Grapevine: A mayoral briefing

AS AN observant Jew, Mayor Moshe Lion attends synagogue services every Sabbath but not always at the same synagogue. As mayor, he believes that it is important to attend as many synagogues as possible that are within relatively easy walking distance from his home in Rehavia.

Last Saturday he came to Hazvi Yisrael congregation in Talbiyeh, and on the way he may have noticed the number of learner signs on cars, in which mostly women from east Jerusalem were learning to drive.

Before the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, Talbiyeh was home to affluent Christian Arabs who built large, elegant homes. Perhaps for the women learning to drive, cruising through Talbiyeh may be in the nature of a roots trip, as Arabs no longer live there.

This was not Lion’s first visit to Hazvi Yisrael. In the past, he has conducted the service and has read from the Torah. This time, he read the haftarah (the portion from the Prophets read on Shabbat), and later made Kiddush. When offered a choice of whisky, wine, or grape juice for the blessing, he opted for the latter.

But neither the reading of the haftarah nor the Kiddush was the main purpose of his visit.

He had come to brief the congregants on what has happened in Jerusalem since October 7 and to impart an important lesson.

In terms of its demographic composition, Jerusalem, he said, is the most complex city in the country. Arabs account for more than one-third of the city’s population. While he understands that there are certain tensions between Arabs and Jews, Lion urged the congregation not to regard all Arabs as enemies but to look at them first as human beings who deserve respect from other human beings.

Very few are supporters of Hamas, he said.

Since the outbreak of the war, he had been approached by parents of schoolchildren who stated they did not want Arabs as janitors in the schools attended by their children, nor did they want to see Arab street sweepers. Lion explained that there was no one to replace these employees, as so many people had been called to the army or were involved in numerous initiatives that are part of the war effort.

Moreover, he said, since 1967 Jews and Arabs have been living in the same city and must learn to coexist in a normal fashion. As it is, Arabs are involved in almost every sphere of the city’s life. Lion made specific reference to the number of Arab physicians and nurses who are working in every hospital in Jerusalem.

Daycares at hospitals

■ BECAUSE OF the extra burden placed on medical staff in all hospitals, particularly the Hadassah-University and Shaare Zedek medical centers, the municipality has arranged for child-minding centers to be established there so medical staff with young children would not have to stay home to look after them and could continue to work without worrying about the well-being of their progeny. This is a great boon to single-parent families and to families in which one of the partners is serving in the IDF reserve forces.

From a security standpoint, Lion said that Jerusalem is one of the safest places in the country. Although there have been warning sirens, no rockets have fallen on Jerusalem. In addition, there is very close cooperation between the municipality, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the police.

Lion had high praise for the police, who he said are doing a tremendous job. He is in daily contact with Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman. The police and Shin Bet are making sure that extremists in the Arab community are prevented from sparking incitement, but Lion admitted that there was no way of controlling lone-wolf terrorists, though some have been apprehended before they could do any real damage.

In regard to the thousands of displaced people from the South living temporarily in Jerusalem, Lion said that they are entitled to all the municipal services that are given to permanent residents.

He was happy, he said, to see the city gradually returning to normal.

He also spoke about the daily meetings in the Situation Room and of efforts to provide a variety of activities for adults and children who are the occupants of hotels throughout the city.

Therapists are available free of charge to help those people who are unable to cope with the trauma of what they witnessed on October 7 and with the experience of having to leave their homes.

Prior to Lion’s briefing, which was quite long and detailed and captured the full attention of the congregants, they were addressed by Rabbi Professor Avraham Steinberg.

Hazvi Yisrael has not had a permanent rabbi for several months now, but there are retired rabbis and knowledgeable scholars among the congregants who fill in on a rotation basis. Steinberg advanced the theory that the reason that Israel had been caught off guard by the Hamas assault was that the nation had been so divided in its beliefs, that neither side wanted to listen to the other.

When that happens, disputes cannot be resolved and the situation is exacerbated, Steinberg said. Though delighted by the prevailing spirit of unity during the war, he was concerned that once the war ended, the pre-war chasm would resurface. Throughout Jewish history, whenever there was a rift in the nation, it did not augur well for the Jewish people, said Steinberg. If there is another after the war, it will cause an even greater calamity, he cautioned.

Lion said that he was in full agreement with that premise.

The government ignores cities

■ ONE OF the leading members and past president of Hazvi Yisrael is David Zwebner, a businessman with diverse interests that include real estate, wealth management, tourism, and precious metal recycling. He also sits on the boards of several organizations and institutions, such as Keren Ashkelon, the Begin Heritage Center, Yad Ben-Zvi, the Ma’aleh School, and the Bible Lands Museum.

In addition to his Jerusalem home which is a hop, skip, and a jump from the synagogue, he also owns a home in Ashkelon, where he is very active in the community. Ashkelon has received a large number of rockets from Gaza, and 40% of the city’s residents are without access to bomb shelters. For the time being, says Zwebner, Keren Ashkelon is directing funds toward the emergency needs of residents, and immediately after the war it will begin building public bomb shelters.

Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam has lambasted Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for his failure to provide support for Ashkelon.

He is not the only mayor who is angry with Smotrich and the government in general. Lion says that the government has ignored Jerusalem.

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