Grapevine: Triple-digit mazal tov

THERE MUST be something special about membership in the Hazvi Yisrael congregation in terms of longevity. Over the years, there have been several members who have reached a triple-digit age. At present, there are at least three – the most recent being New York-born Rabbi Shubert Spero, who celebrated his 100th birthday on September 23. This year, he also celebrated the 40th anniversary of his aliyah.

Prior to his retirement, he served as the Irving Stone Professor of Jewish Thought at Bar-Ilan University. He has authored books and essays and has written extensively on Halacha, Jewish ethics, the Holocaust, Jewish philosophy, and the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

Alyn benefits from Thai street food sale

■ ALYN HOSPITAL Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center benefited from a Thai street food sale held at the Herzliya residence of Thailand’s Ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya.

Thai food lovers came to purchase Thai food such as pad Thai, green curry, pad grapow, chicken satay, as well as Thai beverages such as lemon iced tea, roselle juice, Thai coconut milk, and tapioca drinks which, according to Thai Embassy staff, represent the essence of Thai street food culture.

Proceeds from the sale came to NIS 12,800. The sum, which was transferred to Alyn, highlights the embassy’s commitment to benefiting society and is not its first charitable endeavor. On this occasion, it was in honor of the 91st birthday of Thailand’s queen mother, Queen Sirikit.

Saharane: Kurdish Sukkot festival

■ WHILE MOST Israelis have some knowledge of the Moroccan mimouna festival, celebrated at the conclusion of Passover, fewer people are aware of the Saharane, the festival of Kurdish Jews celebrated during Hol Hamoed Sukkot.

In Kurdistan, it was celebrated around Passover to welcome spring, but in Israel it was moved to Sukkot. This year’s festivities will be held at Sacher Park on Monday, Oct. 2, from 4 p.m., with the participation of Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar; Mayor Moshe Lion; Kurdish community president Yehuda Ben Yosef; chairman Amnon Ashkenazi; and World Federation of Sephardi Jews chairman Haim Cohen. Entertainment will be provided by Mahmet Dash, along with other popular Kurdish musicians, all well versed in Kurdish folklore.

Kadosh grows larger

■ LONG BEFORE Shlomzion Hamalka Street developed into a culinary drag, there was Kadosh, whose popularity has never waned. It’s not unusual to see people standing in line near the door, waiting for a table to be available. When the adjacent Canella restaurant closed, Keren and Itzik Kadosh seized the opportunity to expand. Now, with much larger premises, they can cater to a larger clientele, who will be able to sit in greater comfort.

Ishay Ribo back in Israel

■ FRENCH-BORN Israeli singer-songwriter Ishay Ribo, back in Israel this month following a triumphant appearance at Madison Square Garden – the first Israeli artist to be a headline performer at the famed New York arena – has a busy schedule ahead of him.

Popular with both haredi and secular audiences, Ribo’s repertoire runs the gamut from sacred to pop. On Wednesday, Oct. 4, he will be performing at the Jerusalem International Convention Center with Mordechai Shapiro and Akiva Turgeman in a benefit concert for United Hatzalah. On Thursday, Oct. 5, he will be back at the same venue with Akiva Turgeman to perform for a women-only audience.

There’s something unfair about men being allowed to perform for women, but in religious Jewish circles women are not permitted to perform in front of men. One can imagine the reaction to Noa Kirel by a purely male audience, though there were plenty of males last week at her concert in Hayarkon Park, where there were an estimated 65,000 people present – the largest-ever audience in Israel. One can only sympathize with people trapped for hours in traffic afterward.

Aside from the male performers on Thursday, women attending the event will hear from Orit Isaac, Rabbanit Yemima Mizrahi, and journalist Sivan Rahav-Meir, who has built up an impressive career as a commentator, moderator, lecturer, and writer.

Prominent rabbis gather for Hoshana Raba

■ ALSO ON Thursday, Oct. 5, more than a dozen prominent rabbis, led by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau; Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar; and Dov Lior, rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Hebron, will congregate late in the evening at the Seven Arches hotel on the Mount of Olives for Hoshana Raba all-night study and singing.

The mystery of disappearing children

■ THE MYSTERY of the disappearing babies and young children – primarily of Yemenite lineage – will not go away. A report in Maariv, the sister publication of The Jerusalem Post, points to further disturbing incidents that suggest that children who reportedly died may still be living.

Lawyers Assaf Priel and Yossi Gamliel, both of Yemenite background, last week petitioned the Jerusalem District Court to allow them to see the death certificates of Yemenite children who allegedly died some 70 years ago. The lawyers, representing some of the families who lost children, are not interested in a financial settlement but are seeking official proof that the children died.

What has prompted the appeal is a situation that would be farcical were it not so serious. For instance, a man by the name of Yihye Levy is in possession of an ID card with an identical number to a card issued to an infant whose first name was Yihye, whose parents were told he had died.

There was also the case of another “death,” yet the person concerned received a senior citizen’s card from the National Insurance Institute. Someone else, who supposedly died as an infant, received a voting card entitling him to cast his ballot in national and municipal elections.

There were other cases of people being fined for payments they owed to the National Insurance Institute. Presumably, these sums had not been deducted from their salaries. All these people allegedly died around 70 years ago.

Gamliel has a personal, as well as a professional, interest in seeing the death certificates. His brother was one of the children who disappeared, and his mother on her deathbed ordered Gamliel to keep looking until he learned the truth.

Priel noted that when a senior citizen’s card is sent to a retiree, a clerk from the NII usually talks to that individual to ascertain whether the person is indeed an Israeli citizen and entitled to receive the special allowances granted to senior citizens. He wanted to know how it was possible for a “dead” infant to receive a senior citizen’s card.

The two lawyers have a long list of anomalies that would suggest that many of the infants did not die. The lawyers wanted to speak to Meir Amsalem, who is responsible for the archives of the Interior Ministry. However, the attorney representing the State Prosecutor’s Department said that Amsalem had already provided answers and there was nothing more that he could give. She understood the frustration, she said, but under the freedom of information law, no additional information was provided.

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