HEROES OF THE AXIS OF GOOD:

Ramon's flight was subtle call to Jewish earthlings (Shlomo Gestetner, January 16, 2003, Jerusalem Post)

A new Jewish hero is being launched Thursday - literally. Col. Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, is scheduled to be hundreds of kilometers above our planet in his capacity as payload specialist aboard NASA's space shuttle Columbia.

But Ramon's journey is more than just another feel- good story for a country desperate for some good news. Rather it's an inspiring example of one man who senses the importance of Jewish identity.

Despite not being Orthodox or observant, Ramon made headlines around the world as a result of his insistence on marking Shabbat in space and his procurement of kosher food from NASA.

Says Ramon: "My mother is a Holocaust survivor who was in Auschwitz, and my father fought for the independence of Israel not so long ago. I was
born in Israel and I'm kind of the proof for my parents and their generation that whatever we've been fighting for in the last century is coming true. I feel I'm representing the whole Jewish people."

Unfortunately, as so often in the past, it seems to be the lot of Israel to demonstrate for all mankind just how much sorrow a people can bear without breaking.

India too suffered the loss of one of her heroes today, Kalpana's affair with space turns tragic (Times of India, FEBRUARY 02, 2003):

"I was not born for one corner," said astronomer Kalpana Chawla quoting philosopher Seneca. "The whole universe is my native land."

Kalpana Chawla made it to the headlines in 1997 when she became the first Indian to fly in space shuttle Columbia. This extraordinary record put not only India, but her hometown Karnal on the space map, leading many jubilant locals to point out the similarity between Karnal and Canaveral. Her school even named its science room Kalpana Vigyan Kaksh. [...]

"I want to go out in the blue yonder," she once said. And it was in the blue yonder that the end came. On the NASA website, Kalpana's bio-data is meticulously detailed. The last entry says January 2003, an entry that was supposed to carry details of her space mission but will now carry the details of her death.

For the Punjabi girl who dreamed of spreading her wings in space, it is terribly ironic that the sky should turn into a graveyard.

We grieve with the people of both nations. But we also believe that the peoples of America, India, and Israel are destined to achieve great things together in the future. It is because we dream great things that we will certainly suffer terrible losses at times, but the shared sorrow of today can only add savor to the taste of the mutual achievements to come. One would hope that we can soon send another mission into space, with representatives of these allies on board again, the sooner the better.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 1, 2003 4:09 PM