Point of No Return was shocked to hear of the passing of Ami Isseroff on 30 June. Aside from his technical wizardry with computers, he was a humane and articulate man of erudition, common sense and insight. I often thought his brilliant analysis of events should have found a wider audience and that in another life he could have made a leading Israeli politician, or even prime minister.
Although I never met him, we had been in correspondence for several years. I often turned to him for advice. We had our disagreements, but he was that rare thing - a liberal Zionist and unwavering advocate for Zionism who understood the extremist nature of Arab politics and grasped the crucial importance of the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
Fresno-Zionism 's obituary puts it better than I could :
"Ami Isseroff died this week. A remarkable intellect, Ami was uncompromising both in his Zionism and, believe it or not, his socialism. “I’m opposed to occupation, a member of the ‘peace camp’ and always will be,” he told me. But despite this, he well understood the nature of the Arab leadership and had no illusions about what would result from precipitous concessions. He kept his Zionist compass intact when many of his left-wing friends were losing theirs. Ami proved that it’s possible to be a left-wing Zionist today.
Naturally he took vicious hits from both the Left and the Right. That didn’t stop him. An amateur historian (though he had a doctorate in Psychology and worked in computer software), he always knew the facts far better than his opponents."
Ami Isseroff, you will be sorely missed.
I've been reading his site and indeed learning a great deal from it for a very long time. You'll be sorely missed Ami, rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteIt is with a heavy heart and teary eyes that I acknowledge your passing.
ReplyDeleteWe agreed, we disagreed; it never really mattered. You were the teacher and you were the student but most of all you were Ami always single minded in the pursuit of what's best for Israel and fighting for it.
Good bye dear friend
Israel Bonan
Ami's web site was --and still is-- the source of much important information. Ami was a man concerned with finding and spreading the truth, the sheer elementary facts. Thus, although he was inclined to be a Labor Zionist, he didn't fall into the trap of shaping the "facts" to fit the ideology. See link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zionism-israel.com/
Yehi zikhro barukh
יהי זכרו ברוך