Grapevine january 5 2024: 'Never Again' - No more than lip service

Recurring disapointments

■ EACH YEAR, for most of January, social media outlets feature images of prominent personalities holding a placardinscribed with the words “Never Again.” The two words refer to the Holocaust, and the reason for the placards is that they lead up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the liberation from Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most notorious of the Nazi death camps, on January 27, 1945. Not only Jews were murdered in Auschwitz, but also Roma (gypsies), Jehovah’s Witnesses, political prisoners, people considered ethnically impure, and others with physical and/or mental disabilities.

Coincidentally, Auschwitz-Birkenau was established in October 1941, and the Hamas invasion and massacre in Israel took place in October 2023. Both had the same purpose.

Unfortunately, neither war nor antisemitism has ended with the Holocaust. In fact, there has hardly been a time since then when a war has not taken place somewhere in the world. As for antisemitism, it has intensified to such an extent that very few, if any, countries can boast that it does not exist on their terrain.

Since October 7, the situation has grown worse instead of better.

Aside from all the pro-Palestinian rallies, demonstrations, and media reports and opinions, there was the vandalism in Berlin of the famous Frank Meisler statue “Trains to Life – Trains to Death,” commemorating the children who were given a new lease on life via the Kindertransport trains that took them to Liverpool Station in London and the children who were taken on other trains to extermination camps.

The late Meisler was a Kindertransport child. His parents were murdered in Auschwitz. He was raised in London by his uncles, who had arrived there before the war. After some 20 years in England, he moved to Israel, where he set up a studio in Jaffa and a house-cum-studio in Jerusalem’s Yemin Moshe neighborhood, which was then an artists’ enclave.

An international sculptor of note specializing in precious metals, he was probably best known for his spherical, intricately detailed sculpture of Jerusalem produced in different sizes and metals.

The vandalism infuriated Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, who said, “We will not allow anyone to violate monuments to the victims of the Holocaust, nor will we allow anyone to erase the memory of the Holocaust.”

Prosor described the act of painting graffiti on the monument as a wake-up call. “It goes beyond numbers and reports,” he said. “It is an attack on our cherished values.”

Jerusalem-based Walter Bingham, one of the oldest Kindertransport survivors and probably the oldest working journalist in the world, who today, Friday, January 5, celebrates his 100th birthday, was not particularly surprised by the vandalism. Throughout the century of his life, he has witnessed a lot of antisemitism in a lot of places.

It is simply something that doesn’t go away. Yet the Jewish people, since the days of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, have survived, whereas the civilizations of those who sought to destroy them have faded into the dustbin of history.

Lesser known cultural elements

■ AS FAMILIAR as most Israelis are with Italian movies and Italian cuisine – or at least pizza, spaghetti, gnocchi, Tiramisu, and gelati –  they are far less knowledgeable about Israel’s Italian community, the Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art, which houses a genuine 18th-century Italian synagogue in downtown Jerusalem, or the Italian minyan in Tel Aviv.

More often than we realize, we learn about people of various national, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that differ from our own when we listen to their music, read their literature, and study their plays.

Daniel Taub, a British-born international lawyer, lecturer, public speaker, and former Israeli diplomat, is currently the director of strategy and planning at Yad Hanadiv, a philanthropic foundation. He also makes time to write articles, books, and plays.

One of his plays, Last Night in Florence, has been turned into a new jazz musical inspired by the Cassuto family, which is well known in Israel. The late Rabbi Umberto (Moshe David) Cassuto, a historian and a chief rabbi of Florence, was one of the founders of the Italian Museum in Jerusalem. The play is set on the eve of the Second World War, a time when fascism and antisemitism were rampant in Italy. Following the introduction of the racial laws in his country, Cassuto was no longer permitted to serve as a rabbi, and together with his wife, he moved to Jerusalem and began teaching at the Hebrew University. His son Nathan, who was both a rabbi and a physician, stayed behind to look after the Jewish community in hiding, but he paid with his life. However, Nathan’s son, Professor David Cassuto, survived and moved to Israel, and he has advised on the production, directed by Aviella Trapido; the musical score is by talented composer Hillel Goldblum. Performances will be held on January 9, 10, and 11 at 7.30 p.m., as well as a 3 p.m. matinee on January 11. The venue is the Train Theater at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Park.

