2 Southeastern Virginia Jewish News
Ten bombing victims buried
By Tovah Lazaroff involved." Another said, "She Rosh Pina.
always helped all of us." Meital Katav, 20, of Haifa,
(c) 2003 The Jerusalem Post Meir Fishbein, who heads the was released from her army ser-
student union in Tal's school, in vice on the Lebanese border
Ortal kissed her boyfriend, which both Arab and Jewish stu- about six weeks ago and had
Assaf Tzur (Zolinger), 17, good- dents study together, told Israel started working at a gas station.
bye and got off the No. 37 bus. Radio that ironically, Tal had Her aunt, Carmi, said, "She
Tzur was still on the bus three worked on a paper on coexis- was a sweet girl, she was always
stops later when it exploded on tence which she called "The happy. Yesterday at around 2
Sderot Moriah in the Carmel sec- Wheel of Fate." p.m. she called her sister Vered.
tion of Haifa, killing 15. Tzur Kerman was buried Thursday She told her she was leaving
was one of ten victims buried on in Haifa. She is survived by her work at 2:08. She got on the bus
Thursday, March 6. parents and a younger brother in and then the line was cut. They
Rivka Shatz, the principal at fifth grade, searched for her until midnight,
Hannah Szenes ORT School in SmadarFirstater, 17, of Haifa, when they got to Abu Kabir. It
Haifa said, "Assaf was a charm- dreamed of becoming an artist, hurts so much." "When Meital
ingboy, blond and popular, espe- An llth grade student at WIZO was at my. son's wedding," she
cially with the girls." His friend High School in Haifa, Smadar said, "she spole about how she
Yanai said that Assaf liked to ride was standing by the back door of imagines her own wedding. This
his skateboard and listen to the bus waiting to get off. Her is a bitter twist of fate for her and
music. "He was friends with parents heard the blast from their her whole family."
everyone." He was buried in home nearby. Carmi told Ynet, Yediot Aha-
Haifa. Her father Benny knew ranot's Web site, "The way it is
Elizabeta Katzman, 16, and immediately that it was a terror now, we send our children out
Tal Kerman, 17, both of Haifa, attack. But her mother Esther and we don't know if they will
had been hanging out together didn't believe it until she heard come back."
looking for costumes for a play he news on the car radio on her Her brother-in-law said that
and were on their way to Ker- way to work. Tears came to her Meital loved his small children
man's home. eyes, she turned to a friend in the and was very close to them.
Elizabeta's older sister, Mad- car and said, "My daughter just St.-Sgt. Eliahu Laham, 22,
ha: said: "I still can't'believe that flied." was killed while on the way to
Elizabeta isn't returning." Smadar has an older brother visit his grandfather in the hospi-
She said that Elizabeta's love in the army. She was buffed in tal. Eliahu, was due to be
of life lit up the whole house. Haifa. released in a month fromhis mil-
"We never talked about death. A music and special education itary service in Megiddo. He was
We never thought something like teacher, St.-Sgt. Be'eft Oved, 21, planning a post army-trip to
th" '
Is could happen, said Marina. was five months short of com- Thailand, over his parents'
family came to Israel 12 pleting his military service as an objections. They feared some-
years ago from the former Soviet artillery instructor. On leave thing would happen to him there.
Union. Elizabeta studied theater from the army for a week, he was According to his uncle, Eli
and sociology at the Leo Baeck on his way to visit his grandpar- Dinur, "His father told Eli, 'Do
High School in Haifa. She was ents. Upon hearing he never you want to give me a heart
buried in her home town on Fri- arrived, his family immediately attack?' Eli responded by saying,
day, March 7. looked for him in all the hospi- 'I can get hurt close to home,
For the last few weeks, Tal tals. too.' He didn't know then how
Kerman, 17, of Haifa, was busy The youngest of three sib- right he was."
piing the graduation celebra- lings, he grew up in Rosh Pina in Father and son were close.
ti for her class at Haifa's the Upper Galilee and completed His father went to all Eli's soccer
Municipal "Hei" High School. his high school studies in nearby games, Dinur said. Eliahu was
Tal wrote for the school paper Hatzor. His sister Limor said: buried Thursday night in Haifa.
and was about to be named edi- "Be'eft was generous, bashful, He is survived by his parents, a
tor. She also traveled to Boston and modest. His favorite hobby brother, and a sister.
with a delegation from her was computers." A friend said, Mark Takash, 54, a guard at
school. "He stood many times against Haifa University, was on his way
A friend said she was "always terrorists and now he has fallen to work. His brother-in-law,
cheerful and intense, always victim to that same terror." Ya'acov, said, "He always had a
wanting to do things and to be Oved was buffed Thursday in smile on his face. He was an
optimistic person who loved to
tell stories. People were drawn to
WINNER Of 17 VIRGINIA AND 24 NATIONAL PRESS AWARDS
him."
