Grapevine, July 7, 2024: Scaled-down national days

SEVERAL AMBASSADORS are either canceling or scaling down their national day receptions as a mark of respect for what Israel is enduring. Yet concerts in parks, amphitheaters, and stadiums by local star performers are attracting tens of thousands of Israelis. The US Independence Day reception last week was infinitely smaller than those of past years, and it is understood that some of those who for years have been permanent fixtures on the French Embassy’s guest list, had not been invited to next week’s Bastille Day reception.  Indian ambassador Sanjeev Singla, who has served in Israel longer than any of his predecessors, is in the process of winding up his five years of service here, so if he decides to host an Indian Independence Day reception next month, it will also be in the nature of a farewell. Under the circumstances, given the number of friends he has made over the years, he may be the exception to the rule, with as many guests as in former years.

Ben-Gvir pushes colleagues buttons

■ EVEN HIS colleagues in the government have little patience for power- and publicity-grabbing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who reportedly never refuses a request for an interview or a comment. Even so, he seldom gets the chance to express himself as he would like.  It seems that journalists invite him only so that they can argue with him. They ask a question or make a statement in the form of a question, and then continue to air their own opinions. Ben-Gvir frequently complains that they don’t let him finish a sentence. It’s true. Anticipating what he’s going to say, they get in first and cut him off. Regardless of the extent to which they disagree with and possibly dislike him, in civilized discourse, he is entitled to say his piece. Denying him that right is a violation of one of the strongest of journalistic democratic beliefs. But Ben-Gvir never concedes defeat. When denied the use of the microphone, he takes to social media to state his case without interruption.

Visiting the destruction

■ FEW EVENTS these days are without some relationship to, or mention of, the hostages, fallen soldiers, or the October 7 massacre. All three are embedded in the Israel psyche and in the minds and hearts of Jews and supporters of Israel abroad.

Josef Avi Yair Engel, the grandfather of the teenage hostage Ofir Engel kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Beeri while visiting his girlfriend, continues to be active with the families of hostages. Ofir was released in November and returned home to Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in Jerusalem. He, too, is active with the hostage families. 

Last week, the senior Engel took the members of his extended family to Kibbutz Be’eri to see for themselves the scenes of the carnage and destruction. There is an essential difference between seeing still photographs or video coverage and actually standing where it all happened. Engel advises those decision-makers who have not yet seen with their own eyes how paradise was transformed into hell, to come and see what is left before everything is totally erased in order to rebuild. From reports on Knesset sessions, Engel is under the impression that the legislators are almost clueless about what happened.

Widows at the Western Wall

■ ON MONDAY of this week, July 8, there will be a united women’s prayer meeting at the Western Wall led by Naama Tuchfeld with the participation of four women widowed by terrorism or war Kinneret Levy-Ashur, Linor Moshe, Nava Revivo, and Anat Meir. All attendants are requested to come clad in white. Beginning at 7 p.m. they will pray together for peace and the return of the hostages.

Remembering the Rebbe

■ ELSEWHERE IN Jerusalem, at  David Castle in Emile Botta Street, on the same night, released hostage Sapir Cohen and Rabbanit Bessie Garelik, a Chabad emissary in Milan, will be the keynote speakers at the Chabad Women’s Circle of Talbiya Mamilla at a special event marking the 30th anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

The event will include singer Ester Kalita and the premiere screening of an eight-minute film, The Ultimate Influence is You.

Jazz under the stars

■ AND IN Tel Aviv on the same night at the same time, the Friends of the ANU Museum of the Jewish People are hosting a rooftop night of Jazz under the Stars. Members of the audience can also tour the October 7 exhibition.

Australia's Holocaust survivors and families

■ THE HOLOCAUST is receiving much more attention since the surge in antisemitism and anti-Zionism. Comparisons are being made between the Holocaust and the Hamas slaughter, and deniers of both inhuman events are coming out in full force, ignoring the fact that much of the visual evidence was taken from Hamas body cams and posted by Hamas on social media. 

Among those engaged in preserving the memory of the Holocaust is Australian architect and interior decorator Stephen Jolson, a third-generation Holocaust survivor. Jolson recently completed a Memorial Room within the Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM).

