Grapevine, January 3, 2024: Outreach and up-reach

Real estate hotel and hi-tech entrepreneur Alfred Akirov, who will celebrate his 83rd birthday on Friday, January 5, came in for a lot of flak for refusing to accommodate evacuees in his two luxury hotels in Jerusalem.

But Akirov has redeemed himself with a $37 million donation to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv for the construction of a 29-floor rehabilitation tower, which is intended to be the largest in the Middle East – at least until another tycoon comes along and provides for something bigger and better. The government will also contribute a considerable grant to the construction costs.

The rehabilitation tower will serve the needs of both soldiers and civilians and, in addition to services for treating a variety of physical injuries and ailments, will include a mental health unit.

Ichilov has been particularly fortunate in tapping donor generosity. The Sammy Ofer Heart Building, the funds for which were donated by the late shipping magnate Sammy Ofer, is one of the most state-of-the-art cardiology clinics in the world, and has 17 floors.

Presumably, the next project after the rehabilitation tower will have close to 50 floors. Israel’s population is growing and is on the verge of 10 million – a figure that defied imagination way back in 1948 – and therefore additional medical services are sorely needed.

Hadassah

For more than 110 years, Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, has been coming to the Land and later the State of Israel in times of crisis, starting with two nurses, Rose Kaplan and Rae Landy, sent from America in 1913 to provide maternity care and treat eye diseases.

From the small public health station which they set up in Jerusalem, Hadassah healthcare has grown to two huge medical centers in different parts of the capital, dealing with almost every imaginable health issue.

Since 1913, Hadassah members have contributed and raised not millions of dollars, but billions of dollars, for health services in Israel.

In addition, executive members have regularly come to visit, and national presidents of the organization have led national conferences and solidarity missions to Israel, in the belief that being here inspires women to do more and give more.

Yet another solidarity mission of at least 45 women, including newly installed national president Carol Ann Schwartz of Cincinnati and four of her predecessors – Nancy Falchuk, Marcie Natan, Rhoda Smolow, and Ellen Hershkin – will be arriving next week.

Hadassah national presidents remain in other capacities after their terms are over. They simply don’t leave, because they consider that what Hadassah does is too important.

Pablo Rosenberg on the big screen

Small screen viewers who watched the international travel series with Pablo Rosenberg and Gal Toren will soon be able to see Rosenberg on the big screen. The Argentine-born singer and musician has taken time out from voluntary performances for soldiers and evacuees to appear in a South American film in which the dialogue will be in Hebrew and Spanish. The producer is Moshe Edery and his United King Films production and distribution company.

Considering his contribution to Israel’s film industry, it is strange that Edery has not yet received the Israel Prize.

Staying in hotels

As small a country as Israel is, people attending evening events that are only a couple of hours’ drive from home prefer an overnight stay in a hotel.

That’s what Miki Kam did on the night of the Haifa Theater production of Sonia, a musical about the lives and loves of Sonia and Shimon Peres, who in the twilight of their relationship, after having been together for much more than half a century, split up and went their separate ways.

Sonia had hoped that he would finally make her his No. 1 priority, but he preferred to be president of the state, and she was so angry and disappointed that she refused to attend his inauguration. When she died, she was buried in the Ben-Shemen Youth Village, where she grew up and first met the man who was to become her husband, and the only person in the country who over the years held the offices of defense minister, foreign minister, finance minister, prime minister and president – plus several other portfolios.

In his eulogy at Sonia’s funeral, Peres said that she had been the love of his life. When Peres died in September 2016, he was buried on Mount Herzl. Even in death, husband and wife were not reunited.

Kam, who stars as Sonia, lives in Tel Aviv, and could have easily taken the train or driven home, but it was simply more convenient to stay at the Dan Carmel Hotel, at the invitation of the hotel’s general manager, Ben Janover, who also invited the show’s director, Idan Rosenberg.

Kam had recently been at the hotel on another occasion, to entertain the evacuees from Kibbutz Dan, which is situated near the Lebanese border; and before that she had been at both the Dan Panorama in Haifa and the Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv, entertaining evacuees from Sderot and Kibbutz Be’eri. Attending one of these concerts was former defense minister Amir Peretz, whom Kam thanked personally for his approval of the Iron Dome defense system, through which so many lives had been saved.

