A Jewish professor who was killed protecting his students during the massacre at Virginia Tech was laid to rest in Israel. Liviu Librescu’s family wept as he was buried in Ra’anana on Friday, April 20.
As gunman Cho Seung-Hui attempted to enter Librescu’s classroom during his April 16 killing spree, the 76-year old Holocaust survivor barricaded his classroom doors so students could escape out the windows. Cho, a Virginia Tech student, killed Librescu, 31 others and himself.
Librescu, who was born in Romania, was posthumously awarded Romania’s highest honor for his scientific accomplishments and heroism. An aeronautics engineer who immigrated to Israel in 1978, Librescu had taught at the central Virginia university for 20 years. — jta