Grapevine: September 27, 2024: A special birthday toast

It’s not unusual to choose a wedding venue far from home, but when it comes to a birthday party – even that for a milestone birthday – most people are content to have it closer to home or even at home. 

Not so Joanna Yehiel, a resident of Tel Aviv, and a former resident of Motza Illit, who decided to take her guests to Castel Winery away from the harsh realities screaming at them from news headlines and to give them a pleasant respite where the tranquility was not disrupted by noise or information about airstrikes, civilian casualties, and fallen soldiers.

Yehiel, who came to Israel from England in July 1967, is a former senior editor with The Jerusalem Post and was part of the large exodus in 1990 that later laid the groundwork for the English edition of Haaretz, where she also worked for a long period before retiring.

Not only did Yehiel choose an unusual venue in which to mark her 80th birthday, but also compiled an unusual guest list, which included people from different phases of her life – some of whom she had not seen in more than 50 years. Finding them was quite some task. 

She and her daughter Nofi, who is a splendid organizer, pored over social media accounts till they were able to get contact details for people with whom Yehiel had long ago lost contact, but with whom she was once close. 

They included former neighbors, people whom she had met in ulpan in her first few months in the country, people who were work colleagues, people whom she had met socially and in a variety of situations, plus long-standing friends, and new friends.

Among them were Amy Dukas, Wendy Geri, Shelley Goldman, Judy Cooper-Weill, Carol Bernheim, Charlotte Halle, and Vivian Eden, along with others with British, American, and Australian accents. 

Nearly everyone who had known each other previously, instantly recognized each other and literally fell on each other’s necks with glad cries at having come across each other on such a happy occasion despite what was happening in the North and South of the country.

Given the location, it was more than just a nostalgic get-together. 

Interested guests were taken to the cellar of the winery where scores of barrels are stored and where the walls are lined with numerous photographs related to the processing of different wines, and were given a fascinating lecture on various aspects of wine production, including aging, blends, color, and aroma. 

Someone wanted to know what makes a wine kosher and was told that although there were specific rules, the most important was that everyone who had a hand in producing the wine had to be Sabbath observant. 

Someone else wanted to know the length of time that wine could stand and remain drinkable. Although some vintage wines stand for as long as a century, it’s best to drink wine that is not more than eight years old. Participants also learned the difference between wine aged in bottles and wine aged in barrels.

They also discovered that some other Israeli wineries purchase used barrels from Castel to add to the flavor of their own wines.

The beautifully designed and spotlessly clean complex is some 18 km. distance from Jerusalem, it overlooks a stunning panorama that visitors can view from a balcony while sipping their wine or a nonalcoholic beverage.

It also has banquet halls and catering facilities, and is ideal for almost any kind of social or cultural event.

Coming from England in the mid-1960s, Yehiel was a dedicated fan of the Beatles – an enthusiasm that never left her. During her 20 years at The Jerusalem Post, and later at Haaretz, headlines on stories that she edited were frequently borrowed from songs sung by the Beatles, 80th-birthday cake that she designed reflected Beatles nostalgia, as did the background music.

Created in the form of an old-fashioned gramophone, with a young Joanna sitting on the edge, the cake tasted as good as it looked.

Yehiel made history in 1997, by winning a landmark case against the Canadian former owners of The Jerusalem Post who had refused severance pay to all those members of the editorial staff who had been part of the exodus from the paper. 

Unlike some of her colleagues, she decided to sue in the National Labor Court, which ruled that interference by a publisher in editorial content was a good enough reason for a walkout, and should therefore be regarded as dismissal, in which case the workers were entitled to severance pay. With the money she received, Yehiel bought herself a red sports car. 

The case was reported in The New York Times, and also published in several academic magazines, it is part of the communications and/or law courses in several universities in Israel and abroad.

In thanking her guests for joining in celebrating her special birthday, a still youthful Yehiel referred to them as a family who are friends and friends who are family.

In sharing memories of their friendships and associations with Yehiel, guests recalled how they met, what they did together, and most importantly, how Yehiel was almost always smiling.

