The Task Force for Justice in the name of Dror Goldberg

The following is a brief sample of the hundreds of letters sent to Dror. Through the efforts of the Taskforce for Justice, at least one letter is sent to Dror every day.

While Dror does not have access to the internet or email, the Taskforce prints and mails your email messages to Dror. Please write a letter to Dror to help keep his spirits up and let him know he has support.

The Taskforce ensures that Dror receives at least one letter per day. We will continue this effort until the day he is free again.

Thankful letters from Dror:

Letter from Dror to the Task Force
May 2004

To All my Friends and Family,
How are all of you? I hope and pray that every single one of you is happy and healthy and that all f your loved ones are all in good health and in excellent spirits. How have all of you been? Thank you each and everyone for all of your incredible love and support. It is mind boggling that there are so many good and kind hearted people out there who are willing to dedicate time to help someone in need. I thank all of you for your awesome letters. It is so cool to hear about all of your lives and see so many different opinions. You people are so great.

I am staying busy. As some of you may be aware my family and I are still fighting our legal fight. The good thing is that after a while my family and I have really become knowledgeable concerning the criminal legal system and this knowledge gives us a little more control over our situation.

Beverly, (My Guardian Angel) is hard at work with my cousin Rachel along with the Kosoys Katzins, and several others to update a website concerning my struggles. So stay posted.

Aside from this I am still enrolled in college courses offered here and
I am almost through. I was also given an assignment as one of the four horticulturists on the unit. They call us the "Martha Stewart Crew", which is kind of funny. This crew consists of me, an old pirate (a real pirate) an ex biker and a Neo Nazi. Surprisingly we all get along great, and we all love our flowers.

Our Rabbi Ted Sanders came for Passover and we had a Passover seder. He always does his best to help us out. This year he has some help with our new volunteer Dr. David Wolf who has been a blessing to us. Our little Jewish community has been very blessed.

I've been trying to observe a lot of the behavior of those around me, and I've found that having a positive attitude adds around 15 years to one's life. It’s amazing the toll that negativity can take on you so why allow it. Some things in life are meant for a purpose, so one might as well be happy and content with what he or she has. Or so it seems to me.

I just wanted to write and thank all of you for your kindness and love.
Thank you so much for your letters and all of your support. Please take care of your loved one and yourselves and eat something good for me.

With much love,
Dror

Letter from Dror after 9/11

9/17/01

To All of my family and Friends,

Happy Rosh Hashona -I hope this letter finds everyone in great health and improving spirits. I also pray to God that none of you knew anyone who was involved in last weeks attack. As I can imagine most of you were glued to your television sets just as I was. Unbelievable.

Thank you for continuing the letter campaign. Y'all have no idea how important each and every letter is to me. I can't wait to meet each and every one of you. It will be an honor. It amazes me that over a year and a half has passed and I still receive letters every day. You are saints. I would have drowned if it weren't for all of you.

All is well here. I apologize for not writing earlier, but I have just been moved to the "tanks". This is a part of this prison that was built in 1933, so it’s a little strange. I have my own "cubicle" and it isn't too bad. I have a bit more freedom and I only have to worry about my own space. Right now the unit is "locked down" which means no one can go anywhere. Aren't all of you glad that you can learn prison slang? Sandy Sufian has a sweetheart of a friend who works for a publishing company and she keeps sending me these great books so I have books to read during lockdown.

My college classes are coming along and I work all the time. Otherwise all is well. No news on the legal front. I believe all the flooding and terrorism have slowed things down. I just wanted to wish all of you a sweet new year. I pray that this year treats you better than the last few.

Please take care of each other and eat something good.
With much love and respect,
Dror H. Goldberg

Sample of letters sent to Dror:

August 26,2002

Dear Dror,
We just returned from a trip to Canada where we attended a Klezmer summer camp. We heard the disheartening news about the denial of the appeal. I don't know enough about the law to know what the next steps are to continue the appeal process but I do know that we will not give up supporting you in your quest for justice. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of bad news in our world today but we must always remember that where there is hope there is possibility. At the Klezmer camp we were exposed to the writings of a Jewish writer, named Mordechai Gebirtig who lived in Krakow. He wrote poetry and verse as well as music depicting the human condition surrounding him. Some of his writings are very insightful of what he saw happening to his town and to the people who were his friends and neighbors. While his writings about this are sad he always concluded with prose mentioning hope and reminding all of us that we must never give up hope because to do so is to allow the enemy to win. Dror, we share your disappointment but we also remember the above statement. Keep your spirits up, as much as you can, and resolve to use your time to your best advantage. Keep up with your studies and remember that the other side of darkness is light and that the path to enlightenment is your education.
Love, Dave and Beverly

Dror,
I just want to tell you I'm thinking about you everyday. There are so many of us who are heartbroken about this whole thing. We are trying to do everything we can do to get this situation changed. Our hearts, thoughts, and love are with you everyday. Somehow remember you are loved by so many and we don't believe you have done anything to deserve this. We won't stop trying, we won't keep our mouths shut until you are out of that place. We love you. Maybe right now that seems so far away, but you must grab a hold of it and keep your courage. Somehow, some way, there will be a way out of this, we must all keep our faith and our courage to go forward. I say "we" because it is "we" you, and all of us, together. Our hearts are heavy for you, but we must keep working to find a way out of this mess. Everyday I keep my eyes and ears open for any opportunity that might help. I keep thinking a door will open. I know it will, soon.
Love, Mere

