Holocaust Survivor Killed in Va Shooting

In this photo released by the Librescu family in Israel, Tuesday, April 17, 2007, Romanian-born lecturer Liviu Librescu is seen in an undated photo. The Israeli lecturer killed in the Virginia Tech massacre was a Holocaust survivor who later escaped from Communist Romania. Relatives said Librescu, an internationally respected aeronautics engineer and a lecturer at Virginia Tech for 20 years, saved the lives of several students by blocking the gunman before he was gunned down in Monday's shooting, which coincided with Israel's Holocaust remembrance day. (AP Photo/Librescu Family, ho) ISRAEL OUT (Ho - AP)

After years of government refusal, according to his son, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin personally intervened to get the family an emigration permit. They moved to Israel in 1978.

Librescu left Israel for Virginia in 1985 for a year sabbatical, but eventually made the move permanent, said Joe Librescu, who himself studied at Virginia Tech from 1989-1994. The elder Librescu, who was an engineering and math lecturer at the school, published extensively and received numerous awards for his work.

"His work was his life in a sense," his son said.

In Romania, the academic community mourned Librescu's death.

"It is a great loss," said Ecaterina Andronescu, rector of the Polytechnic University in Bucharest, where Librescu graduated in 1953. "We have immense consideration for the way he reacted and defended his students with his life."

At the university, where Librescu received an honorary degree in 2000, his picture was placed on a table and a candle was lit. People lay flowers nearby.

Professor Nicolae Serban Tomescu described Librescu as "strong and dignified."

"He had a huge affection for his students and he sacrificed his life for them," Tomescu told AP Television News.

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Associated Press Writer Alexandru Alexe in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this report.