President Bush Honors Heroic Slain Professor

At a memorial service at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, in observance of the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust, President George W. Bush honored the heroism of Professor Liviu Librescu, who was slain while saving his students during the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech. As reported by YNetnews.com, the President said:

"That day we saw horror, but we also saw quiet acts of courage. We saw this courage in a teacher named Liviu Librescu. With the gunman set to enter his class, this brave professor blocked the door with his body while his students fled to safety. On the Day of Remembrance, this Holocaust survivor gave his own life so that others may live. And this morning we honor his memory and we take strength from his example."

The President also spoke of the need to counter the threat to Israel's existence posed by Iran's quest for nuclear weapons:

"'You who have found refuge in a Jewish homeland,' President Bush continued to say, 'This is a place devoted to memory. Inside this building are etched the words of the prophet Isaiah: You are my witness. As part of this witness, these walls show how one of the world's most advanced nations embraced a policy aimed at the annihilation of the Jewish people.'

"Turning his attention to the Iranian nuclear threat, the American president said, 'You who bear the tattoos of death camps hear the leader of Iran declare that the Holocaust is a myth. You who have found refuge in a Jewish homeland know that tyrants and terrorists have vowed to wipe it from the map. And you who have survived evil know that the only way to defeat it is to look it in the face and not back down.'”

There has never been a better friend in the White House to the Jewish people and to the State of Israel than President George W. Bush. It pains me that this fact is not recognized and acknowledged by more American Jews.