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Speech from Gabi
Ladowski, David Diego's brother,
at the award ceremony of the David Diego Ladowski
Merit Scholarship - Hebrew
University of Jerusalem,
in Jerusalem, Israel. June 14, 2006.
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Good afternoon!
Almost 4 years have past since the bombing of the cafeteria, it seems like decades but at the same time it feels like yesterday. And although they say time heals the wounds, this one seems to be one that never goes away.
My name is Gabi Ladowski, brother of David Diego Ladowski, my family and I founded the David Diego Ladowski Memorial Fund.
You all probably read or heard in the news about a month ago that the evil mind responsible for the bombing of the cafeteria here, and many other places throughout Israel has been caught; but I can bet you anything that that criminal never imagined that his heinous plan would not stop the good will of good people and on the contrary, it would generate an enormous wave of acts of kindness which in Hebrew is called “Gemilut Hesed”.
That’s why we are all gathered here this afternoon, to experience first-hand how much goodness there’s still in this world.
During the last 4 years, hundreds of thousands of people have perished due to either natural disasters, disease, wars, genocide, or terrorism.
The world is going through some rough times. In some places the hatred is so big that it’s hard to comprehend, but some people justify it by saying that the Western and Eastern mentalities are the reason for that. But at the same time in other more civilized countries, like Great Britain and Canada they express their Anti-Semitic sentiment by boycotting Israeli Universities, which I believe is such a backward step and totally contradicts the very principle for what higher education and Universities should stand for.
Some people believe the end of the world as we know it is near. For many of those who see it that way, I think it’s a wake up call, a new beginning, where now they have to realize that rather than complaining and just looking from the distance, there’s an immense need for kindness and getting involved by participating and/or giving.
What we are doing here, in my opinion, is the foundation to make a better world “Tikkun Olam”.
By educating students to the highest standards where they will be the leaders of tomorrow and leading by example.
Many may wonder:
Isn’t it too late to do this? Why do good people have to die to get to this point?
I wish my brother’s death and the other 8 innocent victims of the bombing wouldn’t be the reason for us to be here, but unfortunately we cannot change the past, but as David Diego would say, we can definitely make a positive impact in the future.
He did! He touched all of us and many more with his smile, his good heart, his intelligence and a tremendous will to reach out and help as many as he could, so we will continue with this tradition of giving for many years to come as a tribute to his life and achievements.
My family and I feel very humble, touched and honored to be here this afternoon presenting these 10 scholarships to these incredible and talented students that distinguish themselves not only academically, but also as human beings, trying to make a difference, to carry the torch that will illuminate the path, and enlighten the minds and souls of many others.
None of this would be possible without the very generous contributions of so many people, many of them sitting here among us this afternoon; and also, thanks to the American Friends of the Hebrew University and people here at the University, like Professor Magidor, Ofra Commere, Professor Dery and so many others that gave their support through all these years.
This shows that no evil, regardless of all the pain and destruction they can cause, can be bigger than just one good heart.
David Diego’s legacy lives on, and will continue to live on in all of us, forever…
Thank you very much!
Shalom!
Gabi Ladowski and family
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© 2002-2019 Gabriel H. Ladowski |
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