To the Family of Staff Sergeant Erez Ashkenazi,

I have just learned of your loss from the internet. On behalf of the entire Cleveland Jewish Community, we express our sincere condolences to you on the tragic loss of your beloved son. The connection between Cleveland the the Beit Shean Valley is so strong that when one of the Valley's sons falls, we in Cleveland feel that we have lost one of our own also. Please know how much we in Cleveland are thinking of you during these difficult days. May you find comfort in your memories and in the knowledge that your beloved Erez, may his memory be for a blessing, died defending not just the State of Israel but the Jewish People everywhere.

May G-d comfort you together with all the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Fran Immerman

Tamuz 5763 - July 2003