Grapevine February 2, 2024: On a more serious note

■ IN PREVIOUS years, Government Press Office Director Nitzan Chen hosted a New Year reception for foreign and local journalists, leading figures in public relations, foreign diplomats, and Israeli civil servants. The star attractions were the Prime Minister and a couple of top-line Israeli entertainers. But this year, it was considered to be an inappropriate time for rejoicing.

Instead, representatives of all the above professions were brought together at the Friends of Zion Museum (FOZ) in Jerusalem for a comprehensive program that included panel discussions with journalists, spokespeople, relatives of the hostages being held in Gaza and talks by people working with the hostages. In addition, there was a seamless video put together from numerous clips of different aspects related to the war and the devastation caused by the Hamas attack.

Anyone with a radio or a television set has heard family members of the hostages, and is familiar with the stories they tell which are mostly similar. But what a difference when one sees these people live and hears the despair in their voices as each of them says “the worst part is not knowing...” It’s heartbreaking to stare them in the face as they say this.

It was an extremely important and moving event, but it’s a pity that FOZ founder and president, Mike Evans, who specially flew in from America for this and the inauguration last night of the Indigenous Embassy that will be headquartered at the FOZ Museum, chose to introduce blunt politics into his speech. While Israel deeply appreciates what Donald Trump did for Israel during his presidency, there is no need to hear a campaign speech for Trump at a solidarity event in which political differences should be left on the back burner.

Trump supporters have acquired countless international email addresses and are inundating people who are not even American citizens with multiple campaign messages a day, which are coming from several sources who want to see Trump back in the White House.

The survivors of the Supernova music festival

■ THE PEOPLE who can best understand the horror of the bestial attack by Hamas on merrymakers at the Supernova music festival are those who were there, who witnessed the atrocities, but who managed to survive. Some of them were wounded and are now in rehabilitation at Beit Levinstein where there are also many wounded soldiers. 

Among the patients is Noam Ben David, who, together with Eliad Nahum, sang to soldiers and civilians who are undergoing rehabilitation therapy at Beit Levinstein. Their performance was within the context of the Mifal Hapayis (National Lottery) musical project Aquarium. Other participants included Avi Aburomi and Amir Dadon. 

A new song written by Eliad Nahum speaks to all the people who lost loved ones and friends in the October 7 massacre. The lyrics are particularly emotional for Noam Ben David whose partner David was murdered by Hamas. Noam, who was wounded, has been a patient at Beit Levinstein for almost four months. She told her story to Eliad Nahum and together they sang the song “B’Sof od Nepagesh” (In the end we will meet again), and there were very few dry eyes among those present.

Generally speaking, Aquarium hosts live performances in the Mifal Hapayis Council offices in Tel Aviv. Aquarium is a new, intimate format that provides a platform for artists in the field of music. All the performances are video-taped. 

The performance at Beit Levinstein was the first outside the Mifal Hapayis offices.

Jerusalem Post wine writer wins an award

■ REGARDLESS OF how famous someone may be, any new honor elevates the soul because it is a sign of the esteem in which the honoree is held. Long-term Jerusalem Post wine writer Adam Montefiore, or, to be completely accurate, Adam Sebag Montefiore, comes from a long line of distinguished Jews whose names are indelibly written into Jewish, and in several cases, general history.

Born in London, Adam Montefiore is descended on his father’s side from a line of wealthy Sephardi Jews who were diplomats and bankers in Italy. On his mother’s side he is descended from poor Lithuanian Jewish scholars.

He is the great-great-grandson of Sir Joseph Sebag Montefiore, who was the nephew and heir of Sir Moses Montefiore. He is the brother of writers Hugh Sebag Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore. They inherited their talent for writing from their mother who was also a writer.

Altogether, in one way or another, the Montefiores have been associated with the Land of Israel for seven generations beginning with Sir Moses Montefiore after whom the Jerusalem neighborhood of Yemin Moshe is named.

Adam Montefiore is the fifth generation after Sir Moses and the first to make his home in Israel. He and his late wife immigrated in 1989. He has three children and five grandchildren. Two of his children, David and Rachel, also work in the wine trade.

