KADDISHEL
A Life Reborn
M y family, my children, and my grandchildren have been the most wonderful and important part of my life. The next two greatest events of my lifetime were witnessing the creation of the State of Israel and the liberation of the Jews of Russia. Being fortunate enough to see these events was worth all the suffering I have endured. A great injustice was done to us, but what can we do about it? God works in mysterious ways. Perhaps this was the price we had to pay for the Jewish state. During the Holocaust, I learned the art of survival and experi- enced firsthand the vulnerability of the Jewish people. I believe that Jews are basically good, straightforward people who do not harm anyone, and I have always wondered why some people do not like us. I am a proud Jew. I am happy to be Jewish. From early in my life, I have believed that the Jewish people must make every effort to have an independent homeland of their own — and that it was my responsibility to help it become a reality. I think we are a wonderful people. We work, we earn a living, we are charitable, and we help others. We do not bother other peo- ple. Perhaps others have been jealous of our accomplishments and resent that we believe in our God so deeply that we resist attempts to convert us to Christianity. When I was approached, several years ago, to videotape an interview for the Shoah Foundation, I was just beginning to feel comfortable talking about my past. I hesitated to do the interview because I knew it would be very stressful. However, despite the pain of recalling details, I believed that I had an obligation to leave testimony for future generations. What happened to our people
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