From: backon@vms.huji.ac.il
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast
Subject: Re: leibowitz
Date: 24 Jan 93 15:25:24 GMT
Distribution: talk,world
Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

In article <1993Jan22.233224.5302@colorado.edu>, perlman@qso.Colorado.EDU (Eric S. Perlman) writes:
> In article <23273@venera.isi.edu> arens@ISI.EDU (Yigal Arens) writes:
>>In article <2022@spam.ua.oz> jaskew@spam.ua.oz (Joseph Askew) writes:
>>>
>>> In article <1993Jan18.144458.195@vms.huji.ac.il> backon@vms.huji.ac.il writes:
>>>
>>> >Wayne, I have a terrific idea. Spend $10 and phone Leibowitz. His home phone
>>> >(from the U.S.) is: +972-2-255449. His home address:
>>> >Professor Y. Leibowitz
>>> >Rechov Ussishkin 62
>>> >Jerusalem, Israel
>>>
>>> I don't want to appear totally ignorant here but didn't Professor Leibowitz
>>> die in 1991? Are we talking about the same Leibowitz? The biochemist who
>>> talks about 'JudeoNazis' or whatever. A really old guy who fled from Hitler
>>> in 193something? Are you sure he is still alive because I am sure I heard
>>> he died.
>>
>>Not only is he not dead, he was just this week nominated for the Israel
>>Prize, a high honor to be bestowed upon him by the Israeli state.  I
>>suppose Mr. Backon should hurry and inform the Isareli government that
>>Leibowitz is nothing but a maker of bad coffee rendered mentally
>>unbalanced by deaths in his family.
>
> Pardon me, Yigal, but where does Josh Backon say this, or anything that
> prompts this, in the above?  He doesn't, is the answer.


You're correct. In my 3 (??) hour conversation with him in his study a few
years ago, he served STALE cookies and lukewarm coffee :-)

In all seriousness, Leibowitz is brilliant but takes extreme almost provocative
positions on a large number of issues. His fanatic religious philosophy is
completely foreign to the vast majority of Orthodox Jews (even not in Israel).
His pontificating is pathetic. He is probably the most vulgar, uncouth,
foul-mouthed individual I've ever met in my entire life. Although my
specialization is not psychiatry, from what I discerned in my personal
tete-a-tete with Leibowitz including some highly personal, intimate
revelations, I'm forced to conclude that he's not the most stable person
around. I'm trying to  be polite here so please read between the lines.


Just for the record, I did some specialization in geriatrics at about the time
I met Leibowitz. So I know my customers :-)

Personal tragedies in his family during the Six Day War may have triggered
something. I bet you never knew that Leibowitz was active in the Histadrut
(labor federation).

And this was not the only personal interaction I had with Leibowitz. Yigal
Arens should be aware that that Shmuel V. (hint, wink, grin ) wanted to meet
Leibowitz before his mission of making peace feelers with the PLO in September
1981. So Shmuel dragged me along to Leibowitz's study. Leibowitz heard the plan
and gave his OK.

I've said too much already.

Josh


Dr. Josh Backon
Cardiology
backon@VMS.HUJI.AC.IL


>
> --
> "How sad to see/A model of decorum and tranquillity/become like any other sport
> A battleground for rival ideologies to slug it out with glee." -Tim Rice,"Chess"
>      Eric S. Perlman 				 <perlman@qso.colorado.edu>
>   Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder