Grapevine December 9, 2023: Unlawful credentials

Some ministers have a knack for shooting themselves in the foot, and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, although he does have a couple of successes to his credit, is no exception. According to a report in Haaretz, Cohen has issued instructions for the bestowal of the best of all Hanukkah gifts on senior members of his party and on the elder son of the most senior of them all, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One of the most significant status symbols that a non-diplomat can have is a diplomatic passport. Haaretz reports that Cohen is keen to have diplomatic passports issued to influential members of Likud as well as to Yair Netanyahu, who probably wields the greatest influence of all.

The younger Netanyahu is currently busy raising funds for United Hatzalah, but with a diplomatic passport in hand, may opt for a career in the foreign service.

Career diplomats are most unhappy about an arrangement whereby politicians are issued with diplomatic passports to which they are not legally entitled, particularly as there is no urgent situation which would demand a bending of the rules.

At a time when the Prime Minister is under attack both in the court of justice and the court of public opinion, it should surely obligate the Minister of Foreign Affairs to behave with greater caution, rather than risk provoking a revival of national divisiveness.

The far Right has gone even further in this direction with its use of the Kach clenched fist logo and its announced intention to remove the Waqf from the Temple Mount. One can only imagine where such a controversial attempt would lead. The question also arises about whether the police are really interested in maintaining law and order if they approved a radical right-wing march through Jerusalem’s Old City.

Perks of being a scholar in residence

One of the perks of being a scholar in residence is receiving an all-expenses-paid vacation on a cruise ship or in a fancy hotel. The downside is the loss of privacy for the duration. Speakers at functions may get waylaid by members of the audience immediately afterwards, but after answering the questions or listening to the comments of some half dozen people, the speaker can excuse himself or herself and head for home. Not so when you’re a scholar in residence. Privacy becomes a rare luxury, because everyone there knows where to find you. Nonetheless, with the cold of winter permeating most of the country, some people are willing to risk their privacy for a week to bask in the warm sun of Eilat. The Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) is holding its annual end-of-year getaway at the Royal Beach Hotel in Eilat from December 24-31, and scholars in residence include Susie and Herb Keinon and Ricki and David Bernstein, proving that it’s a boon when both partners in a marriage have expertise in specific fields which are of general interest and which can be discussed amongst large and small groups of people. Susie Keinon is a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety disorders, life crises, adjustment disorders, depression, and PTSD.

Readers of The Jerusalem Post are familiar with her husband, Herb Keinon, the paper’s veteran political reporter and analyst, who today is also a contributing editor. Over the years, Herb has written whimsical pieces about his family, never referring to Susie by name.

She apparently prefers it that way, but will come out of anonymity in Eilat.

Ricki Bernstein, who has an MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work, and an M. Phil in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University, is also a consultant for trauma therapy in Southern Israel.

David Bernstein, who is the emeritus dean of Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, is an alumnus of New York University, where he studied history and religious education and from where he received a string of degrees.

Herb Keinon, who keeps his finger on the pulse of political developments, even when on vacation, will provide updates on what is happening in the country and beyond, while AACI officials who are involved in numerous volunteer activities, will provide information on how and where people can help.

Repairing the uniforms of soldiers free of charge

On the subject of help, a loose button, a torn seam, or an unraveled hem are always annoying, but more so when one is not in a position to repair the damage. It stands to reason that soldiers fall into that category. But Marion Silman is willing to repair the uniforms of soldiers free of charge for any soldier who can get himself or his uniform to Jerusalem. She can be reached at 052-240 7078.

So many people are willing to volunteer their time and their talents, and this is yet another example.

Jewish roots

Everyone has an interesting family story if one probes deep enough. Yohanan Peretz was born in Venezuela to a family descended from the conversos who left Spain during the Inquisition more than five hundred years ago.

He did not know of his Jewish ancestry until he fled from the Venezuelan dictatorship and went to Mexico, where he discovered Mariachi music.

A musical prodigy, with a gift for playing a variety of musical instruments, Peretz began to play at the age of 4. By the time he was 18, he had mastered eight instruments.

He played in a couple of orchestras, and in one there was a Jewish girl named Sara, with whom he fell in love, and whom he eventually married.

At the time that they met, Sara was delving into her faith, and becoming more religiously observant.

When he learned from Sara about Jewish customs and traditions, it dawned on him that his grandmother was a converso who continued to practice certain Jewish traditions that had been handed down from generation to generation.

For instance, the males in the family were all circumcised. Candles were lit on Friday night, and the food they ate was prepared in a certain way that only later did he learn that it conformed with Jewish customs.

Peretz married Sara in 2013. They lived briefly in Venezuela, but due to the political situation and the critical decline in the economy, they left Venezuela for Spain, where they joined a Mariachi band. At the same time, they became involved with the local Chabad community. Peretz underwent a halachic conversion in Valencia, and he and Sara had a second wedding, this time according to the Law of Moses and of Israel. He had not been born with his present name, and took his grandmother’s Jewish surname as his own. He studied Hebrew and Judaism with Chabad, and after five years in Spain, decided that the best place in which to live a Jewish life was Israel.

He and his wife settled in Jerusalem where their son Yehuda Meir Was born, and in Jerusalem Peretz established the Jerusalem Mariachi band, which he believes is the only one of its kind in Israel.

With the help of the Mexican embassy, they brought the costumes worn by Mariachi bands in Mexico to Israel. Peretz is eager to introduce this unique style of music to ever wider Israeli audiences, and looks forward to doing this at the opening concert of Jewish Music at the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem on September 17. The series titled When Classical meets Klezmer, features different genres in musical hybrid styles with klezmer.

The Mexican evening will unite klezmer with Mariachi, which is a musical style developed in Guadalajara in the Mexican state of Jalisco. It combines trumpets, violins, and string instruments unique to the region. Players perform in traditional folk costumes and sombreros.

Israel tourism

Although Israel’s tourism industry has suffered a severe slump, it is bound to pick up as solidarity missions increasingly come to boost the morale of displaced communities, to salute the security forces, and to assure families of hostages being held in Gaza that they are doing their utmost to make sure that awareness of this tragedy does not fade. Given the number of Israeli organizations and institutions that have affiliates in numerous countries abroad, tourism should improve dramatically over the coming six months. It’s just as well that several hotels under construction are nearing completion.

As various foreign airline carriers will be taking their time over resuming flights to Israel, this will augur well for the profitability of Israeli airlines which will transport solidarity missions to and from Israel.

Coming to Israel

Among recent arrivals were David Kornmehl and Vivian Rinat, president and CEO respectively of JNF Holland.

They were greeted by Meir Tzur, head of the Middle Arava Regional Council, who took them to see Dutch projects throughout the Gaza envelope, as well as projects co-created by several overseas organizations including JNF Holland

Among the projects which he showed them was a student facility in Ein Yahav where 180 first graders are enrolled. He also took them to a therapeutic center where social and emotional assistance is given to evacuees from southern communities.

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