Grapevine July 21, 2024: More than a yellow ribbon

In many parts of Israel, there are yellow ribbons tied around street poles. But at the President’s Residence on Thursday at a book-launching ceremony that included the first-ever English translation of Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog’s interpretation of Jewish constitutional law, an empty yellow folding chair stood in the center of the front row with a sign in Hebrew and English stating, “We will not rest. We will not be silent until our daughters and sons are returned home.”

Elsewhere in the hall, balanced on an easel, was a framed poster with the images of all the hostages. Those images are on permanent display. There were more speakers than usual, with all praying for a safe return of the hostages, a speedy recovery for the wounded soldiers, and a safe return home for soldiers engaged in combat. Among those well-wishers was outgoing Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who had only positive things to say about the soldiers, who are constantly risking their lives, but he refrained from mentioning the haredi draft. Much as he is opposed to haredim – whether students or not – serving in the army, he appeared to be greatly concerned for the welfare of soldiers who are serving. From what he said, not only was he familiar with what goes on in the army, but he was also familiar with the top brass.

Where political activism meets technological innovation

Hi-tech billionaire and controversial political activist Eyal Waldman, whose youngest daughter, Danielle, was murdered at the Nova music festival in October, is a fervent opponent of the prime minister and has been a leading figure in demonstrations calling for the head of government to quit. These two aspects in themselves resulted in Waldman receiving frequent media attention. But a personal controversy surfaced when the Mellanox co-founder, president, and CEO was this year named an Israel Prize laureate in recognition of his entrepreneurship and technological innovation. 

However, because of his antagonism towards the prime minister, Education Minister Yoav Kisch tried to sidestep tradition and postpone the Israel Prize awards till next year or to simply refuse to accept the decision of the adjudicating committee. As is so often the case with Kisch, he had to retract, though the award ceremony was toned down to a minimum. In other words, Waldman received the prize, but without the usual fanfare.

Now, Waldman is in the news again for something a little less controversial, yet with eye-popping results. In a recent Globes report, it was stated that Waldman had purchased several apartments in Israel Canada’s Rainbow Project on the site of the former Sde Dov Airport for the nicely rounded figure of NIS 50 million. Most people don’t make that amount in a lifetime. According to the report, Waldman purchased an entire floor, and plans to merge all the residential units into one single 550 sq.m. apartment.

Merging academia with diplomacy

At the 28th annual convention of the Moroccan-Israeli Alliance that was held this month at the Tel Aviv Culture auditorium (Heichal Hatarbut) with 2,700 people in attendance, a special citation was awarded to Dr. Pinchas Haliva, the CEO of Ashkelon Academic College. Haliva was recognized for his contribution to public service and society in Israel for the establishment of the college, his contribution to the heritage of Moroccan Jewry and the strengthening of ties with the Jewish community and academia in Morocco.

MIA chairman Dr. Shimon Ohayon commended Haliva for all the above mentioned reasons, but in particular for the establishment, construction, development, and management of Ashkelon Academic College as a prestigious institution. The citation was also awarded for the promotion of excellence, including the opening of master’s degree programs in fields such as social work and criminology. Haliva also contributed to the promotion of conferences and events for the heritage of the people of Israel, including Moroccan Jewry, said Ohayon. He also mentioned that Haliva had published 15 books on a variety of subjects including culture, history, and Hebrew law in Morocco, and had contributed greatly to strengthening ties with academia in Morocco and the Jewish community there.

In expressing appreciation for the honor he had received, Haliva pledged to continue working in all the fields for which he had been recognized..

Other citations were also given to Prof. Alon Chen, president of the Weizmann Institute; Prof. Marcel Machluf from the Technion; actress Ruby Porat Shoval, as well as public and business figures Jacques Amar and Joe Asraf for their contributions to the IDF and in particular to combat soldiers.

