May 1: Fine young people

Ruthie Blum Leibowitz's interview with Miki Goldwasser about her son, Udi, only brought us another example of the fine young men we have in this country.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Sir, - Ruthie Blum Leibowitz's interview with Miki Goldwasser about her son, Udi, only brought us another example of the fine young men we have in this country, as well as the devoted parents who raise them ("His mother, her son," UpFront, April 24). There isn't anyone, anywhere, who can dispute the quality of our young people, and Udi was certainly one of them. His life, and those of the thousands of others who have fallen in the line of duty for their country, are the reason why we dedicate so much to perpetuating their memories. No words will bring Udi back to life. But his memory will live on: in Miki's and his father Shlomo's minds and hearts, in the mind and heart of his widow, Karnit, and in the minds and hearts of many, many others. MAURICE PICOW Netanya Vital link Sir, - Barbara Sofer's "The origins of heroism" (UpFront, April 24) had me in tears. I suppose I always had a subconscious awareness of the link between the sadness of Holocaust Memorial Day and Israel's Remembrance day, but this year I felt it more deeply, and I think it is because of our relentless enemies and the way a distorting media worldwide has, over the years, affected international and public thinking. Times may have changed, but we Jews still have our virulent critics and enemies. I remember my Polish-born grandfather telling me at a very early age never to forget that the Poles were the worst anti-Semites. I knew that his father and family in Poland had been slaughtered, and accepted what he said. In 2004 I visited Auschwitz. As my feet touched Polish soil and throughout the daylong visit, his words stayed with me constantly. But there I was, proud to be a right-wing Israeli, with my head held high, free to come and go, free to light a memorial candle for family members who perished in the Holocaust. This may be thesmallest example of the big picture, but Ms. Sofer is so right - the bridge between Holocaust heroism and sabra heroism exists, and must never be broken. MARION STONE Modi'in Call us Judeans Sir, - Re David Herman's "Darknesss and light" (Upfront Letters, April 24): I also feel that the time has come for us to call ourselves Judeans rather than Jews - which often has a pejorative connotation. Especially now, with Yom Ha'atzmaut just ended, we should choose a name that fills us with pride, one that is linguistically more correct and true to our traditions, a name that rings with the many great accomplishments of our people through the ages. I am also familiar with the Jewish tradition of changing or adding to a name when someone is sick or suffering to help his recovery. Perhaps changing our name at this time from Jews to Judeans will help our people recover from centuries of persecution and humiliation as wandering Jews and reclaim our rightful and proud status as Judeans in our own Judean state. E. HAIMAN Jerusalem CORRECTION Because of a technical error, yesterday's paper carried two articles on pages 6 and 7 that had already appeared in the March 30 edition of the paper. We apologize for the confusion.