Moran is "campaign shouting like a southern diplomat" in this 1/5/06 photo by rev_bri of a Town Hall meeting on Iraq.


The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook


My high school classmate lay slain at right, killed by a rocket from Lebanon
Foreign Policy
    Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
    That sailed through the air and came down through the room,
    Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle.
    And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger.
    But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
    Take the rag away from your face.
    Now ain't the time for your tears.
    —Bob Dylan, "The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll"
35 years ago I attended Newton South High School in Newton, MA.

There was a student at South who was a year younger than me named Dave Lelchook. He was an athlete and was on some of the same teams as my brother David Mark.

One time he got a funny haircut and called it "my Israeli gladiator helmet."

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot is reporting on its scrolling news window this afternoon:

    20:35 Man killed by Hezbollah rocket attack today is David Lalchuk, 52 (Haaretz)
Previous news stories stated that the victim, whose name was not given, was an American immigrant from the Boston area who lived on a kibbutz. He was killed while riding a bicycle back to shelter after an air raid siren went off. Fortunately his wife and children had moved to safer areas in the south of Israel after the fighting started.

Certain commentators on the war in Lebanon and Israel mention only the carnage in Lebanon but not that going on in Israel. Jim Moran himself commented in the 7/27/06 Connection Newspapers only on "the terrible violence we are now seeing in Lebanon." Moran did not mention the violence that kills Israeli civilians.

That is wrong. Jim Moran has certain knee-jerk ways in which he sees things and expresses himself. He must take care that when he mentions violence in Israel and Lebanon he mentions the kind of violence that killed David Lelchook.

An Israeli newspaper reporter said that he was in Haifa, Israel where rockets fell. A man walked up to the reporter and pointed out his destroyed shop. He then said "I am an Arab and I want Israel to destroy Hezbollah."

Moran may not agree with that opinion, but he must be careful to speak factually and completely, for the record, when he discusses the ongoing violence in Israel and Lebanon.

Anything less is just more Moran bull on a matter of life and death. Some people in the 8th obviously don't mind having an ill-informed mountebank representing them. But the world is so dangerous that there ought not to be even a single fool in Congress.

    Update: I got off the phone with my brother David. He remembers Dave Lelchook as I do, "a big, muscular guy. He was good in sports. He was a heavyweight on the wrestling team."

    News reports say that when the air raid siren went off at his kibbutz Dave Lelchook hopped on his bicycle and went to retrieve his dog Duke. He wanted to bring Duke into the shelter.

    The missile from Lebanon killed him. The dog remained with him after his death.

[ ]

 
Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
by CentristDemocrat on Wednesday August 02, @11:58AM

Jonathan,

I'm sorry for your loss. Let it be very clear to everyone: David Lelchook was specifically targeted and killed because he was a civilian. Hezbollah makes no apologies. To them, this is success. It was no accident. One can only imagine what Hezbollah would do if its capacity to kill was greater.

[ ]

    Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
    by rbudnoff on Thursday August 03, @08:53PM

    Thank you for this tribute to David.

    I am a family friend in Texas
    [ | ]

    Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
    by Armen Kojoyian on Friday August 04, @09:32AM

    David was the best, he was a year behind me at NSHS, we were on the football, wrestling, track team together. We also were coached in football and wrestling by my father Coach Kojoyian, who is stunned at David's loss as is my whole family. There was not a tougher more dedicated student athlete that excelled academically as well at Newton South.

    We spent many hours conditioning together, with the likes of Lenny Adelman (killed as well), Howie Haimes, Bob Staulo...we used to make many journeys to the Newton YMCA to wrestle in the off season, we lifted weights religously at my house, and then afterwards David would devour my mother's chocolate cake, a favorite of his.

    My dad would give David his haircut for years because he wanted to save the $8.00.

    Most don't know he became a great boxer in the Israeli Army, good enough that Israel wanted him to try out for the Olympic team which he declined.

    I also had the privilege of watching David play as a defensive back for the UMass team as a freshman against URI..then he transferred to Cornell and gained a starting position as a defensive back as well, then he quit the team. I asked him why; he told me that he "proved to himself that he could start and play at the higher level, but his studies at Cornell were more important".

    I am sure he makes us all prouder to be from Newton, and NSHS, a rare and passionate soul about whatever he touched.

    May "the Chook" as all my teamates called him at NSHS be somehow in a better more peaceful place.

    Attached is a picture of us in our last game together at NSHS.

