HELP US FIND the Work Van Stolen From Plumber/Holocaust Survivor Honored at SOTU

[Check Democrat Neighborhoods]

Joshua Kaufman, a Holocaust survivor who eventually emigrated to
the United States, became “a professional plumber at the age of
48 and raise[d] four daughters on the income of what steel toe
boots and strong hands were able to provide,” has had his work
van stolen in Los Angeles, and his family and friends are
begging the public to help them find the iconic and sentimental
vehicle.

Kaufman’s daughter, Alexandra (who recently married CA State
Sen. Henry Stern of Calabasas), posted a photo of the van with
an emotional plea on her Facebook page Wednesday.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157832351349814&set=a.
10150725142384814&type=3

Someone stole this beloved truck. Maybe they thought there were
expensive tools inside and they needed the cash. But this truck
is so much more valuable than that. It’s what makes Joshua
Joshua. The pride of being able to start aa a professional
plumber at the age of 48 and raise 4 daughters on the income of
what steel toe boots and strong hands were able to provide. If
you have seen this truck in the past two days or have any info
on it’s whereabouts please contact the LAPD #findjoshuastruck

Alexandra wrote:

“Someone stole this beloved truck. Maybe they thought there were
expensive tools inside and they needed the cash. But this truck
is so much more valuable than that. It’s what makes Joshua
Joshua. The pride of being able to start as a professional
plumber at the age of 48 and raise 4 daughters on the income of
what steel toe boots and strong hands were able to provide. If
you have seen this truck in the past two days or have any info
on its whereabouts please contact the LAPD #findjoshuastruck”

Sen. Stern shared his wife’s post on his own page, saying:

“My father-in-law, the one and only Joshua Kaufman, had his
plumbing truck stolen yesterday. This 1978 Ford Econoline is his
pride and joy, and a piece of LA history. If you see it around
town (hard to miss!), please call LAPD.”

The van was prominently featured in a 2015 History documentary,
“The Liberators: Why They Fought.” Joshua Kaufman was just 15
when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz, and was “cooped
in a cattle wagon” outside Dachau when the camp was liberated by
Allied forces. He was honored at the 2019 State of the Union,
along with Herman Zeitchik, one of the soldiers who liberated
Dachau.

After the war Joshua moved to Israel, where he served in the
IDF. He married at the young age of 47, and raised his four
daughters in Los Angeles. Joshua flew to Germany in 2016, when
he was 88 (and still working as a plumber), to testify against a
Nazi SS guard at a war crimes trial, but his testimony was not
allowed by the presiding judge.

In 2015 Joshua finally fulfilled a lifelong goal – to kiss the
feet of one of the soldiers who saved his life. He met Daniel
Gillespie, who served as a gunner in the 42nd Rainbow Division
of the United States Army, who had also moved to California and
raised a family after the war. Joshua described what he saw from
the cattle wagon the day they were liberated.

“Through a little hole in the wall I saw American soldiers
coming with their tanks and I saw the Germans running away. To
me the American soldiers were a proof that God exists and they
were sent down from the sky.”

As Gillespie protested that thanks were not necessary, Joshua
got down on his knees and kissed Gillespie’s foot. He told
Gillespie:

“I don’t forget the day when you opened the cattle wagon and you
freed me. I have wanted to do this for 70 years. I love you, I
love you so much.”

In both Christianity and Judaism, this is the season of
miracles. Please share the photo of Joshua’s distinctive work
van, and pray that it is found.

(Note: The author is professionally acquainted with both Sen.
Stern and his 2020 election opponent.)

https://www.redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2019/12/22/joshua-kaufman-
plumberholocaust-survivor-honored-sotu-work-van-stolen-la/