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. Jerusalem Post A ecco4 Golf In Comfort JiAtminutes Milli the bitkideil 1:626 Ottawa street; Wiinclsor eatiada 8775- 4 - . FREED-SaLeo .t:org Mon, Tues. Wed 9:30 am-6:00 pm • Thurs & Fri 9:30 am-9:00 pm Sat 9:00 am-6:00 pm • Sun 12 noon-4 pm dt...1 so DOWN detail `07 Cadillac Escalade '360 Mo. Lease 24 er mo 3.6L V6, Moonroof, Bose Premium Sound, Luxury Package V-8, Heated Seats, Chrome Wheels. Stk. #‘7914 39 Mo. Lease '3% mo . 39 Mo. Lease 3.6L V6. AWD, `07 Cadillac CTS Campus' Jewish Connection New York/JTA fir LIBERTY. ANDEL PURSUIT. Mon. & Thurs. til 9; Tues., Wed., Fri. til 6 OPEN SAT. 10 am - 4 pm 7100 Orchard Lake Rd. West Bloomfield 48322 248-851-7200 www.audettecadillac.com 5 YEAR POINERTRAIN 2007 models. Whichever comes first See dealer for details. "Plus tax, title and license. Must qualify for A, B. C Tier Credit. CTS 5955 due, STS S991 due, Escalade S1190 due. All leases 10K miles per year. Must qualify for GMS. Pictures may not represent actual vehicles. Expires 4/30/07. 6 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."