    Armen Kojoyian


    Click to download attachment D.Lelchook.Mem lr.pdf
    66KB (67711 bytes)

    [ | ]

      Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
      by Jonathan Mark on Friday August 04, @03:49PM

      Yes. Lenny Adelman became a policeman in Atlanta and died in an auto chase decades ago. He was one of a group of athletic boys who became men.

      It is unfortunate that my first contact with Armen in 35 years concerns this tragedy. I remember his father well. He taught me biology in the tenth grade.

      I have assigned the URL aristede.com to this thread. The internet should reflect the change in about 24 hours.

      From then on, anyone who wants to visit this thread will simply have to type in http://aristede.com

      [ | ]

        Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
        by Armen Kojoyian on Friday August 04, @06:44PM

        Jonathan, it's all sad and the way we can connect today is too funny. I just called my Dad and he thinks he vaguely remembers you, and I think I vaguely remember you.

        It looks like you're in the Virginia area. Well my Dad lives in Reston, VA since he retired from NSHS. He has continued to coach and substitute teach for the last 15 years in Metro DC and Northern VA.

        Next week he begins his 56th season as a football coach at Madison High School, in Vienna, VA at the age of 78. He's not much different then when he taught you in high school, he may just coach to 100.

        He attended GWU in the early 50's on a football scholarship himself, thats how he ended up in the Metro DC area again.

        We will continue our chat, I hope more guys from NSHS pop their heads up about "the Chook" at your new link. David's demise is all too surreal yet for me to comprehend.

        Take care...Armen
        [ | ]

          Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
          by Louis Isgur on Friday August 11, @02:48AM

          Hi Armen,

          I was greatly saddened today when I heard about David's death. He was truly a great guy and a kind and caring person. I am a close family friend of the Lelchooks. I graduated NSHS class of 1971. I have fond memories growing up and having holiday dinners with David, his brother, sister and our families.

          It was just last summer when I was in Newton that I took David's mom, Dorris; (who was my mother's best friend), out for Lunch. I was happy when Dorris told me that David and his family was doing well.

          My heart filled sympathy goes out to David's family.

          My kindest regards,
          Louis Isgur
          NSHS Class 71


          [ | ]

        Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
        by Jonathan S. Mark on Friday August 04, @08:05PM

        Glad to hear that your Dad is still doing what he loves. I intend to take my wife to one of the games this fall and say hello.



        [ | ]

Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
by Steve Bucuvalas on Friday August 18, @05:12AM

Jonathan, thanks for posting this.

Dave was a year ahead of me at NSHS; I played football with him. I haven't seen him since, but still was shocked to stumble across your tribute to him. I generally don’t post in forums, but Dave was such a stand-out human being that I feel obliged to contribute in a small way.

I remember him as a young man who was full of talent, discipline, drive and courage. Reading the story about his life and death made this clear: he died as he lived, doing what he thought was right, with resolve and courage.

I extend my sympathies to his family both in Israel and here in the States.

Steve Bucuvalas


[ ]

Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
by Moshe Chertoff on Thursday August 24, @02:05AM

I’m proud to say I was a friend of Dave's. Dave joined the softball team of our kibbutz while he still lived in Nahariya, 4 miles north of us. That was 20 years ago or so. He was still working at a bank in the northern city. When he decided to join the kibbutz on the northern edge of the city, I asked him why he quit his job and Nahariya. He told me that they had told him that he’ll have to do more to help the profits of the bank by shaving a 0.01% more here and there from older people who don't check their accounts so carefully. He told them from where they can shave their profits, and quit!


Dave was straight as a laser. No bullsh_t. That was his way of life, and it showed in his choice to move to kibbutz (a society and lifestyle that strived toward the equality of all) and in all other aspects of his life. That was also true of how he played softball. He always played "the hot spot." He never complained about how bad we were doing or how someone didn't come through. He was always supportive and optimistic, even for seconds after we would lose. Then, he'd switch into future optimism with, "We'll get 'em next time!" or "We gotta do sompun' about our hitting." But he was always one of our best players.


He exemplified the motto of the wrestling school of a cousin of mine, US silver medalist Ken Chertow: "Be a scholar athlete, not a dumb jock."



Dave was a doer. And whatever he did, he did it with to the best of his ability. And he had fantastic abilities. As was mentioned in the post herein, he did his studies well and used them till his dying day in his spraying of the orchards of the kibbutz, even under fire. He helped other growers with advice about insects and other problems. He would get calls from people, not just from his kibbutz, who would ask for help with this or that. He'd either go right at it, or tell them he'd be over as soon as he was done helping this other guy first.



His death was a shock to all who knew him or his family. His daughters and my kids went to the regional high school together.