Her daughter Nofi related that one of her early memories as a little girl was telephoning her mother’s friends and telling them that it was Joanna’s birthday. Within two or three hours, the house was packed with well-wishers. Some of them were still wishing Yehiel well this week, and naturally, there was more than enough wine on hand with which to toast the birthday girl.

Levy's unignorable message 

■ IT REALLY makes very little difference whether Eylon Levy is an official government spokesman, or simply a popular spokesman for Israel. 

His message is essentially the same with the difference that in an unofficial capacity he has greater freedom to make remarks that he might not make in an official capacity.

 Last weekend, Levy was in New York appearing in Open to Debate, a weekly live program moderated by John Donvan, who explained that the purpose of the program is to prove that opposing factions can engage in a civil debate. 

It is natural for people to take sides, said Donvan, but what is important is for them to listen to each other. He congratulated Levy and award-winning journalist Mehdi Hasan who have fiercely opposing viewpoints on the war in Gaza for agreeing to meet and debate on the same platform. 

Both are British-born Oxford graduates, erudite orators, and quick thinkers. 

They even shook hands with each other at the start of the debate, and while they kept to the rules for the most part, there were occasional lapses by each in which they insulted each other, but in a much more high-brow manner than that employed by US presidential candidate Donald Trump when he insults his Democratic Party rival Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The subject of the debate which in recent days has gone viral, was “Were Israel’s Actions in the Gaza War Justified?” Although both made good points neither succeeded in changing the minds of members of the audience, who were made up of supporters from both sides, and each loudly cheered their man when he said something of particular significance. 

What was interesting was that while Hasan kept referring to Levy by his first name, Levy refused to get that familiar, and kept referring to his opponent as “Mr. Hasan.” Regardless of whether one agreed with either or neither of them, the debate provided a lot of food for thought, and should be watched by every MK, not only to learn how the other side thinks but also how to debate in an intelligent, interesting, and civil fashion.

A 70-year anniversary 

■ BEERSHEBA’S KAYE Academic College of Education last week celebrated its 70th anniversary at a ceremonial event held at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

Kaye College President Prof. Aryeh Ratner, noted that approximately half of the students are members of the Bedouin community and that the college has a central role in integrating Bedouin into mainstream Israeli society. 

He called on the Higher Education Council’s Committee for Budget and Planning to recognize the college and fund it in order to enable it to take in more students and to expand its activities.

Ratner is a prize-winning academic who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israeli Criminology Association for his contribution to the study of criminology in Israel and around the world.

In his address at the President’s Residence, Ratner stressed the importance of the college’s contribution to the various communities in the Negev. 

As an educational institution located in the periphery, Kaye College is an important link in the growth of the Bedouin and Jewish populations, he said, underscoring that since many of the students are the first generation in their families to enjoy the benefits of higher education.

The shared fate of the college is also reflected in the fact that many faculty members and students, Jews and Arabs alike, suffered losses in the wake of the Hamas terrorist onslaught on the Negev on October 7, Ratner continued.

President Isaac Herzog said that “the months that have passed since the seventh of October, and also the months leading up to the seventh of October, have made it clear that if we do not act together – as one nation as one country – it is doubtful whether we will have anything on which to act for tomorrow. I believe that you at Kaye College are natural partners in this mission,” he told more than 150 of the college’s current and former heads, academic staff administrators, and guests, who were in attendance.

The college, located not far from the Gaza border, suffered many losses among its faculty, students and alumni in the wake of the devastating Hamas attack almost a year ago. Ha’il Abu Sabieh, a lecturer at the college, lost his aunt and niece, Fayza and May Abu Sabieh, in a Hamas rocket barrage on the first day of the Israel-Hamas War on the unrecognized settlement of Albat, near Kuseife.

“May was a serious child, excelling in school. She wanted to be an English teacher when she grew up,” he said.Cecilia Feuerman, who performed at the ceremony and was a student at Kaye College, was evacuated from Kibbutz Gvulot, situated halfway between Beersheba and Gaza.

At the beginning of the month, Feuerman resumed teaching music at the Nofei Habsor High School near her kibbutz. “You can see that the children here underwent serious trauma. The majority have returned, but some have chosen to stay away,” she said.

Over 2,300 students will start the coming school year at the college, which is considered one of the fastest-growing academic institutions in Israel with approximately 2,100 undergraduate students.

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