Special Report

Holocaust Suvivor Slain

Israeli professor died a hero, saving his
students during Virginia Tech massacre.

Haviv Rettig

Keep your feet where they belong.

in Russia as a child and saved by the
townspeople. His father was deported
by the Nazis.
Blacksburg, Va.
As a scientist working under
Nicolae Ceaucescu's oppressive regime,
s Jews worldwide observed
Librescu was forbidden to have any
Yom HaShoah on Monday in contact with sources outside Romania.
memory of those who were
He defied the ban, continuing to pub-
murdered in the Holocaust, a 76-year-
lish scientific articles secretly.
old survivor sacrificed his
His Zionist affinities even-
life to save his students
tually caused him to be forced
in Monday's shooting
out of his job. A source at the
at Virginia Polytechnic
Israeli Embassy in Washington
Institute. The massacre
confirmed that Librescu, a
left 33 dead, including the
noted research scientist, had
shooter, and more than
been prevented from emigrat-
two dozen wounded.
ing by Romania's communist
Professor Liviu
Liviu Librescu
government. An appeal from
Librescu, 76, threw him-
Prime Minister Menachem
self in front of the shooter
Begin to Romania's president
when the man attempted to enter his
paved the way for Librescu and his
classroom in Norris Hall. The Israeli
wife, Marlena, to move to Israel.
professor in the Engineering Science
In 1978, the Librescus emigrated
and Mechanics Department was shot
from Romania to Israel, where they
to death, "but all the students lived
raised two sons. In 1986, the family
— because of him," Virginia Tech
moved to Virginia for Librescu's sab-
student Asael Arad, also an Israeli, told batical. While they only planned to
Army Radio.
stay in the United States a year, but
Several of Librescu's other students
have lived there ever since.
sent e-mails to his wife, Marlena, tell-
Librescu's second son, Arie, told the
ing of how he blocked the gunman's
Jerusalem Post that his father had
way and saved their lives, said
served as an "ambassador" for Israel
Librescu's son, Joe.
in a community with many Muslim
"My father blocked the doorway
residents, but few Israelis.
with his body and asked the stu-
The Foreign Ministry has taken
dents to flee Joe Librescu said in a
charge of flying Librescu's body back
telephone interview from his home
to Israel.
outside of Tel Aviv. "Students started
Meanwhile, police on Tuesday after-
opening windows and jumping out."
noon identified the gunman as Cho
Librescu was respected in his field,
Seung-Hui, 23, a South Korean citizen
his son said. "His work was his life in a who was studying legally in the United
sense said Joe. "That was a good place States as an English major at Virginia
for him to practice his research."
Tech.
Librescu was sent to a labor camp
JTA contributed to this report.

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April 19 2007

314

Monday's massacre, the largest
in American history on a college
campus, occurred at a school with
a small Jewish student population:
1,400 in a total of 29,000, accord-
ing to Hillel: The Foundation for
Jewish Campus Life.
As of Tuesday morning, the only
report of Jewish students among
the dead or wounded was one who

broke his ankle leaping to safety
through a second-floor window. He
is in the hospital.
Sue Kurtz, the Hillel director on
campus, held a meeting with Jewish
students Monday night.
"The only possible response
to a horror of this scale," Hillel
President Wayne Firestone said,
"is to remember the victims of this
tragedy with love, to use their lives
as an example for our own, and to
continue to pursue a better world in
their memory."