s business affairs, if and when things are decided differently, and not according to the present, determining last will and testament.
Esther: The Will Was Written During Hard Times
The bitter conflict which erupted in the mid-80s between Shoul Eisenberg and his son-in-law Yonatan Zochovitzky, husband of his daughter Esther, started over Israel Corporation shares.
In those days, Zochovitzky and long-time friend Mickey Albin, handled the entire Eisenberg business network in Israel. Other family members, including the other sons-in-law and Erwin, lived abroad and did not touch the Israeli business. Should Eisenberg was also not in Israel at that time, and did not interfere.
In Israel of the late 1970s and early 80s, Mickey Albin was a golden boy in all ways. The two, generally through the Perion company, created a fantastic capital market bubble company which swept the country.
Years earlier, Shoul Eisenberg had been the first Jewish businessman to answer Pinchas Sapir’s call [for investment in Israel], putting the first of many millions in setting up Israel Corporation. The second investor was Baron Rothschild. Relations between the two were terrible. Each one saw himself as Lord of the Jews.
One day, in early 1982, after a long period of controlling a company which had more weight in terms of respect than money, the Baron, a London investor group and the late Yaakov Levinson - then the strongman of Bank Hapoalim and Israel’s economy - banded together and threw Eisenberg off Israel Corporation’s executive committee.
Hurt, Eisenberg ordered Zochovitzky and Albin to give up their share in Israel Corp, effective immediately. No one knows exactly what happened after that.
Apparently, while having notified Eisenberg the deed was done, the shares were actually transferred to a straw company, and controlled remained, essentially in Zochovitzky and Albin’s hands, waiting for what would happen next. Afterwards, the two would say they were preparing for a takeover opportunity, to wreak Eisenberg’s revenge on the Baron. But in the meantime, they needed money which they got from Mizrachi Bank.
Israel Corporation, still in shock over the conviction and the crimes perpetrated by its formerly powerful general manager the late Michael Zur, went public. One day, in November 1982, many people were surprised to see an ad in the morning papers, offering to buy shares in Israel Corp. The offer, underwritten by the Eisenberg group, in Israel and abroad, and other major companies of the day. The offer was far higher than the market price.
Eisenberg, apparently still knew nothing. He did not live in Israel and wasn’t really interested.
In order to buy the Israel Corp shares, they say, the two began selling off shares previously held by the group, into the market. But the market was already top heavy, the great free-fall already in sight.
A short-term long was taken from Bank Leumi, then at the height of the Ernst Japhet era. Financial pressures on the two continued to increase. They needed almost $60 million to buy 26.5% of the company.
In January 1983, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange crashed. The the bank share crisis of October 1983, was looming ahead and Japhet asked for his money back. The two went to Eisenberg, who met them in Paris. He requested a report and received something which did not have all the answers he wanted. Eisenberg was boiling mad, angry that they hadn’t listened to him, had lied to him, cheated him, upset at the millions he would now have to invest in order to save his Israeli base of operations.
This was the stage when trust broke down. Erwin Eisenberg and Yigal Diamant - who hitherto had not been involved in the Israeli business - were called to Israel. Shoul Eisenberg returned the money and invested a few more millions in acquiring additional shares.
And so, without meaning or wanting to, with an anger that did not abate until the day he died, Shoul Eisenberg took control of Israel Corporation.
Relations with Zochovitzky and Albin were maintained for a few months more. Israel was at the depths of a financial crisis, that included publicly traded shares and the banks. Shortly thereafter, Zochovitzky announced his resignation. Albin got something and left too. But a short while afterwards, Eisenberg began accusing the two of stealing from him. He raised suspicions that, within the framework of the many public share issues made in the 1970s and 80s, the pair had made a practice of reserving options for themselves, trading them and putting the money in their own pockets.
In 1985, a police complaint was filed by either Shoul Eisenberg or one of his sons-in-law. Mickey Albin was arrested and interrogated. One of the investigators was Reuven Covent, today head of investigations at the Securities Authority. At a certain point, tired and frightened, after many hours of interrogation, Albin was left alone in the room on the third floor of the Israel Police headquarters in Jaffa. A short while later, his body was found on a lower-story building ledge.
Yonatan Zochovitzky left Israel and settled in the US. He has not returned since. Shoul Eisenberg repeatedly put pressure on his daughter to leave her husband. She refused. In recent years, father and daughter grew closer to one another. He was still angry that she had chosen to live with her husband.
The disputed will, which divests Esther of her inheritance, was written in 1986, at the height of the dispute.
Linda Leong: Knows What She Shouldn’t
Linda Leong was the business assistant who accompanied Shoul Eisenberg during the last few years. She is either Austrian or German, a gentile, who knows all of the business’ points and mysteries.
As opposed to other managers within the Eisenberg system - whether family members or otherwise - Leong is the only one who really knows everything. Even things it would be better not to know.
She accompanied Eisenberg on all his business trips, including his last trip to China. He did not return, and she came back to Israel before his coffin arrived.
In the present internal family struggle, Linda Leong is on Erwin Eisenberg’s side.