Grapevine July 28, 2024: For whom the bell tolls

The ringing of the bell to signify the start of trade at the Tel Aviv Stock exchange on Tuesday, July 30, will be attended by families of fallen soldiers in the Swords of Iron War and of victims of the October 7 massacre.

The event will include a panel discussion led by Adi Soffer-Teeni, CEO of Meta Israel (formerly Facebook), and will focus on the relationship between these bereaved families and start-up companies that have pledged to memorialize their loved ones.

There will also be lectures by Pitango partner Chemi Peres who will speak on “Optimism in challenging times,” and present examples from the history of Israel and the Jewish people; and Einat Guez, founder and CEO of Papaya Global, a payroll and payments provider, who will speak about exporting during a stormy period.

Social and business status are not guarantees for immunity against bereavement and grief. Politicians, retired military top brass, sports legends, hi tech entrepreneurs and leading business executives are among the parents and siblings of the victims, of fallen soldiers, and of people taken hostage. 

Among them is Yizhar Shai, a former minister of Innovation, Science and Technology who is also an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. One of his sons, Yaron, a commando in an elite unit, fell in battle on the first day of the war. This prompted the bereaved father to initiate the Next October conference, which inter alia is dedicated to memorializing victims and fallen soldiers as individuals, and not just as a group. The Next October conference is managed by Yaron’s brother Ofir, who is also a high tech expert.

Guetamalan amigos of Israel

Long before it moved its embassy to Jerusalem, immediately following the historic move by the United States of its embassy, Guatemala was a sincere and devoted friend of Israel and was among the first countries to recognize the nascent Jewish state. At the time, Guatemala’s first democratically elected leader was Juan José Arévalo who, after leaving office, became his country’s first ambassador to Israel. 

Today, his son, Bernardo Arévalo is the president of Guatemala. During his father’s term as ambassador, the current president was a student at the Hebrew University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. In 1984, he returned to Israel, serving initially as first secretary in the Guatemalan Embassy, then as consul, and later as minister counselor. All in all, he spent ten years of his life in Israedial, speaks Hebrew fluently, and has many personal friends in the country.

But he’s not the only citizen or representative of Guatemala who has a deep affection for Israel and its people.

Since the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War, Magen David Adom has mounted an ongoing drive for blood donations. Among the people who answered the call were José Antonio Chávez Balcarcel, a Guatemalan army colonel, and his wife Glenda Karina Estrada Pirir de Chávez, who visited MDA’s blood donation service in Jerusalem. Chavez is the military attaché at the Guatemala Embassy. “My wife and I wanted to give blood that could save the lives of Israelis. This is of great significance to us, and a donation is especially important in times of crisis. I ask the public to please donate blood and save lives,” he said.

Jewish–Muslims Brotherhood

Nearly all Jewish radio stations in the Diaspora have a survival problem with expenditure always exceeding income, sometimes to the extent that employees sometimes have to wait for two or three months or more to receive their salaries. Considering that most of these stations act as a bridge between Israel and Diaspora communities, as well as a source of information for non-Jews who are interested in Israel, it would be in Israel’s best interests to find some way to help these stations remain on air. Currently in danger of demise is Argentina’s Radio Jai, which in addition to promoting Israel, is also active in interfaith relations and has a very good record on that score. The station’s director, Miguel Steuermann, was a member of a delegation of the Jewish–Muslims Brotherhood who were received at the Vatican by Pope Francis. Steuermann and Imam Marwan Gill, who co-host a weekly Shalom-Salaam program, also had a private audience with the pope. Considering that the pope is deeply interested in interfaith relations and that he is also from Argentina, the meeting between the three was hardly surprising.

Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Radio Jai was established in 1992 in the aftermath of the bombing of the Israel Embassy, but encountered financial problems right from the beginning, which have persisted to this day. Steuermann can testify that the station was under threat of closure more than once due to the heavy debts that it had incurred.

It is now facing that threat again, but at a time when there is a vital need for Radio Jai.

