obituaries
Obituaries from page 52
Yitzhak Shamir from page 48
DR. JACQUES ROSENFELD, of
Bloomfield Hills, died June 25,
2012. He was a radiologist in
Southfield.
Dr. Rosenfeld is survived by
his wife, Masal "Toni" Rosenfeld;
sons and daughter-in-law, Dr.
Joel Rosenfeld and his wife, Amy,
Rosenfeld
of Bloomfield Hills, and David
Rosenfeld of Bloomfield Hills;
daughters, Dianne Rosenfeld
of Miami Beach, Fla., and Dr.
Suzanne Rosenfeld of Paris,
France; grandchildren Raquel,
Zachary, Daniel, Adam and Max
Rosenfeld; sister and brother-
in-law, Judy and Dr. Marvin
Skolnick; many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and
friends.
Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park.
Contributions may be made to Hebrew University
Hadassah Medical School, P.O. Box 12271,
Jerusalem, 91120 Israel. Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.
ALMA TOWER RUBIN, 92, of Huntington Woods,
died June 28, 2012.
She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law,
Steve and Carol Tower of Novi, Jay and Karen Tower of
Huntington Woods; grandchildren, Heather (Adam)
Hermes, Adam (Tara) Tower, Stephanie Tower; great-
grandchildren, Mailee, Keaton, Ben; many loving
nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.
Mrs. Rubin was the beloved wife of the late Harry
Tower and the late Louis Rubin; the mother of the
late Donna Tower.
Contributions may be made to UNICEF or to a
charity of one's choice. Interment took place at the
Beth Abraham Cemetery in Ferndale. Arrangements
by Dorfman Chapel.
SALLY "SARA" SCHIFF, 83, of Huntington Woods,
died June 26, 2012.
A database administrator for GM, Mrs. Schiff
was active with Ameinu (formerly known as Labor
Zionist of America) and was a volunteer with Meals
on Wheels.
She is survived by her husband of 63 years,
Bernard Schiff; sons, Benjamin Ben-Boruch of
Ashland, Ore., Nathan Schiff of West Bloomfield, Dr.
Joel Joseph of Guam; daughters and sons-in-law,
Aviva and Mark Phillips of Oak Park, Shira Schiff
and Tih Penfil; grandchildren, Segev and Courtney
Phillips, Roey Phillips, Idan Phillips, K'tanaw Schiff,
Jacob Schiff, Benjamin Schiff; great-grandson, Ezra
Phillips.
Contributions may be made to Habonim Dror,
114 W. 26th St., Suite 1004, New York, NY 10001;
Camp Tavor, 59884 Arthur L. Jones Road, Three
Rivers, MI 49093; or Ameinu. Interment was at Adat
Shalom Memorial Park in Livonia. Arrangements by
Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
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54 July 5 • 2012
Obituaries
Unexpected Prime Minister
On Sept. 1, 1983, Shamir won Herut's nomination for the premiership
to replace Begin, who had suddenly decided to resign after claiming
exhaustion. It was expected that he would continue Begin's way.
After the deadlocked 1984 election, Shamir and Peres agreed on a
joint Labor-Likud coalition government, both alternating as prime and
foreign ministers. Thus, first as the alternate prime minister from 1986
to 1988 and then re-elected as prime minister in 1988, Shamir reached
the peak of his career. He continued to discuss various possibilities for
the re-convening of the Geneva Peace Conference with the U.S., but,
at the same time, offered a consistent support for Jewish settlement
"everywhere in the Land of Israel."
In his capacity as the sole prime minister from 1988 onward, Shamir
revised his own version of the Camp David text, so that it could serve
as a basis for talks with the Americans. In return for the U.S. secretary
of state's virtual freeze on the general international Arab-Israeli peace
conference, Shamir appeared to be ready to negotiate some changes
in the Camp David text as the Arab parties would propose. In 1991,
Shamir was all for the renewed Geneva peace conference.
During the Gulf war of 1992, Shamir refrained to retaliate against
Iraq, which had sent Scud missiles against Israel, and later admitted
that this one of the most difficult decisions he had ever to make. Had
he entered the war, he explained, this could have destroyed the U.S.-led
coalition and led to a Middle East war, perhaps even a world war.
"A leader has to lead his people" and bear full responsibility for his
actions:' he believed.
At the time of the 1992 elections Shamir apparently underestimated
Rabin's popularity, and Rabin's electoral victory ended Shamir's rule
and led him into a peaceful retirement. ❑