A letter from Jerusalem

I received this deeply moving e-mail from Arnold Roth in Jerusalem. His 15-year-old daughter, Malki, was murdered in the Sbarro restaurant bombing last year.

Dear Stefan:

I wanted to convey to you just how important and worthwhile your translation of the Die Zeit article [Arafat Bombs, Europe Pays] is. Though I live in Jerusalem, or perhaps because I do, getting personally involved in the endless debate over the Middle East conflict seemed to me to be a diversion from the real challenges in life. The murder of my beloved daughter Malki last August (see www.kerenmalki.org ) pretty much changed that outlook forever. These days, I look for every opportunity to convey the sense of outrage and horror that Israelis -- and my family, in particular -- feel at the war being waged against us by the Palestinian Arabs, and at the global hypocrisy (governments, journalists, press) that makes it possible. I have sent a copy of your rendering of the German article on the EU and Arafat to people in my circle. Once again, well done.

Arnold Roth

I'm honored by Arnold's kind words, but I'm merely an amateur translator. Any credit for the Die Zeit article goes to the excellent journalists who wrote it, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff and Bruno Schirra.

I was also honored to hear from Arnold Roth and to learn about what a fine man he is, and what a fine family he has, and what a fine daughter he had. This is a family we can all learn from, both from the way they lead their lives, and the way they are coping with a terrible loss. I urge you to read this powerful open letter that Arnold recently wrote.

I also urge you to visit the website in Malki's memory, www.kerenmalki.org . It talks about Malki's life and about the charitable foundation that the Roth family established in her name. The Malki Foundation (Keren Malki in Hebrew) is dedicated to helping Israeli families with severely disabled children to care for their children at home. This is particularly fitting, as Malki's younger sister, Haya-Elisheva, is disabled, and Malki devoted herself to helping her sister and other children with special needs. Please join me in making a donation to support the foundation.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 11, 2002 07:00 AM