Half Jewish

Prior to the advent of streaming, the station had an estimated audience of 180,000 listeners, half of whom were non-Jews.

The station, which broadcasts Israeli news in close-to-real time, serves as a reference for non-Jewish media and opinion makers on issues concerning Israel in particular, and the Middle East in general.

Radio Jai was instrumental in broadcasting all known facts about the AMIA bombing, the murder of prosecutor Alberto Nisman and in proposing a trial in absentia of his murderers as well as the perpetrators of the AMIA bombing.

It has interviewed leading Israeli political and cultural figures such as Yitzhak Navon, Yitzhak Rabin, Yuli Edelstein, Shimon Peres, Nathan Sharansky, Dani Dayan, Yehoram Gaon, Shai Abramson, and various leading rabbis.

It plays Israeli music and talks about the performers.

Before its news portal www.radiojai.com became accessible to the whole world, Steuermann’s big dream was simply to reach all Spanish speakers, but Radio Jai has gone beyond his dream. With a president who is extremely pro-Israel, and an ambassador to Israel who happens to be a rabbi, they can surely do something to ensure Radio Jai’s future. Desperately needed is a retired accountant to manage the finances on a voluntary basis as a service to Spanish speaking Jews and to Israel.

Friends come first

Ukranian born British-American billionaire and mega philanthropist Len Blavatnik – who was knighted for his major contribution to the arts, and who has global investments in numerous spheres including the entertainment and communications industries in Israel – is also a most generous donor to Israeli causes.

He also enjoys a warm relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a factor that has come to the attention of the British newspaper The Guardian, which has published material concerning his ownership of 52% of Channel 13, which has scrapped Ravid Drucker’s popular investigative program that was often highly critical of Netanyahu. A large number of the channel’s journalists who were also critical of the prime minister have been dismissed. The Guardian published the fact, plus suspicions that Blavatnik was behind the show’s demise and the firings. 

But it wasn’t a one-time report. Apparently Israelis living in London, who regularly tuned into Channel 12 are now angry that one of their favorite programs is no longer available to them. They have held protest demonstrations outside the Tate Gallery of which Blavatnik is one of the key patrons, with a wing bearing his name. 

The article suggests that other institutions featuring his name or to which he has donated, could be targeted in the future. These could also include legendary icons of culture such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Courtauld Institute of Art, the National Portrait Gallery and London’s Theater Royal Haymarket, all of which have benefited from his philanthropy.

Widely known in the UK as a patron of progressive culture and arts, Blavatnik may have erred in allowing politics to intrude on his business investments in Israel. Once it becomes common knowledge in England, an Israeli activist there opines, it will tarnish his reputation.

Still, a man whose net worth according to Forbes is $31 billion, can doubtless weather the storm.

Press PTSD 

Not enough attention is paid to journalists who risk their lives when reporting or photographing from war zones. It’s a very dangerous occupation, and many members of the profession have lost their lives when reporting from conflicts around the world. For some of those journalists who risk their lives, it can be psychologically damaging in that they are haunted by the atrocities which they witness.

On October 7, it was even more mentally scarring for Israeli journalists, because they were reporting on something that was happening inside Israel – and not only were the sights appalling, but some of the victims were their own relatives and friends. 

Among those reporters was Channel 12 news anchor Dany Cushmaro, who on Monday, July 29, will be talking about the experience of broadcasting live under such horrific circumstances, at the HOT cinema in the Ofer Grand Kanyon l mall in Haifa.

An avid motorcyclist who has experienced serious accidents while riding in Israel and abroad, Cushmaro was perhaps better prepared psychologically than some of his colleagues. He will conduct an open conversation with his audience, after which there will be a screening of The Bikeriders, the story of a fictitious 1960s bicycle club known as The Vandals, who are based on a genuine club: The Chicago Outlaws.

The film takes viewers into the lives and minds of the bikers, whose camaraderie turns to violence. Directed by Jeff Nichols, the film stars Austin Butler.

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