A swarm of solidarity

■ MANY OF the solidarity missions coming to Israel ask to meet with President Isaac Herzog. Limited time and his many scheduled appointments do not allow him to meet with all, though he does meet with at least three or four such delegations each week, sometimes back to back.

Only a few days after addressing Jewish students from universities across North America, Herzog welcomed alumni from Penn University, thereby getting perspectives and experiences from those who have graduated and those still studying. It also enabled Herzog and the alumni to make comparisons between their experiences on campus and what is happening today. In thanking them for coming and for their strong stand for Israel, Herzog told them much the same as he told the current students: “You are on the front lines at a historically critical moment for the world at large and for academia. We must fight antisemitism, and we must face these challenges together.”

Together is the word of the year

■ IN THE Jewish world, the operative word today is “together,” regardless of ideological differences. This is obvious in volunteer organizations, in the Israel Defense Forces, and in rallies organized by Diaspora communities, including the recent march on Washington.

As much as solidarity visits are a demonstration of support, not everyone in Israel appreciates them, even if the purpose is understood from an intellectual standpoint.

In radio interviews, some of the residents of kibbutzim who were evacuated following the carnage by Hamas say that they don’t want people coming and gawking at the devastation or taking selfies on the ruins of homes and public buildings.

Yes, it helps to tell the story better when they get home and possibly elicits more justice and even sympathy for Israel but it is an invasion of privacy and, in some cases, like treading on graves. For those kibbutzniks who lost not only their parents but also their childhood homes filled with memories, it is a desecration of the things they hold dear.

Some means of organizing such visits in a way that neither the kibbutzniks nor the visitors are offended must be worked out. Otherwise, some of the kibbutzniks might snap, and solidarity visits will achieve the opposite of what is intended.

Global connection

■ MANY JEWS abroad want to come to Israel to volunteer in some way and be part of the war effort, not only in their home communities but actually in Israel. Among them is a cohort of 18 North American students who are participating in a birthright Israel Onwards mission at Yad Sarah, where they have undertaken a variety of volunteer efforts for two weeks.

Eighteen is a very symbolic number in Jewish tradition; the gematria (the process by which numerical values are ascribed to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet) of 18 is life. The presence of these young people will help override all the destruction, pain, and grief experienced on and since October 7.

The birthright initiative – or Taglit, as it is known in Hebrew – is supported by the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism and Mosaic United.

Program participants, motivated by a shared sense of responsibility and a desire to make a positive impact in Israel, have chosen to dedicate their winter holidays to contributing to Yad Sarah’s vital Emergency Wartime Relief Campaign.

The volunteers have been placed in various Yad Sarah departments and are engaging in various tasks ranging from assisting with medical equipment repairs, organizing inventory, installing at-home hospital units, and washing and folding laundry. Their activities also contribute to Yad Sarah services at Shaare Zedek Medical Center as well as the organization’s “Yirmiyahu 33” Rehabilitation and Wellness Hotel, which is sheltering ill and mobility-challenged evacuees.

The 18 volunteers range in age from 18 to 40 and hail from cities across the United States. They are spending up to six hours a day, five days a week, volunteering in their respective units at Yad Sarah headquarters in Jerusalem, where they are also provided with accommodation.

“Yad Sarah is honored to host this committed group of volunteers and grateful to Onward Birthright Israel for bringing additional hands to contribute to our eternal mission of relieving stress on the healthcare system and filling the gaps in life-saving care,” said Yad Sarah CEO Moshe Cohen. “Their presence not only contributes to Yad Sarah’s heightened wartime efforts but also serves as a powerful symbol of unity and shared values between the United States and Israel.”

Expressing pride in partnering with Yad Sarah, Birthright Israel Onward VP Ilan Wagner said: “Now more than ever, Israel needs the support of volunteers willing to step in as hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been directly affected by combat, displaced, or called to the front lines.”

Founded in 1976, Yad Sarah has 126 branches throughout Israel, staffed by more than 7,000 volunteers. Although the organization is best known for its extensive service of lending medical equipment, its volunteers also drive its wheelchair-accessible vans, reach out to the homebound, advocate for the elderly at risk of abuse, provide in-home geriatric dental care, staff its play center, and more.

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