For Fred and Kim Goldman, the rituals of Judaism
haven't taken away the pain of mourning their
murdered son and brother, Ron Goldman.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

K

im Goldman and her broth-
er Ron both got the same
present from their grand-
parents to mark their b'nai
mitzvah, a "Chai" pendant. Al-
though both symbolized the He-
brew word for life, Ms. Goldman
liked her brother's version better.
"Ron's was so much cooler than
mine," she said.
When Ron was no longer in-
terested in wearing the necklace,
he gave it to his sister to wear.
And she did for years.
She finally removed the jewel-
ry to wear another of Ron's neck-
laces, one he wore before he was
stabbed to death in June 1994.
The pendant on the necklace, an
ankh, is the Egyptian symbol of
eternal life.
The irony was not lost on the
Goldmans as they made their fi-
nal stop on a whirlwind press tour
for the promotion of their recent-
ly completed book, His Name Is
Ron: Our Search for Justice. The

book documents their experience
from the time they were told of
Ron's murder to the time the ver-
dict was read in the civil trial more
than 21/2 years later.
Ron was murdered with Nicole
Brown Simpson outside Ms.
Simpson's condominium in the
Brentwood section of Los Angeles
on June 12, 1994. O.J. Simpson,
Nicole's ex-husband, was acquit-
ted on criminal murder charges
but was found to be responsible
for the murders in a civil trial that
wrapped up last month. The Gold-
mans were awarded millions of
dollars for their loss.
Prior to a press conference and
book signing Tuesday afternoon
at Borders Books and Music in
Farmington Hills, the Goldmans
reflected on the changes in their
lives since Ron's murder.
The Goldrrians, Conservative
Jews from Los Angeles, found sup-
port from clergy and friends im-
mediately after Ron's death as

criminal trial, the family began to
receive threatening letters, some
signed "Dr. Mengele," a reference
to the Nazi party member re-
sponsible for sending thousands
of Jews to their deaths.
But that was not the end for the
family. The Goldmans continued
to be the target of anti-Semitic
taunts up until the end of the civ-
il trial.
"At the civil trial, people were
calling us kikes and gold diggers,"
Ms. Goldman said, noting that the

press in LA generally ignored the
taunts to which the Goldmans
were subjected. "Two years were
spent talking about the 'N-word,'
but when it came to anti-Semi-
tism, it didn't seem important to
them.
"Even though I don't have a real
strong faith, belief in God or in re-
ligion, I still call myself Jewish and
I believe in the traditions and the
morals. That was the way I was
raised," she added. "I was horri-

GOLDMAN page 18

PHOTOS BY DANI EL LIPPITT

Remembering Ron

their home became the site of a
quasi-shiva.
"I don't consider myself reli-
gious," Mr. Goldman said. "[But]
I think religion has gotten a little
more important for me as I have
gotten older."
But Ms. Goldman no longer be-
lieves in the existence of God. In
fact, she finds it difficult to walk
into a temple or synagogue since
her brother died.
"I am not and have never been
religious," she said. 'The only rea-
son I go to temple is
because my dad
wants me to go."
Noting that her
brother was more
connected to his Ju-
daism than she is,
Ms. Goldman said,
"It is hard for me to
go [to religious ser-
vices], first, because
I don't believe in it.
And second, be-
cause my other half
is not there."
However, she
found it difficult to
ignore her religion
as the prosecution
for the murders be-
gan. During the

Kim Goldman wears a
pin with her brother's
likeness as well as
his necklace.

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