obituaries
Obituaries from page 57
MARSHA
ZUCKER,
71, of
Huntington
Woods, died
July 25, 2011.
She is
survived by
Marsha
her husband,
Zucker
Leonard
Zucker; sons and daughters-in-
law, Arnold and Joanna Zucker
of Cincinnati, Ohio, Frank and
Michelle Zucker of Bettendorf,
Iowa; grandchildren, Benjamin,
Claire, Sarah, Peter and Allison
Zucker.
Interment at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may
be made to National Council of
Jewish Women, 26400 Lahser
Road, Suite #306, Southfield,
MI 48033, www.ncjwgds.org ;
or Common Ground Sanctuary,
1410 South Telegraph Road,
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302,
www.commongroundhelps.org.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
First Lady, Freedom Fighter
JTA
S
hulamit Shamir, the wife of former
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir and a one-time fighter in
the pre-state underground group Lehi, died
July 29, 2011, at age 88 in her Tel Aviv home.
Mrs. Shamir was eulogized by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the open-
ing moments of the weekly cabinet session
on Sunday.
"Shulamit was a woman of principles —
an idealist — who stood at her husband's
side throughout his life," Netanyahu said.
"She was a member of the Lehi; she fought
for Israel's freedom. She was always faithful
to the principles of the Jewish people and
the Land of Israel."
Shulamit Shamir was born Sarikah Levi
in Sofia, Bulgaria, to a traditional Sephardi
family. She became a Zionist in her grandfa-
ther's home, attended a Hebrew elementary
school and a Bulgarian gymnasium and
joined a Betar youth club. She left school
in the eighth grade and immigrated to pre-
state Palestine "illegally, on a rickety boat"
in 1941 with fellow Betar members and was
promptly arrested by the British and held in
the Atlit prison camp.
A year later, upon her release from prison,
she joined the Lehi underground group
and became a message runner for Yitzhak
Shamir, who was code-named Michael at
the time. The small militant band had some
168 women in its ranks, about 20 percent of
its total. Her tasks included transferring the
orders for an escape from a detention camp
to 20 Lehi members imprisoned there and
accompanying Eliyahu Bet-Zuri to Cairo,
where his mission, unknown to her, was to
assassinate Lord Moyne, British minister of
state for the Middle East. Moyne was killed on
Nov. 6, 1944, by Bet-Zuri and Eliyahu Hakim,
who were executed for the crime.
When Shulamit married Shamir in 1944,
the two broke an unwritten rule that activists
in the underground group would not marry.
"We had a lot in common, and I just fell in
love with her," Shamir said in a 1993 inter-
view. "I was the first to demand not to live
a monastic life, and I argued that it was a
normal life that would increase our strength.
I demanded to marry."
After their first son Yair was born in 1945,
Prime Minister Yitzhak and Shulamit
Shamir
Shulamit went back into political activities,
was arrested by the British in 1947 and went
on a hunger strike for 11 days.
After Yitzhak Shamir became prime min-
ister of Israel in 1983, Shulamit Shamir did
volunteer work on behalf of the poor and
needy and established an organization for
the elderly poor. She visited her homeland
of Bulgaria in 1991 as wife of Israel's prime
minister and received an award for her
active role in renewing relations between
Israel and Bulgaria.
Yitzhak Shamir, 95, lives in a nursing
home in Tel Aviv. Two children, five grand-
children and six great-grandchildren also
survive Shulamit. 1 1
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EASIER AND CLOSER FOR YOU
Because The Ira Kaufman Chapel has been in the same place
for so many years, we are asked if we plan to stay.
.•■
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er
:
4.eas•
Rk
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The answer: "We're focused on improving, not moving."
While we are closer to the "Old Neighborhood" the facts
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a.
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4-a
1'4,4-
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show we are more convenient for the entire community.
We did the math. Looking at the 10 most commonly used
Jewish cemeteries in the Metro area, we are twice as close
than another chapel often described as "convenient." On
average, we are just six miles away.
ThE
Our Chapel is also easily accessible from all major freeways,
with ample parking, as well as five entrances and exits.
Understanding that location is important, we maintain one
aft
that continues to meet this community's needs.
THE IRA KAUFMAN CHAPEL
Bringing 'together Family, Faith E Community
18325 W. 9 Mile Rd Southfield, Ml 48075 • 248.569.0020 • I•aKaufrnan.com
58
August 4 • 2011
Obituaries
i RA
LIMAN
pEi INC.