Dear Dror,
Once again, I don't know you but I am a friend of a friend. I check my e-mail very infrequently (this computer stuff is still "new" to me), but whenever i do there is some mail from your task force. Your support system is unbelievable and that is probably because you are a very well-thought of person. In this busy, rushed world where no one has time for anything or anybody. All of your friends, family, acquaintances, have created and carved time from their hectic lives to keep in touch with you. In any event, I know that you have been transferred to a new facility and I hope that it is as satisfactory as it can be. I am hoping and praying for you that this Jewish New Year of 5761 will be a year of freedom for you.
Shana Tova-- from Sheilah Miller

Dear Beverly,
Please send my regards to Dror if you speak or write to him. Let me know how things are going lately, where he is staying, and how he is doing. Is there anything in particular that one can send to him, that he may want to receive? Hope you and the family are well, and that your work and efforts on his behalf are making some difference and that justice will prevail sooner than later. Please let me know if I can do anything. Feel free to include my name in any signed request you make to ask for support from people or a demand that his case be reconsidered, or whatever it may be that you deem necessary to use it for. May God be with you and give you strength in everything you do.
Lots of love, Rabbi Yattah

Dear Dror,
don't know you personally, but am a friend of Nancy Epstein's and Beverly Sufian's. I am very concerned about the distortions in the media which colored your case in such a damaging fashion. I would never have guessed about your innocence if I hadn't heard the outrage and unalloyed solidarity of both Nancy and Beverly, very trusted sources of information. I want you to know that you can count me as a community member on your side. This nightmare you are going through might well determine your own path in life, once this is all behind you. With all this that I am thinking may be very premature for you to even contemplate, giving the psychological and emotional pain, the disbelief, that you must be going through every day. My heart goes out to you.
B'shalom, Bette Tiago

There is no question in my mind that this nightmare will come to an end and you will be free. You must continue to hope and pray. I have never met you and yet your goodness is felt. Therefore I shall continue my prayers and follow up on the case.
Sincerely, Nancy Seldin Friend of Lauren Costa

Letter from an observer in the courtroom April 24, 2000

Dear Ms. Goldberg,
I would like to offer both my condolences and my support to you. I was initially at Dror's trial by happenstance. I am a first-semester law student and we were required to spend some time at the courthouse. I will admit to you that I was very media-biased at first, and I assumed both that Dror was guilty and that the state had a good case. I quickly learned that I was wrong about both. After the first day I saw the trial, I came back as often as I could. I know virtually nothing about the law, and during Dror's trial I would have given anything to know more because I feel the trial was unfair in so many ways. I relayed a lot of what I saw to my teachers and they were often astonished. The main thing I noticed is that the judge seemed biased towards the prosecution. How could the defense have any credibility with the jury when the judge treated Dror's attorneys so condescendingly? Needless to say, Dror's trial really upset me. I feel disappointed because this destroys all of my previous notions of justice. I was especially infuriated after the closing arguments. I could go on for days arguing Dror's case. I have two little brothers, one is seventeen and the other is Dror's age. Perhaps that is why I feel so strongly about the injustice done to Dror, because I think I would lose my mind if this happened to Michael or Brandon. I really respect the grace and dignity you've displayed from day one. I hope that in similar circumstances I could at least slightly emulate you. Your family's courage makes me even more determined that my heart is right about this. My twenty-one year-old brother is in the Marines so he has not been here to hear about Dror's case. The seventeen year-old, Brandon, is as big a supporter as I am. I talk about it non-stop, and I brought Brandon with me to watch the trial after school a few weeks ago. For the record, we are eight years apart and disagree about everything. I think our only form of conversation is arguing. It's all in fun, but we never have the same viewpoints. Well, Brandon needed only one day to feel the same way I do. We were actually the first in the courtroom after a break, and almost the only people there when the bailiff brought Dror back in. I'm sure he was wondering who on earth we were, as he did not recognize us as his friends or family, and because it is obvious we were not related to anyone on the prosecution's side. Even if my brother thought he was guilty, his passion for everyone is such that he would never want to hurt anyone's feelings. So, when Dror looked over at us, and he and my brother made eye contact, they sort of smiled and nodded at each other. I am not trying to make this sound like some big, cheezy, toothy display, but I know you can picture what I'm talking about. Anyway, Brandon watched that day and we have had numerous discussions since. Brandon believes that Dror received an unfair trial, and more importantly, he believes that Dror is innocent. Although we have no first- hand knowledge, we both feel very strongly about this (and our dad, too!). And I want you to does not have pity for youth offenders; he simply does not believe that Dror is one of them. Ms. Goldberg, I just wanted you to know that even though I know next to nothing, I will do anything that I can. At the very least, when you visit Dror you can relay to him that even strangers feel for him and hope that this awful injustice will end with the successful appeal of his case. I am serious about my offer, though. Dror's trial has been an inspiration to me. I can't wait until the day that I myself am a defense attorney, and I now know that I will defend young people and do everything in my power to see that they get a FAIR trial. Again, I will do anything that I can. I have no plethora of law-knowledge, but my heart is in it 100 percent. I am also aware that I could be wrong about Dror's innocence. Regardless of anyone's guilt or innocence, everyone deserves a fair trial. I feel very strongly about Dror's case, and I honestly believe he was treated by the court like he was guilty long before he was convicted. All I know for sure is that if he were guilty, my feelings would not change, and my compassion for Dror would not falter. Best wishes to you your family, and especially you, Dror.
Tara Collins

Dear Dror We watched the Court TV show the other day and it was great. Your mom did great job and so did Mr. De Guerin. Catherine Crier who did the interviewing did a very good job of asking questions about the case. They showed pictures of you with your brothers and one of you with your mom and then one of you and Shira, Rachel and Ron. The pictures looked great. My mom told me she was excited they showed the pictures since the pictures had been in the press packet. I think it is incredible that Court TV, specifically Catherine Crier Live did a story on your case. It shows how hard everyone is working for you. I know that so many people worked so many hours on the press packet and their work is paying off which I know makes them feel good.