May God bless you and your...
zichrono livracha
Yitzak and Aviya Greenberg
December 14, 2010 | Twinsburg, OH
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Obituary
JERUSALEM (AP) — Dov Shilansky, a former Israeli parliament speaker and advocate for memorializing the victims of the Nazi Holocaust of World War II, died Thursday, a parliament official said. He was 86.
Shilansky died at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, parliament spokesman Giora Pordes told The Associated Press.
The diminutive politician with an unruly thatch of white hair was known for his hard-line political views alongside an easygoing manner and ready smile.
From 1988 to 1992, Shilansky served as speaker of the parliament. In 1993, he was the Likud candidate for the ceremonial post of president, losing an election in the parliament to Ezer Weizman, a popular ex-air force commander.
Possibly his longest-lasting legacy is a ceremony that has become part of Israel's observance of an annual memorial day for the 6 million Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Concerned that the huge number was incomprehensible, in 1989 he got fellow lawmakers to stand at a podium in the parliament building and read names of victims.
The custom, known as "Every Person Has a Name," quickly spread to public squares all over Israel. After retiring from politics, Shilansky served on the board of Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial authority.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a political ally, said that with Shilansky's passing, Israel lost one of its most dedicated and exemplary leaders.
"The story of his life is the story of our people," he said Thursday.
Born in Lithuania, Shilansky immigrated to Israel in 1948 after years of activism in a hard-line Jewish movement. He was a lawyer by training and was first elected to parliament for the hawkish Likud Party in 1977. Later he was appointed a deputy minister in Prime Minister Menachem Begin's government.
Before arriving in Israel, he was a commander in the Jewish underground movement Etzel in Germany and Italy. He arrived in Israel aboard the Altalena, a ship carrying tons of arms illegally to the Etzel militia. Etzel, also known as Irgun, was headed by Begin in Israel. It was disbanded when the state of Israel was set up.
Shilansky fought in the war that followed Israel's creation in 1948-49. In 1952, Shilansky was arrested for carrying explosives into the Foreign Ministry building in Tel Aviv to try to disrupt Israeli-German negotiations for a reparations agreement after the Holocaust. That reflected extreme displeasure of his and Begin's Herut party, an outgrowth of Etzel, to any dealings with Germany.
Shilansky was sentenced to two years in prison.
Shilansky is survived by two children, according to Pordes. Another son died in 1974 while serving in the Israeli army.
His funeral is scheduled for Friday in Tel Aviv.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press
Guest Book
My condolences to his family and friends. Thank you , Sir, for making sure the lost were no longer "lost"...personally I would like to see a traveling memorial in the same vein in the United States. No generation should EVER be allowed to forget or lose perspective. RIP to a good man.
Tami Bramblett
December 14, 2010 | Independence, MO
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My deepest condolences to you all for your precious loss. When tragedy happens the pain, the grief, and the feelings of helplessness can be unbearable. But, it's times like this we need to go to God's Word for Comfort, Hope & Strength. Isaiah 41:13
Denisha
December 13, 2010 | DE
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May the God of all comfort, comfort the family and friends of Dov Shilansky. Psalm 34:18 assures us that the God of all comfort is near those broken at heart and crushed in spirit he saves.
Tom Smith
December 13, 2010 | MD
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You represented life's and freedom's commitment to a people who continue to struggel to survive in a world who hates them, Sir. To your family, i send my deepest and heartfelt condolences. Your name is remembered with respect, admiration and much love. I stand with your people. Donna Bergeron
December 13, 2010
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May your name Dov Shilansky be remembered for the world to know what the people of Israel suffered and continues to suffer. Why? Because you are Gods chosen to light the world to truth. God bless and keep you ,his family, in His love and care. I never knew you until today . But I want to thank you for my childrens childrens sake.Warner Robins, GA
December 12, 2010
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Dov visting my father, his first cousin, Barney Mark for hos 90th Birthday
Altho he was older than i.. my cousin Dov always made time for me.. He called me his little Dove" He however shared the same goals.. of making peace;; but not at the price of the destruction of the Jewish people. He personally experienced every trauma that Jews have had to endure. One of the real heroes of our generation. A hero willing to sacrifice his life,his liberty. his comfort. but never his belief in the right to a safe homeland for the Jewish people.
Roslyn Diamond
December 11, 2010 | Baltimore, MD
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May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief.
Dolon Peete
December 11, 2010 | Burlington, NC
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We are the grateful recipients of all that Dov Shilansky did for the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and we can especially appreciate all he has done as we are also descended from Lithuanian Jews who suffered but miraculously survived the Holocaust to go on to serve in the Bricha and to build the State of Israel.
An American Jewish Family in CT
December 11, 2010
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