THE first biography of Che written in Hebrew: Che Guevara, the life of a revolutionary, is currently a best seller in Israel, coinciding with the anniversary of his death.

The book, written by Argentine-Israeli historian and journalist Efraim Davidi, has increased Che’s popularity with the youth of that country, while paradoxically its government, is one of only two – Micronesia being the other – to have consistently supported the U.S. blockade of Cuba.

Since 1963, when Che visited Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, his image has never been as popular in this region as it is today, confirmed correspondent Shlomo Slutky from the Clarin digital edition.

A combatant may die but not his ideas, Fidel Castro affirmed some years ago, referring to Che Guevara. On this same occasion, he expressed that not all periods and not all circumstances require the same methods and the same tactics, but that no one can halt the course of history.

This October 8 -9, 2004 is the 37th anniversary in Bolivia of the capture and assassination of the "little condottiero" as Che referred to himself in a farewell letter written to his parents before setting off for the Bolivian peaks.

The fact that he never ceased acting what he preached, or demanded more of others than he demanded of himself, resonates today more than ever among those struggling for a better world. Now more than ever, Che travels the paths of the world with Rocinante’s ribs below his heels and his shield on his arm.

Three decades have gone by since Cuban President Fidel Castro wrote in the preface to his comrade in arms’ Bolivian Campaign Diary: "very few times in history, if ever, has a figure, a name, an example become so universal with such celerity and passionate strength. It is that Che embodies in its purest and most selfless manner the internationalist spirit that characterizes the world of today and increasingly, the world of tomorrow. "

At the end of 1966, with polished determination and artistic joy, Che embarked on the mission that took him to Bolivia, leading a group of 52 guerrillas including Bolivians, Cubans and Peruvians, the intention of which was to extend the socialist revolution to all of South America. After 11 months, at midday on Sunday, October 8, Che was surrounded in La Quebrada de el Jhuro, where an unequal combat resulted in his capture by Bolivian soldiers, with an wound in his right calf and his M-3 carbine destroyed by a bullet. That same day he was taken to La Higuera, where 24 hours later a soldier assassinated him by firing several machinegun rounds into his body.