Also at one of the concerts was Daniel Weiss from Kibbutz Be’eri, whose father, Shmuel, had been killed while defending his wife, Yehudit Weiss, who was subsequently abducted by Hamas and taken to Gaza. When Daniel was at Kam’s concert, Yehudit was still missing. Israeli soldiers later found her dead body at Shifa Hospital. Daniel and his four siblings will continue to sing, because they refuse to allow Hamas to deprive them of the joy of life.

Israel’s entertainment industry

Quite a large number of members of Israel’s entertainment industry have not had any paying gigs for three months, and in the national spirit of volunteerism have been going to army bases, hotels, and hospitals to perform free of charge for soldiers who are defending the country, evacuees, and wounded soldiers. Some, such as Shlomi Shabat, are doing this on a daily basis – which means they are going for a long period without earning any money.

One of Shabat’s greatest longtime fans is prominent businessman Udi Angel, who, aware of the financial predicament in which Shabat and his band may find themselves, has offered to pay them for every performance they give.

Most people just take entertainers for granted. It’s heartwarming to know that someone realizes that they need to put food on the table, and is willing to compensate them.

$30 million grant for researchers

A professor from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is one of 11 researchers who will each receive part of a collective grant of $30m. from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation to fund innovative “tabletop” experiments, many of which will explore realms of physics typically probed by large-scale facilities.

Prof. Ron Folman’s research will receive $2.6m. from the fund and lead the development of a nanodiamond spatial interferometer to help resolve the disconnect between quantum physics and Einstein’s theory of relativity by performing spin-based interferometry measurements.

Folman, who has spent the past 20 years trying to find the connection between the general theory of relativity (gravity) and quantum mechanics, said that “these two pillars have been tested by numerous experiments throughout the last century and have been found to be accurate. The problem now is that in order to have a true understanding of nature, we need to understand how these two pillars work together.”

At BGU, Folman is head of the Atom Chip Laboratory, holds the Ruth Flinkman-Marandy and Ben Marandy chair in quantum physics and Nanotechnology, and is the founder of the Weiss Family Laboratory for Nanoscale Systems.

According to Folman, such a grant “isn’t given without the confidence in the capabilities of the research group. This is real recognition of our capabilities that we’ve shown over the past 20 years and validates the work we’ve done. Furthermore, this grant now enables us to embark on one of the most fascinating experiments that one can perform in order to further understand physics and nature.”

By pooling their resources and expertise, the foundations have magnified the impact of their grant-making and are able to collectively fund more projects. Each of the projects will receive funding for up to five years.

Yonah Jeremy Bob's book

Jerusalem Post military and intelligence analyst Yonah Jeremy Bob and Ilan Evyatar, the former editor of The Jerusalem Report, have written a book, Target Tehran, which has received highly favorable reviews from publications such as The Wall Street Journal. The book, with its tales of assassination, sabotage, cyberwarfare, diplomacy, and the development of nuclear weapons – though a work of nonfiction, provides a great foundation for any filmmaker who wants to make an exciting action movie based on current geopolitical issues in this part of the world. The two authors will officially launch the book on Sunday, January 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Yedidya Synagogue, 12 Nahum Lifshitz Street, Baka, Jerusalem.

Yeshiva University dean moving on

After 10 years as dean of Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, Rabbi Menachem Penner is moving on. His new position is that of executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America.

Although he is leaving his post, Penner will not sever his ties with RIETS, but will continue as dean emeritus and director of strategic initiatives.

Although it is widely believed that his departure is to some extent due to the fact that he and YU president Rabbi Ari Berman do not see eye to eye on the future of RIETS, Berman has been reported as being full of praise for Penner’s accomplishments, saying inter alia: “Rabbi Penner has inspired and educated a generation of rabbis, guiding their vision and their leadership of our collective Jewish future. We are proud that he has been tapped for his extraordinary talent and skill.”

