Aharon Meskin

Aharon Meskin (22 March 1898 – 11 November 1974) was an Israeli actor born in Shumyachi in the Mogilev Governorate of the Russian Empire, to parents Moshe Meskin and Rashel Chasanov. His Broadway appearances spanned from 1926 to 1964, and he is credited among the notable performers of the Hebrew stage.

Following the Russian Revolution, Meskin served in the Red Army, rising to the rank of officer. In 1919, he was assigned responsibility for distributing food to residents of Moscow, a role that brought him into contact with members of the recently founded Habima Theatre. He joined the Habima company in 1922, making his first appearance with the troupe in S. Ansky's The Dybbuk. In 1928, he emigrated to Mandate Palestine.

Meskin's Broadway credits included starring in David's Crown and appearing in The Dybbuk, Children of the Shadows, and Gideon, among other productions. Across his career on the Hebrew stage, he took on a wide range of leading roles, among them Othello, the Golem, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, the black pastor Stephen Kumalo in Cry, The Beloved Country, and Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny. His final stage performance came in 1971, in Nisim Aloni's The Gypsies of Jaffa. In 1960, Meskin received the Israel Prize in theatre.

In his personal life, Meskin had two sons. His eldest, Amnon, pursued a career as an actor, while his younger son Yuval worked for Kol Yisrael.