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'Mail Asaf A Stone'
Father seeks worldwide memorial
for son slain by suicide bomber.
Asaf Zur
THE MERLE AND SHIRLEY HARRIS
BIRTHING CENTER AT
HURON VALLEY-SINAI HOSPITAL
Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
A
saf Zur, a bright, athletic,
full-of-life teen who felt
immune to harm, boarded
Bus 37 in Haifa on his way home from
school on March 3, 2003, and never
arrived. A Palestinian suicide bomber
detonated himself on the bus, killing
Asaf and 16 other passengers.
Yossi and Leah Zur remember
their almost-l7-year-old son as a free
spirit, someone who heard the call of
the sea and surfed whenever he could,
a lover of friends, loud music and
chocolate. They and their other sons,
Arik, 23, and Almog, 10, frequently
visit Asaf's grave, with its customized
tombstone that looks like a surfboard
skimming just atop the ocean's waves.
And, according to Jewish custom,
they place a stone on his grave each
time. Yossi began bringing stones
back from work trips abroad, and
from family trips within Israel as a
gesture of figuratively taking Asaf
along, too. Then he hatched an idea
to mark what would be Asaf's 21st
birthday this coming April 27.
"I thought to ask people to send me
stones since obviously I couldn't go to
every country in the world:' he said by
e-mail from Israel.
So he started an e-mail campaign,
"Mail Asaf a Stone," asking people
from around the world to send him
stones of all shapes and sizes to be
placed on Asaf's gravesite. He cre-
ated a Web site, too, with photos and
personal information about Asaf,
and with links to newspaper stories
Asaf's gravesite
about the bus bombing and other acts
of terrorism, and a place to post the
poignant messages sent with those
stones.
Since launching the campaign on
Jan. 3, Yossi has received stones from
33 countries and letters from 17
countries. That's a running total of
168 letters and 215 stones.
"Asaf may not be able to go and
travel the world [as he would have
after military service], so this way
I will bring the world to him for his
21st birthday," Yossi said. "I hope I will
get thousands of stones. Depending
on the amount, they will either go on
the tombstone in a nice big glass jar
or maybe I will even create from them
a monument. I haven't really thought
it out. I am still at the start.
"I will decide according to the
number. I hope, however, that I will
get many from many cities and coun-
tries:'
To participate, Yossi asks that you
pick a stone from where you live or a
favorite place you've traveled, tell him
where it comes from and add a letter,
if you like. Send the envelope to Yossi
Zur, POB 7895, Haifa 31078, Israel.
Check for updates on the memorial
campaign by going to
www.blondi.co.ilistone.htm.
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February 15 • 2007
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