Grapevine: Renewing Rockefeller

SEVERAL IMPRESSIVE buildings in Jerusalem were built during the period of the British Mandate. Among them is the Rockefeller Museum, which has fallen into neglect.

Situated on a large plot of land with ample public spaces, the site in east Jerusalem is a real estate investor’s dream. There have been several suggestions as to how to make the museum – whose exhibits are mainly antiquities discovered in the Holy Land by British archaeologists – more attractive to the general public.

One idea is to turn it into a branch of the Tower of David Museum. Another is to build an adjacent boutique hotel. Yet another is to establish an additional museum dealing with the history of contemporary Jerusalem dating back only a couple of hundred years and including significant events, as well as important people. The latter suggestion seems to make the most sense, as residents of a city should know its history – both ancient and modern.

It’s also important to show that Jews, albeit small in number, have lived in Jerusalem for centuries. Among those who’ve lived in the city for upwards of 200 years, the best-known are probably the Rivlins, mainly because there were so many high achievers in different fields among them. But they were far from the most veteran Jerusalem families. Others include the Elyashar, Meyuhas, Matza, Schwartz, Getz, Honig, Monson, Zoref, Salomon, and Navon families, to name but a few.

Of these, the Navon family can trace its lineage back to the mid-1600s on the father’s side of the late president Yitzhak Navon, and the mid-1700s on his mother’s side.

But Jews are not the only ones who can trace their ancestry back to the 1600s. The Abousouan family, which is Catholic, has lived in Jerusalem since 1643.

A history museum would help the public to know more about these families, the times in which they lived, and what they contributed to the development of the city.

Videotapes can be made with any living descendants they might have; and if names have been handed down from generation to generation up to the present day, it would also be interesting to learn about the first member of the family to bear that name.

Remembering Yitzhak Navon

■ APROPOS THE Navon family, regarding Israel’s fifth president Yitzhak Navon: His final place of domicile before he died in November 2015 at the age of 94 was at 39 Jabotinsky Street, just a few doors from the President’s Residence, which he had occupied for five years, having thus far been Israel’s only president with young children.

In many places, not just in Jerusalem but throughout Israel, there are marine-blue plaques with white inscriptions attached to the fences or facades of buildings with thumbnail biographies of famous people who lived there or historic events that took place there.

But in the case of Yitzhak Navon, a fairly recent addition is not a plaque but a pedestal standing between the garage and the staircase leading to the path at the front entrance to the building.

Navon, as the first Jerusalem-born president of the state, is most certainly deserving of a plaque. The pedestal, which in addition to the inscription bears a portrait sketch of him, is a joint effort by the Jerusalem Municipality, the Council for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel, the Jerusalem Development Authority, the Yitzhak Navon Heritage Association, and the Ministry for Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage.

No economic austerity amid the Israel-Hamas war

■ MANY COMPARISONS and contrasts are made between the current Israel-Hamas war (Operation Swords of Iron) and the Yom Kippur War. Following the latter, there was a long period of economic austerity.

A former employer of mine came to Israel on a solidarity visit after the Yom Kippur War and wanted to take me to dinner. Someone recommended to him that he take me to Montefiore, which at that time was an elegant and expensive meat restaurant. On our way there, we discussed the sad state of the economy, and when we entered, we saw that the place was full. I was embarrassed because a poor nation should not be enjoying such luxury. But my former employer explained to me that when the economy goes downhill, the last remaining luxury that people enjoy is dining out.

I am reminded of this whenever I am on Jaffa Road, Emek Refaim, or Bethlehem Road. Nearly all the cafes and coffee shops are well populated. Last week, Elisheva Levy, the proprietor of the Kumkum Tea House, had to turn people away because her dining area was fully booked. A trio had specially come from Tel Aviv, never imagining that they could not find a place to sit at three o’clock in the afternoon. Levy had to apologize. She simply could not accommodate them.

Advanced age doesn't stop volunteers

■ ADVANCED AGE is not a deterrent to volunteerism. All it means is that there may be limitations to what one can do. But the same can be said of people of any age. At the Beit Tovei Ha’ir Senior Residence, volunteerism on behalf of the soldiers and the evacuees is a given. Residents wisely divided themselves into teams according to their abilities, and coordinated their efforts.

During Hanukkah, they held an online fund-raising campaign, including a Hanukkah fair for the benefit of Nefesh Yehudi’s Achim L’Oref organization, which helps to supply equipment for soldiers. The campaign brought in NIS 11,000.

In addition, residents have been knitting warm, woolen hats for IDF soldiers; a group recites psalms for the return of the hostages, recovery of the wounded, and the success of the army; a team reaches out to seniors who have been evacuated to Jerusalem; another team bakes challot and prepares food packages that are sent to the families of IDF reservists. There’s also a fundraising team. The fair was held with the help of the Beit Tovei Ha’ir staff.

Yael Ben David, director of activities at the residence, has been overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit and the energy shown by the residents. “Since the start of the war, we have seen tremendous positivity and unity within our small community, with everyone doing whatever they can to help” she said.  “Many of the residents have grandchildren serving in the IDF, and others have families and friends affected in other ways.”

Gil Hoffman to address Jerusalem Anglo Women's Rosh Hodesh Lunch Club

■ THE JERUSALEM Anglo Women’s Rosh Hodesh Lunch Club is resuming its activities. On Thursday, January 11, at 12:45 p.m., Gil Hoffman, executive director of HonestReporting and columnist for The Jerusalem Post, will speak on “Peace, Politics and Propaganda.”

The venue is Kehillat Mevakshei Derech, 22 Sderot Shai Agnon, San Simon. Entrance fee, including light lunch, is NIS 50. Registration is required by January 8 at roshhodeshwomen@gmail.com.

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