SOUTHIArlIRN VIRGINIA His former wife and son live
J,/SH NEWS buffedin the United States. Takash WasFriday in Haifa.
,,..-mb.,.,,..,......,, Daniel Haroush, 16, of Safed
IIN0ml ,Ima a lldoml.
","--,h,,.m,.b.*. was on his way back to school
''''€''" ""*"'' from a trip downtown to pick up
*'- .............................. v., j,w .......... : ............................. r,, forms for a driver's education
€,,lwa,, ............... vp.. u.z,,p ................................................. to, class. An llth grader at the mili-
...................... V Hal ........................... Book Review Editor
tuh, .............................. v- ,,,,¢tLsa .......... ,, tary academy affiliated with
Haifa's Reali High School, he
had free time because most of his
• .... r''e"v"'m*''a'',',,*e,*- • CONI[IIII ON PAGE 19
March 14, 2003
JCCSHR future home
Much has been (and will be) I practically grew up there and
said and written about the JCC- have many fond memories. But
SHR and the future home of the the Newport Avenue facility is
Jewish Community Campus. As aging and will need extensive
Jews, both affiliated and unafili- rehabilitation. While it is human
ated, we need to come together, nature to resist change, we should
behind our local leadership and truly embrace, it in this case for
the initiatives they are pursuing the sake of the overall Jewish
on our behalf, community.
I know everyone has his or her Just off Witchduck Road, the
own feeling about where this Jewisfi Community Campus i
wonderful community should be Virginia Beach will be just
heading. I respect those diverse beyond the Norfolk/Virgin!a
opinions; however, the fact is, Beach line. My family can t
this central site will serve the wait. Let s all get behind this
greatest numberofJews and will exciting, once in a lifetime
be good for this region, opportunity.
As a committed Jew, born and
raised in Norfolk, I enjoyed for Adam White,
many years the neighborhood Norfolk
conveniences of the current JCC.
Basketball at
Dear Editor:
Last Sunday, I attended a
junior basketball game at the JCC
in Norfolk. It was terrific. The
older team members watched the
ball with studied focus. The
Younger kids dribbled enthusias-
tically down the court and flung
the ball towards the backboard
certain it would find its way to
the net. Parents, grandparents,
siblings, extended family and
friends crowded the sidelines and
benches. As fun and exciting as
it was, I couldn't help but think
how this is all scheduled to end.
Many of these parents and
other spectators were there
because the JCC is just around
the comer. It's easy to make the
time and the trip when it's a mat-
ter of blocks, but harder when it's
miles. My fear is that these fam-
ilies will not make the commit-
ment to something like the JCC
league if there is not a local
branch. They may go to a school
or civic-based league, or even to
a Y. Those organizations certain-
ly do not prohibit games on Shab-
bat, and actually schedule most
of their activities for Saturdays.
The kids snacks are not kosher
and the sideline talk will rarely
drift to shul activities.
I am not trying to be "Chicken
Little.'" I simply think the lack of
convenient JCCs is going to pull
more families from an already
shrinking, involved Jewish popu-
lation. I also feel fr thcLViggilfit
Norfolk JCC
Beach population who dutifully
makes the Sunday trek. In a fis-
cally ideal world, we would have
two full-service JCCs. Instead, I
would like to see the JCC fund a
annex in Virginia Beach to bring
some activities to the area with"
out losing the Norfolk branch. If
the Virginia Beach JCC succeedS
then, perhaps, sometime in the
future it could expand. However,
closing the Norfolk JCC and
moving everything to Virginia
Beach would be disastrous. The
JCC has significant place within,
and therefore an obligation, to the
community it serves. AbandoO"
ing Norfolk completely would
mean a huge loss to that cornmU"
nity.
Nancy Metheny,
Norfolk
Candle Lighting
March 14/Adar II 10
Light candles at 5:51 p.m.
March 21/Adar II 17
Ught candles at 5:57 p.m.
March 28/Adar II 24
Light candles M: 6.03 p.m.
April 4/Nlmn 2
:,': candles 6.' p.m.