Though occupying a small space, the Memorial Room is a place where visitors can pay their respects to victims of the Holocaust and members of their families who settled in Melbourne after the war.  On a per capita basis, Melbourne had the largest Diaspora community of Holocaust survivors, many of whom have built successful new lives, become affluent, built up their Jewish communities, and been generous contributors to Israeli causes. While the actual survivors may have stayed in Melbourne, a large percentage of immigrants from Australia living in Israel are second and third-generation Holocaust survivors.

The Memorial Room is designed as a symbol of hope and the emergence of light from darkness and includes a reflective glass brick Star of David which symbolizes religion, identity, victimization, discrimination, brokenness, fragmentation, destruction, and community solidarity and resilience.

Jolson’s grandparents came to Melbourne in 1947. He, himself, has been to Poland several times to retrace family history. He is a graduate of the pioneer Jewish Day School Mount Scopus College, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Shabbat for survivors in Jerusalem

■ SOME 180 survivors of the Hamas massacre during the Supernova festival on October 7, were treated to a traditional Jewish Sabbath in Jerusalem, on the last weekend in June. It was hosted by Kesher Yehudi, an outreach organization that seeks to bring together secular and religious Jews and to eliminate the negative impressions they have of each other. The organizers managed to create a happy Sabbath atmosphere at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. The program included speakers and discussions on a variety of topics ranging from spirituality and healing to the essential need for unity in Israel.

People who might ordinarily not socialize with each other ate together, sang together, danced together, lit candles in memory of murdered loved ones and friends, and prayed together. In general, it was a welcome relief from tension, with haredi and secular participants discovering that they have more in common than that which divides them.

Before the Sabbath, participants were treated to a performance by singer, instrumentalist, and composer Yonatan Razel, who spoke of how his Holocaust survivor grandfather was his inspiration.

On hand was Kesher Yehudi founder and director  Tzili Schneider, a teacher and mother of 11 children who grew up in Mea Shearim. Contrary to popular misinformation about the residents of Mea Shearim, Schlesinger wants to unify the different elements of Israeli society through mutual respect and understanding enhanced by studying together, participating together in Sabbath and other holy day experiences, and forming solid friendships.

Helping to remember

■ THE DEATH toll since October 7 is mounting daily. In many cases, families and friends are making great efforts to memorialize fallen soldiers and the victims of Hamas terror. Employers of the deceased are also thinking of ways to perpetuate the memories of the murdered and the fallen.

An example is ServiceNow, the AI  program for business transformation which has awarded a grant to the BIU Keilim Shluvim musical program for people with mental disabilities. The Bar Ilan University’s grant is in memory of software engineer Shlomi Sividia who was murdered by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival.

Kelim Shluvim (Instruments of Communication) is a unique and inclusive program at BIU’s Department of Music enabling musically talented adults with mental disabilities to study musical subjects such as rhythm, drumming, voice development, hearing development, choral singing, and music composition – as well as production, software band work, music history, and more. The program gives students a sense of self-confidence and empowers them to explore future employment in the fields of music in which they are most gifted and interested. The ServiceNow grant will enable extended study programs and a greater student intake. By empowering these students, BIU’s Music Department opens a door for them to mainstream society. BIU has recently completed another program for people with disabilities. This demonstrates the possibility of overcoming certain mental disabilities with patience, determination, a goal, and hard work – even if it takes considerably longer than the time spent by a regular student in getting a degree.

Castro's Shankar fashion show

■ COMING UP towards the end of July is the annual Shankar fashion show, which will be the first gala event under the new strategic partnership between the Phoenix Group and Shankar. In past years, the fashion show was under the patronage of Castro CEOs Gabi and Etty Rotter, who have been long-time supporters of Shankar.

Castro is one of Israel’s most veteran fashion brands, launched in a Tel Aviv apartment in the same year as the founding of the state. It is now run by the third and fourth generations of the family and has grown into a fashion empire with hundreds of stores around the country. Gabi and Etty Rotter will be specially honored at the fashion show which, as always, will feature creations by Shankar students and graduates.

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