Remembering Superman and His Visit to Rehovot

"That to my great surprise,

Israel is a warm and relaxed place.
I didn't fear coming here. The pictures we see in the media
show terrible things happening here, terror attacks
and casualties - the things that make headlines.
What we don't see is the normalcy, the day-to-day life, and
this certainly needs to be shown to the world."

- Christopher Reeve

"Christopher Reeve would have been very pleased to be just an actor. But it was his fate to be a real Superman. On screen and off. The actor who convinced global movie audiences that a son of Krypton could fly, later inspired millions to believe that a paralyzed man could walk again. Reeve, who was a strong supporter of Israel, died Sunday at a New York hospital. He was 52. His family was at his side at the time of death.

Reeve, immobilized from the neck down in a 1995 horse-riding accident, fell into a coma Saturday at his New York home after experiencing a heart attack. The film star was transported to the hospital, but never regained consciousness. Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital for a pressure wound, a common complication for people living with paralysis. In the past week, the wound had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection. His death, at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, was described as sudden.

After his accident, he became an advocate for spinal cord injury research which included a solidarity visit to Israel last year. Enduring months of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer and longer periods without a respirator, Reeve emerged to lobby the US Congress for better health insurance protection against catastrophic injury and to move an Academy Award audience to tears with a call for more films about social issues.

Christopher Reeve arrived in Israel in July of last year to appeal for urgent research to help those with spinal cord injuries. Reeve had defied US State Department warnings to avoid travel to Israel, warnings which have seriously hurt Israel's economy. Reeve's visit had done more for Israel's sagging and limited public relations efforts than one could imagine. During his stay in Tel Aviv CNN's Larry King interviewed the super star with millions worldwide watching. Recently, super star singer and actress Madonna followed in Reeve's footsteps, visiting Israel over the Rosh Hashana holiday after completing a global tour in Lisbon. The PR benefits of Madonna's visit have already been felt with in an increase in tourism and businessmen coming to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. US tourists and businesspeople do not qualify for travel insurance due to the US State Department warnings. In her visit to Israel, Madonna had stated that "Israel was as safe as New York."

Israel is a leader in the field of spinal injury treatment, as well as stem-cell research. The US government has limited stem-cell research because it often involves the use of human embryos and placentas. Israel has no law regulating embryonic stem cell research. Reeve has been critical of the U.S. policy. Reeve is visiting Israel because its advanced research - particularly in stem cell therapy which offers hope to those like himself with spinal cord injuries...

The visit to Israel lasted for five days, and over the course of his stay, Reeve met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shalom. He also visited the Western Wall and the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem and met with injured Israel Defense Forces veterans.

Reeve opened his tour of Israel with a visit to the Weizmann Institute of Science, then went on to visit doctors and patients, including terror victims, at the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. Reeve said at Rehovot: "That to my great surprise, Israel is a warm and relaxed place. I didn't fear coming here. The pictures we see in the media show terrible things happening here, terror attacks and casualties - the things that make headlines. What we don't see is the normalcy, the day-to-day life, and this certainly needs to be shown to the world." Reeve met Steven Averbach who was paralyzed from the waist down in a terror attack in Jerusalem last year.


Reeve said: "The Weizmann Institute, for me, has always been a symbol of the best in research. It was founded by a man with a true vision for all the sciences - from biology, to chemistry to mathematics, and others. On this campus, there are around 2000 people working together in different disciplines to advance science." About his great esteem for Israel in general, and the Weizmann Institute in particular, Reeve gushed: "Israelis are famous for their curiosity, their intellect, and their desire for knowledge, and that is very evident here, on the campus of the Weizmann Institute." Reeve added, "But there's also a personal aspect to my visit, because, after my injury, I had the honor of meeting Professor Michal Schwartz. She told me about a theory she had. A lot of people thought that it was a crazy idea, but most of the great ideas that have succeeded were at one time considered to be crazy, so I was fascinated by what she had to say. I have tracked her progress over the years and her success is exemplary. I simply wanted to come here and express my gratitude and admiration. There's a phrase in Hebrew; it says something I 've believed ever since my injury: 'Hakol Efshari' - Everything is possible."

Reeve had returned to directing, and even returned to acting in a 1998 production of "Rear Window," a modern update of the Hitchcock thriller about a man in a wheelchair who becomes convinced a neighbor has been murdered. Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild award for best actor.

"I was worried that only acting with my voice and my face, I might not be able to communicate effectively enough to tell the story," Reeve said. "But I was surprised to find that if I really concentrated, and just let the thoughts happen, that they would read on my face. With so many close-ups, I knew that my every thought would count."

In 2000, Reeve was able to move his index finger, and a specialized workout regimen made his legs and arms stronger. He also regained sensation in other parts of his body. He had vowed to walk again.

"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life. I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery," Reeve said.

Reeve's support of stem cell research helped it emerge as a major campaign issue between President Bush and John Kerry. His name was even mentioned by Kerry earlier this month during the second presidential debate.

His athletic, 6-foot-4-inch frame and love of adventure made him a natural, if largely unknown, choice for the title role in the first "Superman" movie in 1978. He insisted on performing his own stunts.

Although he reprised the role three times, Reeve often worried about being typecast as an action hero.

"Look, I've flown, I've become evil, loved, stopped and turned the world backward, I've faced my peers, I've befriended children and small animals and I've rescued cats from trees," Reeve told the Los Angeles Times in 1983. "What else is there left for Superman to do that hasn't been done?"

Though he owed his fame to it, Reeve made a concerted effort to, as he often put it, "escape the cape." He played an embittered, crippled Vietnam veteran in the 1980 Broadway play "Fifth of July," a lovestruck time-traveler in the 1980 movie "Somewhere in Time," and an aspiring playwright in the 1982 suspense thriller "Deathtrap."

More recent films included John Carpenter's "Village of the Damned," and the HBO movies "Above Suspicion" and "In the Gloaming," which he directed. Among his other film credits are "The Remains of the Day," "The Aviator," and "Morning Glory."..."

Source: Joel Leyden. Israel Mourns Death of "Superman" Christopher Reeve. Israel News Agency (11 October 2004) [FullText]