Introduction to the bi-weekly Computer Jobs in Israel
report by Jacob Richman
October 17, 2001

Shalom.

I was planning to write about the good times I had in
Jerusalem during Succot and the post-Succot annual all
night poker game last Thursday night. However, this
morning I turned on the television at 7:20 am to catch
some news before getting some sleep (after working on the
Internet all night). I watched for 4 hours and still
could not believe what happened.
Minister of Tourism Rechavam Ze'evi was assassinated in a
hotel in Jerusalem. The news was a shock.

Many people overseas probably knew him as a right wing advocate.
However, people in Israel (even those with opposite political
views) had respect for him as a "good person". Many people
interviewed on TV used the words "gentleman" and "patriot"
and "lover of Israel". Here are a few details which readers
overseas may not know:
- He was honest
- He wore dog tags around his neck (on the outside of his shirt)
  with the names of Israeli POW's and MIA's
- He acted like a gentleman to everyone
- He did not want a bodyguard on the claim that the regular Israel
  citizen did not have one (this has become a debate issue over the
  past several hours). He also said that if a young soldier got
  hurt protecting him, he would have a hard time explaining this
  to the parents.
- He waited on lines like the average person. He turned down
  permission to go ahead of people because of his position.
- He edited over 65 books about Israel
- They say that his home library can be compared to the public
  library in terms of the number of books
- He knew the land from top to bottom
- His knowledge of the Hebrew language was very high - he stopped
  Knesset forums to correct Hebrew mistakes
- His military career started at the age of 19 when he joined the
  Palmach.
- He defended the Israeli army and it's personnel all the time.
  (including on a television talk show the night
  before he was murdered)

I did not vote for his party and I did not agree with everything
he said. However, I made aliyah 17 years ago and the way he spoke
about the country, the people and the Jewish religion made me proud
to be here. He will be missed.
I posted several pictures, articles and web links on my website
in his memory:
http://www.jr.co.il/terror/israel/index11.htm#gandi
May his memory be blessed.