zbalansowany
27.09.05, 02:52
Nie zebym przepadal za zycia za tym panem, ale postawa izraelczykow jest dla
mnie mowiac delikatnie niezrozumiala
Nazi-hunter Wiesenthal laid to rest; Israeli dignitaries' absence prominent
By Yuval Azoulay
Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to tracking
down Nazi war criminals, was buried in Herzliya early Friday afternoon.
No cabinet ministers attended the funeral, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
stayed away due to security concerns. Only Deputy Minister Michael Melchior
represented the government at the funeral.
The Italian and Austrian ambassadors, a representative of the German
government, the deputy president of the Russian parliament and a host of
foreign dignitaries came to pay their last respects to Wiesenthal, who died
in his sleep last Tuesday in Vienna at the age of 96.
Herzliya Mayor Yael German did not hide her chagrin at the absence of almost
any Israeli dignitaries at the funeral. Wiesenthal's daughter, Paulina
Kriesberg, lives in Herzliya.
"I think the state president and prime minister should have been here. I'm
surprised they're not," said German.
Jewish Agency chair Ze'ev Bielsky and former Knesset speaker Shevach Weiss
expressed astonishment that no minister saw fit to pay last respects to the
man who brought about the capture of numerous Nazis.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los
Angeles, said in his eulogy that on Wiesenthal's death last week the Los
Angeles Times dedicated five pages to him. "He did not merely bring the
perpetrators of the greatest crime against humanity to justice. Those who
fled from the law are waiting to this day for the knock on the door," he said.
Hundreds crowded in the funeral hall of the cemetery. Among them was Tuvia
Friedman, 85, who spent his life tracking down Nazis, often with
Wiesenthal. "We worked together for 60 years and exposed thousands of Nazi
murderers," he said.
Melchior said he had been asked to represent the government. "[Wiesenthal]
acted in the name of justice. Even criminals who were not caught knew there
is a Wiesenthal looking for them hour by hour, day after day," Melchior said.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Wiesenthal Center, said, "After
the War when everyone else went to open a new page, Wiesenthal was left
behind to remember." According to Hier, Wiesenthal "was the victims'
permanent representative."
Wiesenthal's body was flown to Israel on Thursday. His daughter and grandson
live in Herzliya.
