Grapevine, October 13, 2024 : Of conferences and ceremonies

The Jerusalem Post Group, which inter alia includes Maariv and Walla, tries to include a former ambassador to Israel at whichever conference it holds, as well as a current or former ambassador who relates to the country. 

The group also tends to favor Americans. At a recent Jerusalem Post Conference, speakers included former US Ambassador David Friedman.

The Jerusalem Post Group’s immediate upcoming conference is in Miami, Florida, where it will celebrate both its “50 famous Jews” supplement, published on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, as well as the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the paper by the late Gershon Agron. The Post’s Miami Gala will be on December 9.

 Now we have to see when it will get to the other side of the equator.

Australia–Israel Innovation Summit comes in hot

■ IN THAT respect, Israel has made considerable inroads into Asia and the Pacific, and several Israeli venture capitalists and business executives are heading to Australia for the fifth Australia–Israel Innovation Summit, despite the disturbing spike in antisemitism. But antisemitism or otherwise, business is business, and Israel is doing quite well in exports to Australia and investments from Down Under.

The summit will take place on Wednesday, October 30, in the Sydney Central Business District (CBD).

The keynote speaker will be Saul Singer, who rose to international fame as the co-author of the best-selling book StartUp Nation, which tells the story of Israel’s “Economic Miracle” and innovative genius. A recent follow-up is The Genius of Israel, of which Singer is also co-author. Although Israel is well-known for turning technical research and discoveries for defense purposes to a variety of civilian uses, StartUp Nation propelled Israel’s abilities into global consciousness and enhanced Israel’s reputation in a most positive manner, and continues to do so fifteen years after it was first published. 

Singer is one of several former members of the editorial staff of The Jerusalem Post who have made international reputations for themselves. During his period at the Post, he served as editorial page editor, responsible for comments and features.

Other Israelis heading to the southernmost continent include: Omer Brand | CEO | ConTech – Construction Innovation Centre; Udi Mokady | Founder & Chairman | CyberArk; Liat Hayun | Co-Founder Eureka Security; Liat Nadai Arad | Chief Transformation Officer, Head of iMedata AI Center | Tel Aviv Sourasky Ichilov Medical Center; Debra Sutton | General Manager, Asia Pacific | WalkMe; Jonathan Medved | CEO of OurCrowd ; and Shlomo Dvorat | Co-Founder | Viola Ventures.

Speaking of Australia, there's a travel warning

■ APROPOS AUSTRALIA, Ambassador Ralph King will not be hosting a Battle of Beersheba anniversary ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery the major southern Israeli city this year. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs has warned Australian citizens not to travel to Israel unless absolutely necessary, and has warned those who reside there to stay away from border areas.

 The Battle of Beersheba, fought and won by Australian and New Zealand forces on October 31, 1917, had a most significant effect on modern day Israel, because without that victory, there would probably not have been the Balfour Declaration, which ultimately led to the establishment of the State of Israel. 

Each year, the Australian Embassy hosts a memorial ceremony in Jerusalem in April and another in Beersheba in October. The first, at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, is on ANZAC Day which commemorates the ill-fated dawn landing of Australian and New Zealand forces in Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. 

It now commemorates the comrades in arms of those two neighboring countries who fell in all the battles in which their troops were engaged. The October ceremony concludes at the Park of the Australian Soldier which was donated to Beersheba by Australia’s Pratt Foundation, and which includes a special playing area for children with disabilities.

Just as a matter of interest, given both the overt and covert politics of the region, of all the diplomats currently stationed in Israel, King is arguably one of the most knowledgeable and experienced in the history, geography and politics of the Middle East. Prior to being posted to Israel, he served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Egypt and Kuwait, and has also had postings to Beirut and Damascus. That’s a tough act to follow, much less to beat.

Protests; Still going strong

■ IN AS much as tens of thousands of people leave their homes each week to participate in protest demonstrations – primarily against a government whose army can pinpoint the whereabouts of terrorist leaders and eliminate them but can’t bring home the hostages – there are individuals who, though with the protesters in spirit, are afraid to join them in person. 

Media reports of police violence and unjustified arrests are the main deterrent. Yet some of the detainees who have never previously required the services of a lawyer appear to have immediate legal representation. How do they manage to arrange that so quickly? 

An article last week in Calcalist supplies the answer. In view of the obvious efforts by police to break up protest demonstrations that over the past year – and longer on some issues – have called for the return of the hostages, the resignation of the prime minister, the prevention of judicial reform and the creation of a commission of inquiry into the October 7 catastrophe, a group of some 50 lawyers have formed a pro bono network to deal with cases of protesters who they believe to have been wrongfully arrested or who have been the victims of police violence. 

Interviewed by the newspaper, clinical criminologist Smadar Lahav Ebenstein, who manages the network that has its own WhatsApp group, said that in 2023 alone, its lawyers handled the cases of more than 1,800 people who had been arrested. Veteran lawyer and former MK Gaby Lasky claims that since the appointment of Daniel Levy as police commissioner, more protest demonstrators are spending a night in jail. The pro bono network includes lawyers from many parts of the country, a factor that ensures that no one who is arrested at a protest demonstration and taken to prison need feel alone. The network intends to broaden its activities to cover other areas in which innocent people are wrongfully arrested.

The Yiddish-Japanese connection you didn't know about

■ EVERY NOW and again, this column publishes a reminder that despite the number of times Yiddish has been considered dead or dying, the eulogies were premature. Yiddish is being preserved, revived and taught in many countries around the world, including Israel and Japan. Not all Japanese students of Yiddish are Jewish – they’re just interested in Yiddish culture and want to read Yiddish literature in the original rather than in translation.

In Israel, there a number of Yiddish outlets, one of the most recent being at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, where Dr. Mordechai Yushkovsky – a member of the Public Council of the National Authority for Yiddish who is an expert in Yiddish culture, folklore and language – will present aspects of all three in a six-week Monday lecture series from 5-6:15 p.m. beginning on November 25. Participation is in the Museum’s Musa Pavilion or via Zoom. 

The revived interest in Yiddish in Israel is ironic considering that David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding prime minister, had it legally banned. But Yiddish has the same kind of stoicism as the Jewish people, constantly rising like a phoenix from the ashes. While there are many Yiddish speakers among the haredi communities of Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and even Netanya and Haifa, the Yiddish capital of the country is undoubtedly Tel Aviv, with Yiddish theater, literary circles that include not only readers but poets and authors, singing circles and educational institutions.

Take that, Breast Cancer

■ PINK IS the color in which newborn baby girls are dressed. It is also the cancer awareness color for women since pink is traditionally associated with females. During breast cancer awareness month, Factory 54 will be contributing 25% of its revenues from its sales of Pink Pony, Ralph Lauren Polo outfits to the One in Nine organization that combats breast cancer all year round. The Ralph Lauren brand, which has been accompanying breast cancer awareness month for the past 24 years, has dedicated its Pink Pony collection to World Breast Cancer Awareness month. 

The iconic and innovative American fashion designer whose original surname is Lifshitz, will celebrate his 85th birthday on October 14. This year, he also celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary. Lauren is the son of Jewish parents while his wife, Rikki, is the daughter of a Catholic mother and Jewish father. Lauren, who supports other causes in addition to breast cancer, is known to be a generous philanthropist and is also a collector of racing cars from the most vintage to the latest state-of-the-art.

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