Grapevine: Vote now

WITH THE American presidential elections on the immediate horizon, not all immigrants from the US are aware of their voting rights and what they need to do in order to vote. 

At a pre-Rosh Hashanah event hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) in cooperation with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, and JNF-USA, in partnership with the Jerusalem Municipality, American citizens received online assistance from the US Embassy in registering to vote.

While the security situation has been a deterrent to tourism, the opposite is true of immigration. According to NBN, Jerusalem continues to be a leading destination for new immigrants, with almost 1,200 North American newcomers making the city their home since Rosh Hashanah 2023, a 32% increase compared to 2022-2023. This influx has brought in professionals in medicine, law, technology, and education, as well as other fields, contributing to the city’s vibrant, diverse, and growing immigrant community.

“We always look forward to celebrating the diversity of talents our olim bring to Israel, as well as the beautiful sense of community they are building together,” said NBN co-founder and chairman Tony Gelbart.

Moshe Lion's big dreams

■ ONE OF Mayor Moshe Lion’s ambitions is for Jerusalem to become Israel’s Silicon Valley. Indeed, several advanced technology creations with a global demand emanated from Jerusalem. Lion also dreams of Jerusalem becoming Israel’s cultural capital, though this will not be easy without an opera house, additional state-of-the-art theater buildings, and a whole complex devoted to the performing and visual arts. All these facilities and more exist in Tel Aviv. 

Meanwhile, possibly because of his background as a member of the rabbinical choir during his IDF service, Lion supports many of the city’s cultural projects and events and has also made Safra Square available for concerts of varying musical genres. Other than Safra Square, the municipality supports events in many other venues, including the Begin Heritage Center, which has become a very popular venue for lectures, book launches, exhibitions, celebrations, and commemorations of special anniversaries, and more.

Lovers of Jewish music in its many variations should mark their calendars for Tuesdays December 3, 10, and 17 plus Sunday, December 14 for the second edition of When Classical Meets Klezmer. When it was first held last year at the Begin Center, doubts were expressed as to whether it was appropriate to hold a music festival while the hostages were still in captivity and the war was raging. But culture is a positive form of escapism, and given the national trauma, it was decided in the final analysis that the show must go on.

The decision proved to be correct. The festival was well attended, prompting Yaacov Fisher, the founder of The Spectacular World of Jewish Music, to run it again this year. 

As far as he’s concerned, the Begin Center is an ideal venue because it has a proper theater-style auditorium, is very close to several bus routes, and there is ample room nearby for parking cars.

How do Orthodox Jews get news over holidays?

■ IT’S AMAZING how quickly the Orthodox community manages to get the latest significant news while still in synagogue and when their radios and television sets do not operate on Shabbat and Jewish religious festivals. In some cases, the foreign caregivers of senior citizens pick up the news on their cellphones and pass it on to their employers, who then tell other congregants. But what happens in the synagogues where there are no congregants with foreign caregivers? How do they, especially those living in religious communities such as Elad and Betar Ilit, receive the news? 

There was great rejoicing in Orthodox circles over the death of brutal terrorist mastermind Yahya Sinwar, but how did they know? The “silent” radio stations, which broadcast only when residents are told to run to their shelters because dangerous missiles are coming their way, do not broadcast news. They only broadcast warnings. Some people, like yours truly and some other Shabbat observers, have their radios working 24/7 and hear the latest news just before leaving for synagogue services. But it’s doubtful that anyone in an ultra-Orthodox community does this – and yet they know when something of acute national interest takes place. 

Jerusalem fall fashion

■ WHAT GOES around comes around – particularly in fashion. The maxi dress, which never completely disappeared, has been revived to a significant extent in fall fashions, and women in Jerusalem were quick to adopt the old-new look during the current round of Jewish holy days. 

In the streets and synagogues of Jerusalem, women of all ages could be seen in maxi or midi dresses, some of the styles of which were strikingly similar to those of the 1960s, when maxi dresses were in their heyday. Mini dresses are still with us but are likely to decline as the weather gets colder, or will be worn as tunics over pants or maxi skirts. 

For ultra-Orthodox women, who tend to dress more modestly than their secular sisters, the maxi dress revival is a means of putting them at the height of fashion. From an aesthetic point of view, the maxi, which is very flattering on a good figure and depending on its shape, can also camouflage certain physical imperfections, is also a welcome addition to many women’s closets. Let’s be honest. A mini-dress looks good only on someone with a slim figure and graceful legs. Too often, the mini was seen on women with prominent thighs or knobbly knees. 

While people should be free to wear what pleases them, they should also take a good look in the mirror to see if what they’ve chosen is right for them. As someone who never departed from ankle-length skirts, the writer of this column is extremely happy with the fall fashion trends.

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