In 2008, Berman and his family moved to Israel, where he was much in demand as an orator and teacher. While in Israel, he completed his PhD in Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, headed the Heichal Shlomo Jewish Heritage Center and taught at Herzog College, but could not resist the opportunity to lead YU, and moved back to America in 2017. He is the fifth YU president.

Stories of courage, heroism, and patriotism

Some amazing stories of courage, heroism, and patriotism have come out of this war, enabling families of fallen or seriously wounded soldiers to justifiably refer to them as heroes. Some of the most modest and gentle people in civilian life become lions in the army.

A case in point is Or Matok, an officer in the Givati Brigade who was seriously wounded by a rocket and transported to a hospital by helicopter. Doctors decided to put him into an induced coma, and after four days thought it was time to rouse him. However, all their efforts failed. Undeterred, his wife, Hodaya, recorded their daughter Yael on the phone and placed the telephone receiver close to his ear. His daughter’s voice did the trick, and he regained consciousness.

Despite the severity of his physical injuries, Matok is determined to return to the battlefield. But before that, he has to go through an intensive rehabilitation process. His rehabilitation is taking place at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, where he regularly exercises in the gym, and where he occasionally tells his story to people who’ve come on solidarity visits. One such group was accompanied by Jewish Agency Chairman Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Doron Almog, who is the founder of ADI Negev.

Dr. Yitzhak Ziv Ner, the director of ADI Negev, has no doubt that Matok will resume his army service, and is convinced that the soldier’s willpower will play a strong part in his complete rehabilitation.

Cinderella stories

Cinderella stories still abound. When Mary Donaldson, an Australian-born advertising executive, met a handsome young tourist by the name of Frederik in a Sydney pub just over 23 years ago, she had no idea that he was a blue blood or that she would become the first Australian-born queen in the world. Even though there was no golden slipper, there was definitely a crown in the offing.

Mary and Frederik fell in love, got married, and she moved to Denmark. Now, four children later, she is due, as Frederik’s wife, to become queen of Denmark on January 14, following the abdication of her mother-in-law, Margarethe II, who became somewhat weary of sitting on the throne after a 52 year reign, and announced on New Year’s Eve that she was stepping down.

Am Yisrael Foundation organizations

Social entrepreneur Jay Schultz never tires of dreaming up new organizations and new events under the umbrella of the Am Yisrael Foundation, of which he is the president.

Most of his organizations are geared toward young new immigrant men and women with a view to finding social frameworks for them, teaching them more about different aspects of Israel in a social environment, and helping them to feel a sense of belonging.

His latest venture is the Tel Aviv mezuzah project called Let’s Hang. Something that’s more or less uniform with every building owned or occupied by Jews in Israel is a mezuzah on the doorpost at the entrance. As Schultz writes: “A kosher mezuzah is one of the most universal traditions connecting every Jew on the planet from Moses to Sandy Koufax. If your Tel Aviv apartment has a door missing a kosher mezuzah, sign up today.”

Everyone who applies can receive one mezuzah with casing and text free of charge. Schultz advises people who apply to have a hang party during which the mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost.

To register to receive a free kosher mezuzah, which will hopefully protect your home, go to https://TelAvivMezuzahProject.eventbrite.com/. After that, schedule a date, and the project people will be in touch.

“We bring the mezuzah, you bring the friends, cocktails, and simcha,” says Schultz. “Just register and we will be in touch to schedule your hanging party.”

The first mezuzah, as already stated, is cost-free. After that, you will have to buy extras, if you want mezuzot to grace nearly all the doorposts in your home.

The project will get you started, but after that you have to take the initiative. In most homes in which there is more than one mezuzah, they are all uniform, but when Dan Shapiro was US ambassador to Israel, he and his wife, Julie Fisher, regarded the mezuzah both as a religious symbol and a work of art, and every mezuzah in the US residence, which was then in Herzliya Pituah, was different. There were a lot of doorways in that house, so there were a lot of mezuzot in a variety of styles and sizes.

