Dear Mr Sztrajt,
Your letter to the parents of Bialik College school children was passed along to me this morning. It's by far the brightest and best piece of news I have seen in the past few days, notwithstanding that we are in the midst of Sukkot, the festival of the Jewish people's joy.
From Melbourne, the tumultuous events taking place here in Israel during the past few days and especially today might have been remote and perhaps not so relevant to Bialik students. But by you connecting them to a girl born in the same community as most of the students in your school, and connecting the very, very difficult events that are unfolding today with the good work done every day in Malki's name through Keren Malki, you have done something invaluable.
You are achieving what Frimet and I have tried to encourage people to do since we set up Keren Malki a decade ago.
Malki's life is over, and the life of her murderer is evidently being renewed at this very hour. I will not try to deny that this is deeply upsetting at a personal level to Malki's friends and family, and particularly to my wife and me. But there is something very special in knowing that good people with good actions on their mind are thinking of Malki today.
For your part in that, and for the greatly appreciated and thoughtful gesture of Bialik College, accept please our sincere thanks. It deserves to be known, and so I am taking the liberty of sending this note to the Friends of Keren Malki email list.
Sincerely
Arnold Roth
Keren Malki, Jerusalem
From: Bialik College [mailto:bialik...@bialik.vic.edu.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 18 October 2011 12:07 PM
To:
Subject: Marking the release of Gilad Shalit at Bialik
Dear Parents
On Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday early morning in Australia), Gilad Shalit is due to be released after five years in captivity. This will be a day of mixed emotions for both Israelis and Jewish people around the world. While we join Israel in celebrating with Gilad's family, at the same time we acknowledge the pain of the families of terror victims. In order to appropriately mark this event, Wednesday morning will begin with a short assembly in the amphitheatre during homeroom, for all students in Years 2 -12.
We request that students bring with them a gold coin donation which will be directed to Keren Malki (Malki Roth Foundation) to support children with disabilities in Israel. This foundation was established in the memory of Melbourne-born Malki Roth, who was tragically killed in a terrorist attack in 2001. The prisoner exchange taking place this Wednesday morning will include one of the perpetrators of the attack that killed Malki. While as a school we will celebrate Gilad's release, we see our support of Keren Malki as a fitting reminder that this deal comes at a very high price.
Wishing you a Chag Sameach
Dan Sztrajt
Director of Jewish Life
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