Grapevine: Nov. 17, 2024: An early start

■ IT’S NEVER too soon to start combating antisemitism. Jewish high school students in the United States are well aware of what awaits them when they go to college, so they’re making their moves before progressing to the next stage of their education. Today, Sunday, November 17, a group of high school students from across America will converge on Washington for the NCSY (National Conference of Synagogue Youth) Young Leadership and Advocacy Tour, during which they will get to meet some of the most influential of political figures.

The students represent Jewish communities nationwide and are scheduled to meet with legislators and government leaders, including Vice President Kamala Harris, to discuss the increasingly urgent issue of addressing rising antisemitism and the challenges of being a high school student in America today.

■ IT IS natural during war for opposing forces to hate each other whether they are combatants or not. The enemy is, after all, the enemy. But there are always exceptions – people who realize that war and its accompanying traumas seldom offer positive solutions to political, economic, or territorial differences. They also know that the pain of loss of loved ones is shared across the divide, and can therefore empathize with each other. This characterizes the members of the Parents Circle, which has been joined by more than 85 new Palestinian and Israeli families since October 7.

Some will be introduced in the coming weeks, beginning with Ghada Zomlot of Nablus and Mor Ynon from Tel Aviv.

Zomlot, a widowed mother of five, has lived with fear, uncertainty, and unimaginable pain. She has lost many loved ones during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including her mother-in-law and her son. This year, she lost her aunt who had returned from Nablus to Gaza. Her sister in Gaza lives with constant terror, having been displaced seven times since October 9, 2023. 

“It feels unbearable, yet I cling to hope – hope for reconciliation, peace, and a better life for our children,” says Zomlot, who joined the Parents Circle eight years ago. Her commitment to peace has led her to serve as a new board member of the Parents Circle this year. “I believe women are essential in peace-building, and I am determined to empower their voices in this ongoing struggle,” she says.

Contribute professional skills and strategies

Ynon, the new board president of the Parents Circle, and a 25-year member of the global hi-tech industry, lives with her husband, Danny, and their three children in Tel Aviv.

On October 7, 2023, her parents, Belha and Yaakov, were killed in their home in Moshav Netiv Ha’Asara. “The pain of losing them has been indescribable. It was a wake-up call for me – a reminder that we must pursue peace with unwavering determination and a commitment to equality, justice, and security for everyone,” she says.

She aims to contribute the professional skills and strategies she has acquired and developed to her work in the Parents Circle. “I believe we have the power to change lives through understanding, respect, and cooperation, even in the face of deep despair,” she says.

■ AS FRIGHTENING as antisemitism is for communities such as New York, Paris, and London, it is absolutely terrifying for Jews in smaller communities. For them, it is essential to know that they are not alone.

This is one of the reasons that the Israel Embassy in Serbia invited Thelma and Ahi Rosen to come to meet the Serbian-Jewish community, whose total membership is in the range of 3,000 souls. The Rosens, whose grandson Alon Ohel was kidnapped by Hamas, were invited to participate in events related to the first anniversary of October 7.

In addition to talking about their grandson to communities throughout Serbia, the Rosens, who are active members of B’nai B’rith in Israel, spoke of what the organization is doing to aid IDF lone soldiers, children from economically distressed families, and more. B’nai B’rith also exists in Serbia, but has a membership of only 20 people. Small though it is, it is a vital connection with the Jewish world.

The reason the Rosens were invited to Serbia was that Alon has Serbian citizenship. His great-grandfather Zeev was born in Novi Sad.

During their visit and their travels, the Rosens met with Israel Ambassador Avivit Bar-Ilan and with representatives of the Jewish communities of Novi Sad, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, and other parts of the region. At the Jewish Community House in Belgrade, they appeared at a memorial ceremony under the title of “You are not Alone.”

■ WINDING UP a weeklong tour of Israel, a 40-member delegation of Americans from the financial sector met last week with Chemi Peres, the chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation and one of the founders of Pitango Venture Capital. Peres introduced them to the innovations of 45 Israeli start-ups and also presented them with an overview of Israel’s economy.

The delegation was led by New York tech investor and serial entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, who is the founder and CEO of AlleyCorp. They toured the country extensively and met with leading business and hi-tech people as well as with other leading personalities. 

■ IT’S QUITE common for organizations and institutions to weigh in on the successes of former members, graduates, or employees, but to distance themselves from their failures. Thus it’s no surprise that Reichman University is thrilled that one of its alumni, Daniel Norber, scored a historic victory, by winning a Long Island seat in the New York State Assembly and being the first Republican to do so in a period of 50 years. Norber, a first-generation American and a dual-Israeli American national, served as an officer in the IDF before returning to the US. 

A staunch Zionist whose worldview has been shaped by his grandparents’ survival of the Holocaust and his mother’s escape from the Soviet Union, his campaign issues included the need to fight rising antisemitism in the US. 

Norber was in Israel with his family on October 7, 2023, which reinforced his dedication to ensuring security and combating antisemitism. “I saw what happened in Israel. I should do whatever I can to prevent that from happening here,” he said.

■ IN JANUARY of this year, the acclaimed Broadway Play Miracle on South Division Street by Tom Dudzick, a production of the English-language Theater and Theology Company under the direction of Yael Valier, proved to be so popular, that it is being brought back for a second season at the Jerusalem Theatre.

The purpose and key attraction of Theater and Theology is that it tackles a variety of religious issues that involve different faiths, ideals, and ideas and provokes discussion between the audience and various faith leaders.

What happens when faith is thrown into crisis? Following the performances on November 27, 28, and 30, there will be discussions each night from a different perspective. On November 27, former Evangelist missionary Shannon Nuszen, who is now Jewish and anti-missionary, will talk about how a challenge to her faith changed her life. 

On the following night, Jerusalem priest Father William Russell will provide insights on what it means to be Catholic in Israel and how Jews and Christians might differ when their faith is shaken.

After the final performance on November 30, clinical psychologist, rabbi, and theater veteran Dr. John Krug will analyze the Division Street family and discuss whether they have the healthiest way of dealing with faith in crisis.

■ ORGANIZATIONS SUCH as Leket Israel for years have been providing food for the needy, collecting it from farmers’ fields and orchards, from restaurants, hotels, and banquet halls, and distributing it where it is needed most. Founder and chairman Joseph Gitler and CEO Gidi Kroch have also been lobbying for legislation that would make surplus food available to the poor.

That legislation, by way of an amendment to the 2018 Food Rescue Act, was hailed by Gitler as a major step forward for Israel in building a food-secure society. “The new law mandates all government-owned companies, government offices, and local authorities to donate their surplus food to charities, which will distribute it to people in need,” he says. “This includes organizations such as the IDF, police, and correctional facilities.”

In Gitler’s view, the amendment is a win-win, enabling the government to save millions of shekels in food, health, and environmental costs. The government will be encouraged to operate more efficiently to reduce waste; food resources will be better utilized and ultimately will benefit the taxpayer.

Gitler pays tribute to MKs Yinon Azoulay of Shas and Yasmin Fridman of Yesh Atid, whose leadership was instrumental in having the amendment pass.

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