Back to typical Israeli innovation

A GRANT of $600,000 has been awarded by The Leo Foundation to Prof. Yossi Buganim’s lab at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in support of groundbreaking research on fibroblast dysfunction in aging skin. The project aims to develop innovative technology for rejuvenating aged fibroblasts to improve wound healing. In elderly individuals, delays in wound healing are partly due to reduced cell division. The decrease in fat cells results in thinner skin and greater vulnerability to injuries. In addition, aging cells are slower to regenerate. Addressing these age-related impairments is crucial for advancing wound care strategies, says Buganim.The Leo Foundation is dedicated to supporting scientific research to improve human health, in general, and dermatological health, in particular.

Leading from a young example

ANYONE WHO has got to the stage of talking is not too young to have a good idea and to share it. Steven Hoffen, who is based in New York, is one such person.

Not yet a high school graduate, he was awarded the CNN Heroes 2023 Young Wonder Award for founding the nonprofit enterprise Growing Peace, for which he has so far raised $80,000. With this money, he purchased hydroponic systems for growing produce, similar to those used by some Jewish residents of Gush Katif, prior to their evacuation in August 2005. Those hydroponically produced vegetables were so good that they received widespread publicity well beyond Israel.

Hoffen hopes that in bringing the hydroponic methods to needy populations around the world, he can make a meaningful contribution to providing healthy and nutritious food to populations lacking in food security. In learning new methods of farming, they will be able to cooperate and help each other, and this will be an important step towards peace.

One of his Growing Peace projects has found its way to a pantry in Tel Aviv.

During a visit to Israel, Hoffen witnessed Arab and Jewish women working together on a hydroponic project to create peace. This convinced him that hydroponics is a means of bringing people together. Hoffen showcased the successful spirit of cooperation that exists between these women in his award-winning documentary film Growing Peace in the Middle East.

The film and the project are particularly inspirational at a time when hostilities in the Middle East are flaring up on all sides.

YU pulling through

Yeshiva University, which has been supporting Israel in different ways since the October 7 massacre, has sent a contingent of 20 of its students to Israel to assist Gaza envelope communities with various projects designed to restore and revitalize agricultural produce. They also visited the Nova festival, site where so many people were murdered or wounded.

Four such groups are expected to come to Israel during the summer, offering assistance in agriculture, hi-tech, and archaeology. Stephanie Strauss, YU executive director in Israel, emphasizes that YU is dedicated to strengthening its bond with Israel through taking on numerous projects within Israel and in the US.

Under the leadership of YU President Rabbi Ari Berman, who was recently in Israel, there have been several new initiatives towards fortifying Israel-Diaspora relations. Berman also launched the coalition of 100 heads of universities and colleges to work together in eliminating antisemitism and all forms of racism from campuses across America.

The level of antisemitism is so high in some places, that YU has been flooded with a glut of requests for enrollments. Just another sign that every cloud has a silver lining. Unless they wanted to improve their Jewish knowledge and practice for academic reasons, few secular Jews would choose to study at YU, despite its excellent academic record and the successful careers in different fields of many of its alumni. But today, secular students are no less keen than religious students to study at YU.

The cluttered Lion's den 

Memo to Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, who is reputed to be a stickler for cleanliness. Indeed, certain parts of the capital are much cleaner than they used to be. But others are much worse – and even dangerous. Some of Lion’s campaign posters are still on city buildings proclaiming that he’s the man who takes care of all the residents of Jerusalem. Not true. Every now and again, people from some department in the municipality cut down overhanging vegetation and broken branches of trees. But there’s no coordination between them and whoever is supposed to clean up the mess that’s left on the sidewalk does not do so immediately or within a reasonable space. This means that pedestrians, unable to cross the foliage and branches, have to step out into the road and put themselves at risk. Sometimes it takes hours or even a day before the leaves and branches are cleared away. 

But even the pavement has become dangerous as there is no one on duty from either the municipality or the police force to stop bikes, electric scooters, electric carriages, and even motorcycles for traversing the sidewalk at an alarming speed, narrowly missing mothers wheeling their babies and elderly people who no longer have the agility to leap aside. 

As of August 1, all electric vehicles must be registered, because there are just too many accidents – some of them fatal – to permit the status quo to continue. The situation is likely to get worse as space on the roads will be narrowed due to increasing introduction of light rail transport, which is already overcrowded.

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