‘TITANIC’ TALES

In your fascinating report about the Jewish passengers aboard the fated Titanic, writer Alex Winston wrote that Isador Straus and his wife joined the ship after vacationing in Cape Martin in France (April 12).

My understanding was that Isador Straus had been touring pre-state Palestine with his brother Nathan Straus. The brothers were ardent promoters of Zionist ventures and Isador had left earlier than Nathan, who remained to investigate developments worthy of their donations.

One such investment led to Netanya being named after this generous donor.

Because of his delay in leaving Palestine, Nathan Straus missed the departure of the Titanic,a mistake that saved his life. BARRY SHAW

Netanya

Your readers might be interested in another Jewish survivor of the Titanic disaster: Joseph Abraham Hyman from Russia. His ticket price in steerage class was about $10.

He could not sleep and happened to be walking on the deck in his thick Russian overcoat when the Titanic hit the iceberg. He was asked if he could row a lifeboat, said he could, and was saved.

Only about 12% of male passengers in steerage class survived. J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line which owned the Titanic, was in Mr. Hyman’s lifeboat.

Mr. Hyman returned to England. In 1913, he opened a Jewish delicatessen in Manchester called Titanic’s, which was in business for 103 years, until 2016. It was run by four generations of the Hyman family. Four generations of my family shopped there. I still remember Mr. Hyman and his herrings in barrels.

Mr. Hyman died in 1956. The family also said that he had regular nightmares as Mr. Saalfeld and others mentioned in the article.

ANDREW BALCOMBE Jerusalem