He began his own career in the wine industry while living in London, though he actually started with beer, but found it boring compared to wine. Early in his wine career in Israel, he helped Yarden, Gamla, and Golan wines to gain a foothold in the UK. Before becoming independent, he worked for Israeli wineries for 27 years.

Adam Montefiore has been the wine writer for The Jerusalem Post since 2010. He has also written books about wine, contributes to Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia and other publications, runs a podcast on wines, and is a wine consultant.

But the honor that gives him great pride is his election to The Circle of Wine Writers, which is the leading organization of the world’s most prestigious wine writers with a total membership of 270 people worldwide. The honor reflects not only on Montefiore but on The Jerusalem Post which publishes his Wine Talk column on a regular basis. 

Though no stranger to accolades, Montefiore was particularly surprised and delighted with this one.

Cheers! Lechaim!

Australia sends youth delegation

■ MANY PEOPLE, particularly political figures, are talking about the day after the war, but not many are doing much about it. One exception is the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), which in partnership with the Jewish Agency, has sent a 17-member youth movement delegation to Israel. The delegation which will remain until February 7, includes leaders from the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Zionist youth movements that operate under the umbrella of the Australian Zionist Youth Council, and alumni from the Diller Teen Fellows program.

“This group represents the best of our community’s next generation, and the wide range of political and religious beliefs the ZFA represents. Each leader is responsible for shaping their movement and organization,” said ZFA CEO Alon Cassuto. “This is an incredibly important opportunity for our next generation of leaders to bear witness to the impact of October 7, and to demonstrate solidarity with Israel,”

The intent of the mission, he added, is for each participant to make a deep personal connection with Israel and each other. “The mission is an opportunity to strengthen our solidarity, understand our shared history, and forge a path forward for our community and its bond with Israel.”

The delegation’s itinerary includes a visit to Kibbutz Be’eri which suffered so much atrocity and destruction by Hamas, meetings with evacuees from the Gaza envelope who are currently being accommodated in the Arava with which the Australian Jewish community has a long association through the Arava-Australia partnership; a meeting in Jerusalem with Eylon Levy, the key government English language spokesman; and participation in workshops conducted by the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization. 

The workshops will also help the members of the delegation to deal with the violent antisemitism that has erupted in Australia since October 7. Australia has a very large Muslim community that includes a significant ratio of Palestinians as well as immigrants or descendants of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. 

Australia to welcome Jewish agency chair

■ON THE home front, Australian Jewry is preparing to welcome Jewish Agency chairman Doron Almog who will help launch the United Israel Appeal’s annual campaign. The 2024 campaign is more than the usual fundraiser. Under the title of “Rebuilding the dream, uniting hearts, rehabilitating Israel,” it is a demonstration of solidarity in every sense.

Erdan brings UN ambassadors to Israel

■ CONTINUING A tradition carried out annually by his predecessor Danny Danon, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations has brought a delegation of ambassadors serving at the UN to Israel. This visit is undoubtedly more important than such previous visits, given that it is being made in wartime, and the itinerary includes danger zones in the north and south of the country. 

The delegation includes the ambassadors of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Liberia, Romania, Ukraine, and three members of the Security Council, representing Malta, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia. Among the members of the Israeli leadership with whom they are meeting are President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The delegation will receive an overview of UNRWA’s terror links, and will also meet with returned hostages, the families of hostages still being held and with survivors of the October 7 incursion by Hamas.

Because there are so many voices calling internationally for a ceasefire, Erdan has underscored the importance of making every effort to illustrate the kind of monsters that Israel is dealing with and why the fighting in Gaza must continue until Hamas is vanquished and all the hostages are returned to Israel.

Opening an FDA bureau in the Abraham Accords region

■ IN WASHINGTON this week, Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA) introduced the United States-Abraham Accords Cooperation and Security Act of 2024, aimed at establishing an FDA bureau in the Abraham Accords Region to serve as a staging ground for fostering friendly partnerships in the Middle East. 

Reps. Rick Allen (R-GA), Andy Harris (R-MD), Mike Levin (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA), and Randy Weber (R-TX) signed on as original co-sponsors of the bill, which is based on research conducted by the United States Israel Education Association, a nonprofit that is interested in building positive relationships between all the countries in the Abraham Accords region.

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