Va.Tech Massacre: Hero Prof.

One can only imagine what went through the mind of Professor Liviu Librescu, a Rumanian-born Holocaust survivor, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, as his lecture was interrupted by gunfire in the class next door.

As someone who has survived a terror attack myself, I would like to say that the decision to stay put and save others when your own life is in danger goes against every human instinct; it is heroism and self-sacrifice on a scale that is unimaginable and that cannot even be fully appreciated by most human beings.

For a Holocaust survivor to give up his life after two decades of peace and quiet in the most pastoral of settings is a tragedy for his family, and for all of us.

We mourn his loss, and are proud of his legacy.

Our deepest condolences to his wife Marlena and sons Aryeh and Joe, who live in Israel. May God comfort them among the mourners of Zion and Israel.