As the Righteous Among the Nations grow older, we at ATZUM are mournfully attending more funerals of these heroic individuals. The funerals, often unattended by non-family members, are a last chance to honor the individual and try to bring comfort and support to their families.
In March ATZUM staff attended two funerals. The funerals were entirely different but during both we parted from remarkable women, brought to rest in a special plot for Righteous Among the Nations and their spouses in Tel-Aviv’s Kiryat Shaul Cemetery.
The first funeral was of Shura Gordon z”l, the Jewish spouse of rescuer Valentin Avdenko, from Holon. Shura was an amazing woman, always with a big smile and much warmth. Her funeral was attended by a small group of family. As the majority of the family does not speak Hebrew, Raya Luvitch, ATZUM’s Russian-speaking staff member, was able to translate and help with the arrangements concerning for the funeral. Raya also gave the only eulogy at the funeral, speaking of Shura’s great capacities for warmth, giving and love.
The second funeral, a few days later, was that of Righteous Among the Nations Irena Landau (nee’ Jankiewicz). During the War, Irena, then a young Polish woman of 22, left her parents and siblings and shaped her life around saving Jews. She got a job in a beer factory, making sure her income could support the group of Jews she was helping. After work, at night, she would sneak into the forest with food and other necessities for the Jews under her care, a group that grew rapidly after news of her actions spread. One of these Jews was Jozef Czarny who eventually reached Irena’s care after escaping from Treblinka (Czarny was to become a lead witness in the Demjanjuk trials). During the winters, Irena would find hiding places in different areas, often paying people to shelter the Jews. She would smuggle her people to the hiding places one at a time, under great danger, managing to save a 15 Jews.
Rabbi Levi Lauer, Founding Executive Director of ATZUM, officiated at the funeral. It was very important to the family Irena be buried in a Jewish ceremony, as she cast her lot with the Jewish people not only during the war but throughout her life. Irena married Aharon Landau, one of the Jews she rescued and had three children together. Together with Aharon’s son from his first marriage, whom Irena saved as well (Aharon’s first wife and one of his two sons were killed during the war), the Landau family realized their dream of moving to Israel in 1957.
In addition to the eulogies by family members and ATZUM staff honoring Irena’s heroic actions, love for her husband and modesty, a daughter of one of Irena’s survivors spoke as well. How moving it was to see the people who are alive, whose children are alive, due to the actions of Irena Landau z”l.
ATZUM is deeply saddened by the death of Ivan Vranetic, 82 year old rescuer of Jews during the Holocaust who later moved to Israel and became chairman of the Organization of Righteous Among the Nations in Israel. His funeral was attended by family, friends, other rescuers and various public figures. ATZUM staff were in attendance and eulogized Ivan who we had worked closely with to bring aid to Righteous Among the Nations in need.
On the patio of Nagish Café, a blind man is drinking coffee with a friend who has arrived in an electric wheelchair. Inside, I’m having lunch with the Righteous Among the Nations, a group of women who all risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. We’re in Ramat Yishai, a small town in the Jezreel Valley, emerald green this winter from abundant rain.
Miri Furstenberg, 61, lives in Rishon Lezion and is the widowed mother of two and grandmother of four. She is a survivor of the Ma’ale Akrabim massacre, an attack on a bus that killed eleven passengers including her entire family.
Miri grew up an orphan on a kibbutz, without rehabilitation, her experience typical of many terror survivors from Israel’s early years when the State was ill-equipped to address their needs. Despite Miri’s traumatic, emotionally disadvantaged childhood, she worked hard to rebuild her life, raised and supported two children. In addition to now working long hours as a taxi driver for some of Israel’s most prominent professionals, Miri volunteers helping poverty stricken families as well as mentally retarded adults.
David Ben-Elisha (from the Sharabi martial center) won a silver medal at the first world championship in Taekwondo which took place in Azerbaijan on June 10, 2009. Ben-Elisha participated in a competition for handicapped. Ben-Elisha, 43, was critically injured in a terror attack in Tel Aviv in 2003. As a result his arm was amputated. Since the terror attack, Ben-Elisha began practicing Taekwondo and became a successful athlete. He was sent to this unique competition by his well known personal karate trainer, David Sharabi.
A righteous gentile was added to the honored list of Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem last week. The righteous rescuer, Feodor Mikhailchenko, was posthumously honored for saving the young life of the past chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. Rabbi Lau was a young child when he was separated from his family and incarcerated in Nazi Germany’s Buchenwald concentration camp.
Mikhailichenko’s daughters attended the ceremony at Yad Vashem last week that honored their late father as a Righteous Among the Nations. Rav Lau was emotional when he spoke about the person who saved his life. Pointing to his son and grandchild, Rabbi Lau stated that neither would be here today if not for Mikhailichenko.
