Grapevine, March 10, 2024: The buck stops here?

AS SOMEONE who spent several years, including part of his youth, in America, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must surely be familiar with the expression attributed to US President Harry S. Truman, “The buck stops here.” Both the Meron and October 7 tragedies took place on Netanyahu’s watch, and yet he continues to avoid responsibility. You can’t be the man in charge of the future of the nation and not be responsible. Netanyahu has done some admirable things in his time, and these should not be forgotten. But neither should the less than admirable things that he has done, which are the ones that count at the present time.

THERE IS little doubt that the Jerusalem Marathon provided a pleasant diversion for evacuees stuck in hotel rooms in the capital, but perhaps when planning next year’s marathon, organizers will look more closely at the calendar.

It has been noted in the past that the route should be changed so as not to interfere with major traffic arteries. Traffic is bad enough on a Friday, even when buses are running regularly. But when traffic on main roads is suspended, it makes life difficult for people who do their weekend shopping on Fridays – especially during winter months for those who shop at Mahaneh Yehuda market.

On Friday, the marathon coincided with the actual date of International Women’s Day and interfered with plans of many women all over the city, who planned to attend IWD events in other neighborhoods or in other parts of the country. Newly re-elected Mayor Moshe Lion, who is a great fan of urban renewal, and has encouraged real estate development resulting in scores of multi-story towers that will bring thousands of additional residents to the city, must know that traffic problems will get worse, not better, and should give serious attention to finding alternative routes for those events that cause inconvenience to residents of the inner city. The same goes for mayors of other cities in which annual marathons and parades take place.

International Women's Day was different this year without the return of the female hostages

■ THE PLETHORA of International Women’s Day events is uniform only in terms of gender. The variety of activities and special niche groups is amazing.

Women have shown admirable bravery, resilience, and resourcefulness during Operation Swords of Iron, so it goes without saying that many organizations highlighted these attributes as they apply to both soldiers and civilians, particularly to those held hostage by Hamas. Among the organizations that placed special focus on women who had displayed such qualities was that of Reichman University alumni.

Danielle Aloni, who, together with her five-year-old daughter Amelia, was held captive by Hamas for 49 days, spoke about her experience and of how she had explained to Amelia that she belongs to a special group of children taken from Israel and “we are now in Gaza and we are safe” because “our captors are watching over us and that they are good people.” Aloni thinks that her daughter “has an inner resilience that surprised me and left me speechless. She had her moments of breakdown, but when it comes to heroism, Amelia is the real hero.”

Other “Iron Women” whose stories were told included: Col. Karni Guez, the commander of the tank unit that fought Hamas on October 7; Dr. Kokhav Elkayam, director of the Dvora Institute; head of the Civilian Task Force on Hamas Crimes against Women and Children, and a lecturer at RU’s Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy; RU graduate Sapir Zohav Hamami, who is the widow of Lt.-Col. Asaf Hamami; and Dr. Efrat Baron Har-Lev, the director of the Schneider Children’s Medical Center.

Each woman presented a different aspect of the war, and of how she was personally affected.

The event was moderated by Gili Dinstein, CEO of Reichman alumni, who said: “These Iron Women serve as an inspiration to us all.”

IDF reservist saves a child with his bone marrow

■ THERE ARE few greater thrills in life than saving the life of a child. The fact that he had done so was the good news awaiting 23-year-old reservist Nadav Azoulai on his return home from several intensive months in Gaza. Two years earlier, he and his twin brother, Noam, had been contacted by the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Bank because they had been deemed suitable donors for a two-month-old baby with cancer. They both unhesitatingly underwent the tests to ascertain that they were indeed suitable, but in the final analysis it was Nadav who was the donor. The baby, Hodaya Rosenfeld, recovered after prolonged treatment, but neither she nor her parents were aware of the donor’s identity. Once she was healthy, a meeting was arranged, but then Nadav was called to Gaza and the meeting had to be postponed until a few days ago when Hodaya and her family met with Nadav and his family at Beit Oranit, the Ezer Mizion facility in Petah Tikva.

There was instant chemistry between the two who were aptly named. Hodaya means thanksgiving and Nadav means donor, volunteer, or philanthropist. Meeting Hodaya gave him an inexplicable feeling of contentment, said Nadav. After being surrounded for months with death and with evil, it was so good to see this little girl, brimming with life after having been so close to death.

JNF UK is associated with several projects in Israel and has taken more upon itself since the October 7 massacre by Hamas in areas that are part of the Gaza border region.

“JNF UK is proud to assist in the rehabilitation of Gaza envelope communities,” said Jonathan Galon, Israel director of JNF UK. He was speaking after the return of the youth of Shlomit to the village they had missed so much during their time as evacuees.” As soon as the residents of Shlomit contacted us, we immediately mobilized to help. We will be happy to receive further inquiries from other communities that need rehabilitation.”

The Shlomit youth leaders initiated the speeding up of restoration and rehabilitation work that was being carried out with the help of JNF UK. Some of the youth participating in the project lost their fathers in the October 7 attack. It is now therapeutic for them to join in the efforts to restore their village.

B'nai B'rith leaders dive headfirst into volunteering in Israel

■ LAST DECEMBER, a B’nai B’rith International solidarity delegation of BB leaders from the USA, South America, and Europe led by the organization’s long-term Executive Director Dan Mariaschin came to Israel and became so immersed in volunteer projects, that Mariaschin did not have time to meet with more than a few members of the local BB leadership.

When Ilan Shchori, a member of the BB executive committee, chairman of BB’s Tel Aviv Regional Council, and international relations adviser to BB Israel President Emanuel (Mano) Cohen learned that Mariaschin was returning to Israel in February for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, he asked if it was possible for him to meet with the presidents of all the BB lodges in Israel. A luncheon meeting was duly arranged at the Mandarin hotel in Tel Aviv, which was attended by more than 100 local presidents as well as members of the BB Grand Lodge. This was an introductory meeting to discuss BB Israel’s expansion initiative to broaden its international activities and to facilitate closer contacts with BB leaders around the world.

Cohen and Shchori each spoke of the importance of wider contacts between BB Israel Lodges and those of other countries within the context of the Jewish world’s Together program, which aside from embarking on joint projects and ventures, is an important means of fighting antisemitism and racism by learning from each other’s experiences in the aftermath of October 7.

Mariaschin’s reaction was one of enthusiastic support.

Jerusalem Biennale kicks off after delay

■ AMONG THE exhibitors in the upcoming Jerusalem Biennale running in the capital from March 10 to April 29 and directed by Ram Ozeri, is internationally known photographer Joan Roth, whose works will be among 30 exhibitions of varying art forms that collectively come under the heading of contemporary Jewish art.

Roth’s exhibition, which includes some of her early works, goes on display at the Black Box Gallery on March 11

More than half a century ago, Roth set herself a photographic mission to make Jewish women visible.

Judging by the tribute she received from the late Alice Shalvi, the founder of the Israel Women’s Network and author with her late husband of an encyclopedia of Jewish women, Roth has obviously succeeded.

Shalvi wrote: “Joan Roth has the gift for seeing the significant moment, the meaningful gesture, the fleeting look which conveys an in-depth character, a lifetime of experience, an entire culture... Joan’s gaze is a female gaze and, in the capacity to penetrate below the surface to the essence of women’s lives, it is a feminist gaze which does not objectify but rather empathizes, sympathizes, identifies with the subjects of her work.”

For the purpose of this exhibition Roth has blown up photographs that were originally printed in a considerably smaller size, The new dimension also creates new impressions.

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