Dave made me proud to be an American Kibbutznick. I wish I could have told him that while he was alive.



As for the comparisons of how who reported what and symmetry, I was angered by the interview shown on CNN of a UN official commenting on the staggering numbers of refugees from So. Lebanon. It bothered me that not a word in used to describe those hundreds of thousands of Israelis who are refugees & moved to the center or south of Israel, or even overseas. Our refugees don't count. True, none are in need of help from UNWRA, but that's because thousands of Israelis opened their homes to strangers from the north & view it their obligation to others, a mitzvah, an honor. The differences (not for comparison's sake) are, on the Israeli side, we have prepared public shelters due to previous battles with other enemies. So, our populace is less susceptible to injury or death than those who have less affluent administrations to build such basic protection infrastructure. Because we are a more affluent society, we have fewer families who live off their own land or have no one to turn to.



Then I realized, what REALLY angered me was that I fell to the "comparison game." "There are x thousands of refugees (only on one side). X hundreds dead on one side & only x on the other. X tens of thousands of injured on one side" IOW, who's suffering more—it makes me sick that we should even think of comparing. Then, there are the comparisons of success. "We've killed x on the other side. They've only killed x on our side. We've won this battle & hold this stronghold." Deplorable! Stop it!



Everyone suffers in these situations. The pain of one is the pain of us all, either now or later, whether we recognize it or not. No one wins wars. They only buy time till the next conflict. The "comparison game" must stop. I continue to see that there are two sides to the Arab conflict with Israel, and they are not Arabs vs. Jews! The two sides are: 1) those who realize that, like themselves, the other is not leaving & we must compromise to live together,& 2) those who will never accept that the other is entitled to stay & equally deserving of a normal life. There are both Arab & Jew extremists; those that will not see "the other" as he sees himself. Then, there are the rest of us simple people who will suffer due to the boisterous anger of those who hate. Quiet acceptance & tolerance don't make headlines.



When the question of disproportion is raised, I have an easy explanation that should end the protest on this issue. Mind you, I did not nor do not support the actions of our government and the our army that played into the hands of the Hezbollah, the Syrians, and the Iranians. Nevertheless, things must be stated correctly and clearly. The differences between Lebanon and Israel are that; 1) We have a more accurate and controlled offensive capability, making the damage we cause greater, and 2) We have a more developed defense system of bomb shelters and civilian warning systems (sirens, PA systems, etc.) that better enable us to protect ourselves against incoming missiles. Therefore, it is obvious that we will kill more and be killed less. Therefore, again, it will appear that we are delivering a disproportionate response to the original aggression of the Hezbollah. True, we are supplied by the American taxpayer with the most sophisticated and heavy weaponry (outside of nuclear, which we apparently developed on our own) in the world. But remember the fact that over 600 missiles were launched at the city of Nahariya and over 900 at the city of Kiriyat Shmonae. Each missile was launched with the intent of killing as many civilians as possible, not intended to land in the middle of a street or field. Therefore, had each missile hit a bus loaded with 45 kids escaping south from the violence, which is what would achieve the goal of the launcher, we would have 67,500 kids dead! We're not talking about roads, bridges, launchers, or power stations--but civilians! True, the tremendous amount of ammo hurled across our border by the IDF also killed many innocent civilians and the Air Force even targeted houses or tall buildings knowing that there could be civilians inside.



No one won this battle. We all lost; especially Dave's family and friends. May we find the will to implement cooperation and peace.



Shalom,



Moshe Chertoff

Kibbutz Shomrat

Western Galilee

Israel





[ ]

    Re: The Lonesome Death Of David Lelchook
    by judith v. lelchook on Thursday November 16, @02:42PM

    It's been more than two months since David's death; for me, as his sister, the bitterness of loss will not leave. I will not blame one group or a person, as much as I will blame war. When people are fighting, there are no rules, there are no winners. Everyone loses and we are the big losers from this volley.

    But I do blame the callousness of Hezbollah and any defenders, those who continually try to make comparisons on either side. Because Hezbollah's aim was bad, inaccurate and reckless, they killed fewer but did it relentlessly.

    I try to tell people in Washington, DC why the current strategy doesn't work; when they know who I am they show sympathy. But often, they don't get it. They are, on either "side", partisan. There are few who will say they are against war, without blaming the Israelis, Americans, sometimes the Lebanese.

    The beauty of David was, is, that he was so much himself, that he...took it for granted. My goal will is to work in the shadow of that kind of dignity to bring about a short term, and a longer term change so that what happened to him, and to our family, won't assail so many others in the future.
    [ | ]


 

< |  >