Burning Books Leads to Other Bad Stuff

by dcc [➚] · Thursday, February 11th, 2010

I was just sent this letter from Aaron Lanksy, president of the National Yiddish Book Center:

As you may have heard, two separate arson attacks in January have devastated the 600-year-old synagogue on Crete and left its extensive library and archives in ruins. Two Americans, two Britons, and a Greek citizen have been arrested. The Yiddish Book Center has offered to help replace some of the books that were destroyed – and we in turn are calling on our members and friends. You’ll find a current list of needed titles on our website.

Most of these books are in English, Hebrew and Greek (there are no Yiddish readers in Crete).  Could I ask you to look through the list and check your shelves at home?  Any of these titles you can spare will be enormously appreciated. To save time and money, books may be transshipped at domestic rates through an American APO address. Please send any books directly to:

Lorenzo Garcia
PSC 814 Box 36
FPO AE 09865-0036

Please email us or use our website to let us know which books you send, so we can update our online list and avoid duplication.

Many thanks,

Aaron Lansky, President
National Yiddish Book Center

P.S. According to David Webber, a Canadian in Crete, the Jews there “continue to pray in a burned and gutted sacred structure one has known to be blessed, beautiful and gracious.”  When I emailed Nicholas Stavroulakis, a leader of the Crete community, to tell him I would be writing to our members, he sent this reply:  “Thank you so much for your help – books are of course the heart of our lives, and the loss of so many has really been very hard to handle. Be well my friend.”

As we all know, book burning tends to escelate and can do so quickly.  The Jewish community of Crete could use some new (or used) books.  If you can consider sending them along.