The trans activist at the center of controversy after assaulting English women’s rights advocate Kellie-Jay Keen in Auckland, New Zealand, is a representative for the United Nations who was invited to speak at the UN on International Women’s Day, March 8, a revelation that is now beginning to circulate on social media.
Eliana Rubashkyn, also known as Eliana Golberstein and Eliana Rubinstein, is a male who identifies as transgender and intersex, and uses “they/them” pronouns. Rubashkyn is originally Jewish-Ukrainian from Colombia, but currently lives in New Zealand. He has worked with the UN and as a Program Officer at ILGA World (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association).
Rubashkyn boasted about assaulting women’s rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen on March 25 during what was supposed to be a peaceful women’s rights demonstration. Keen, also known by her moniker Posie Parker, had arranged for a speaking tour of New Zealand centered around giving women the platform to express their thoughts on gender ideology. But Keen was forced to cut the tour short after being met with extreme aggression at her first stop in Auckland.
As Keen stood in the rotunda at Albert Park in central Auckland, where the event was scheduled to be held, a mob of trans activists broke through the barriers. With no police in sight, Keen began to express concern about the safety of herself and her supporters as she streamed live on YouTube.
Among the hoard of trans activists was Rubashkyn, who had managed to get inside the bandstand by lying about his identity. As Keen approached, he then dumped a liter of tomato juice onto her and her security. Videos of the incident have since circulated on social media, and Rubashkyn told a local news station that he was able to approach Keen because he lied about his identity, and “they were not thinking that I am a trans person, because I’m intersex and trans but they can’t tell.”
In a statement on the act, Rubashkyn claimed that he targeted Keen because “her words are blood because they are killing our people.” He continued: “That tomato juice represents the blood of the people she is trying to kill.”
The last murder of a transgender person in New Zealand was in 2018. Zenith Campbell was murdered by Paddy Woods, his long-time boyfriend. Since Campbell’s death, however, two transgender New Zealanders have been charged with violent crimes — one of whom tortured a young girl to death.
On social media, Rubashkyn boasted of the attack on Keen, leading many women’s rights advocates to hone in on his Twitter feed.
The images of Rubashkyn at the United Nations were first revealed by women’s rights advocates, and then quickly shared by popular detransitioner Oli London,.
While many were shocked by Rubashkyn’s presence at the United Nations on International Women’s Day, his connections with the intergovernmental organization date back years.
While a student studying at the Taipei Medical University in September of 2013, Rubashkyn visited Hong Kong to update his passport. He had begun taking estrogen the year prior and wanted to update his photograph, but the Colombian consulate in Hong Kong was the closest place he could do it.
After arriving in Hong Kong, Rubashkyn claims he was subjected to mistreatment by the Hong Kong border authorities, and contacted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees through Amnesty International. The High Commissioner provided Rubashkyn protection under the stipulation he surrender his passport, at which point he was allowed to enter the country.
Without a passport, Rubashkyn became a stateless person, and was effectively stuck in Hong Kong for several months where he faced deportation back to Colombia. While in Hong Kong, Rubashkyn fought to have his legal gender marker changed to “female” in contravention of Hong Kong law, which stipulated that a person must go through genital alteration prior to being legally recognized as the opposite sex. In April of 2014, with the assistance of the United Nations, he became the first transgender person to be recognized as his self-declared “gender” in Hong Kong despite not having undergone any surgeries.
By late 2014, Rubashkyn had been moved to New Zealand where he then fought for refugee status and was granted asylum in May of 2014. The next year, he paid for his Israeli boyfriend to meet him in Auckland where the two married while Rubashkyn studied at a local university.
According to his LinkedIn, Rubashkyn currently works as a pharmacist, and he is also a Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Officer with the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association via the United Nations.
It is currently unclear what actions, if any, will be taken against Rubashkyn for his attack on Kellie-Jay Keen during the March 25 demonstration. According to the New Zealand Crimes Act 1961, Rubashkyn may have committed assault when he threw tomato juice on Keen and her security guard. The legal definition of assault is very broad in New Zealand, covering any situation where an individual directly or indirectly applies force against another person’s body. Community Law New Zealand notes that this “includes when you do this indirectly – by throwing something for example.”
But despite Rubashkyn admitting to the act, the Prime Minister of New Zealand has refused to state whether any assaults committed during the Let Women Speak demonstration will be properly investigated by police.
During a press conference today, The Platform reporter Sean Plunket asked PM Chris Hipkins if he could give “general assurance” that justice would be pursued.
“Those are matters for the commissioner of police,” Hipkins responded curtly, re-stating the line when pressed further.