Anyone with questions about the Tel Aviv mezuzah project should address them to TelAvivMezuzah@gmail.com

Roman Vishniac

"Vishniac," the documentary film about the famed Russian-born photographer Roman Vishniac, whose superb talent captured the pre-Holocaust Jewish world of Eastern Europe and the rise of Nazism in Germany in the lens of his camera, was written about, in May of last year, by the Post’s film and entertainment reporter, Hannah Brown. Laura Bialis, who made the film, writes that it premieres in New York on January 19 and in Los Angeles on February 2. January 22, the anniversary of Vishniac’s death in 1990, is sandwiched between the two.

It is hardly surprising that a film made about someone who so desperately tried to alert the world to what was happening to the Jews in Europe is being released at a time when antisemitism in the United States and in many other parts of the world is at an all-time high since the Holocaust.

Attitudes toward Jews have not really changed since the Holocaust. Families of the hostages who have suffered physical, sexual, and mental abuse in Gaza have traveled abroad to address heads of state, government ministers, parliamentarians, human rights activists, and more to draw attention to the plight of their loved ones, and with some exceptions are getting much the same reaction as did Vishniac and people such as Polish resistance fighter, diplomat, and academic Jan Karski.

Although, he has raised the issue of the hostages with heads of state, diplomats, and politicians many times, President Isaac Herzog felt compelled, when sending New Year greetings to world leaders this week, to once again underscore the human rights abuses by Hamas, and urge leaders to use their influence to call for the immediate release of the hostages. This should not have been necessary, following the intensive media coverage that this issue has received, particularly the widely publicized investigative report by The New York Times, but when it comes to mistreatment of Jews and blacks, the world tends to cast a blind eye and turn a deaf ear.

On January 15, Americans and some people in other countries will mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the 95th anniversary of the birth of the eloquent civil rights activist. There will be footage on television and social media of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, in which he dreams of the day when his children will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Should we not all be judged by the content of our characters?

Bank Hapoalim art exhibition

Every year, Bank Hapoalim hosts an art exhibition and sale in which participating artists give 25% of their proceeds from sales to a worthy cause nominated by the bank. The opening of the “by invitation only” event, which attracts the who’s who of the nation, is traditionally held in December, at the main branch of the bank at 63 Yehuda Halevi Street, Tel Aviv, but that proved unfeasible in December last year, and it was moved to Friday, February 2, this year.

Guests at the opening will be greeted by the bank’s chairman, Reuven Krupik, members of the board of directors and senior management.

Proceeds from this upcoming exhibition will be dedicated to Enosh, the Israel Mental Health Association, which treats people with mental problems and promotes awareness of the importance of mental health.

People who witnessed or fled from the Hamas atrocities on October 7 or who have been released from Hamas captivity are in a state of trauma, even though they may not display any outward signs. Similarly, soldiers fighting in Gaza or defending the northern border may be affected mentally when seeing their comrades fall in battle.

Recognizing mental disorders as soon as possible so that proper treatment can be given is of the utmost importance. Anyone with a member of their household who suffers from mental problems knows what a strain this can be on the whole family.

The exhibition, which includes approximately 500 works by some of Israel’s leading artists, as well as by some promising young artists, will be open to the wider public on Saturday night, February 3, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday and Monday, February 4 and 5, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Outrageous statements from Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan

During her short-lived period as public diplomacy minister, Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan made a number of outrageous statements against members of the opposition, for which she earned considerable criticism. Now, with hindsight, having realized the error of her ways, she has had the grace to admit her role in fanning the flames of hatred, animosity, and division, and has apologized.

Repentance figures strongly in Jewish tradition, albeit more in religion than in politics.

Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar currently refuses to be drawn into any political discussion, saying that what is important is to maintain national unity. When interviewed on electronic media this week and asked about judicial reform, Zohar said that this was not the time to talk about it. Soldiers on the Left and the Right are fighting shoulder to shoulder, he said, and neither is asking the other what he thinks about judicial reform. They are fighting together for a common cause. There is plenty of time to talk politics when the war is over, he said – and then people on all sides should remember to be respectful of each other.

Pity that not all Likud ministers and MKs emulate Distel Atbaryan and Zohar.

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