Grapevine, February 28, 2024: Heroes then and now

Every Israeli soldier who falls in battle in the war against Hamas and Hezbollah is described as a hero. There is something heroic in an instantly positive response to a call to defend one’s country and people.

But it is also important for every Israeli family that loses a loved one in battle to have that person publicly recognized as a hero to signify the importance of that individual in defending the security of the nation.

Some of the heroes of the War of Independence who are still living are saluting the heroes of today for their loyalty, courage, and determination. The heroes of yesteryear are saluting the generations of their children and grandchildren.

The idea for a public salute from the generation of independence came to Gil Samsonov, a partner in one of Israel’s leading advertising agencies, when he overheard his 95-year-old father, who was a commander in the War of Independence, discussing military affairs with Samsonov’s nephew.

Samsonov decided to look for other War of Independence veterans and to make a video, which he posted on YouTube to ensure that their heroism would be remembered.

A loyal husband singled out for praise

■ IT IS said that behind every great man is a great woman. But sometimes that’s reversed, as in the case of workaholic social activist Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, whose husband, Adam, has supported her in her endeavors, and has taken care of the children and of their home, so that she can be free to serve the city and the state.

He was also singled out for praise at the formal appointment this week of Hassan-Nahoum as secretary-general of Kol Yisrael, a partner in the World Confederation of United Zionists. She succeeds Aaron Weil, and is the first woman to hold the position.

Kol Yisrael is apolitical in that it believes in diversity and wants to give a platform to a variety of Zionist-oriented ideas from Right, Left, and Center, with specific emphasis on points of agreement, but not to the exclusion of points of disagreement.

This was reflected in the large attendance at the appointment ceremony, of people with different Zionist affiliations all resting on the broad bed of Zionism as a common denominator.

The ceremony took place in the Weizmann Hall of the Jewish Agency building, where World Zionist Organization chairman Yaakov Hagoel noted that Chaim Weizmann, the founding, longtime president of the WZO, had been sworn in as president of the nascent State of Israel. A life-size photograph of that ceremony adorns one of the walls.

It was Hassan-Nahoum’s third-last day as deputy mayor of Jerusalem – a position in which she had served with distinction, but Mayor Moshe Lion was conspicuously absent. Among those who did attend were Michelle Cohen, the ambassador of the Dominican Republic, Ifat Ovadia-Luski, who happens to the first chairwoman of Keren Kayemet LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, as well as a former CEO of World Likud; historian, fervent Zionist, and Jerusalem Post columnist Gil Troy; Kol Yisrael chairman David Yaari; Rabbi Leor Sinai, head of the Youth Aliyah subcommittee at the Jewish Agency; Olga Israel Deutsch, vice president of NGO Monitor; and Max Meyer, Kol Yisrael delegate to the World Zionist Congress and head of the Danish Zionist Federation of Youth.

Even though the building in which the ceremony took place represents the pulse and beating heart of the Zionist enterprise, nearly all the speeches were in English, not in Hebrew.

Including the gender issue in his remarks, Hagoel said that Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, believed in equality and equal opportunity.

Looking around, Troy said that he was pleased to be in a room where Zionism was kosher. So many people say that Zionism has failed, he continued, but he thinks that October 7 was a vindication of Zionism and how it brought people of different viewpoints together, to build and rebuild.

Troy reminded his audience that “we are a people, not just a religion.”

In lauding Hassan-Nahoum, he said: “We have a cheerleader, a visionary who cares.” Troy is certain that Hassan-Nahoum will prove to the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people that “we are more powerful than they think we are.”

Yaari, who persuaded Hassan-Nahoum to take on her new role, is certain that she will breathe new life into the organization. “Zionism is today a rallying cry,” he said.

Because the world now moves at a faster pace than in the past, he is also certain that with Hassan-Nahoum on board, Kol Yisrael will evolve much more quickly than anticipated. After all, it took only 50 years for a “crazy idea” like Herzl’s to evolve from the First Zionist Congress in 1897 into a state in 1948.

Humbled by the task that lies ahead of her, Hassan-Nahoum said she feels privileged to be taking it on at this time, because before October 7 “we were so divided.”

Since then, people have come together despite their diversity and their differences, creating a reason to move forward with optimism.

A revival of Yiddish in 2024 Berlin

■ WOULD YOU believe that one of the languages frequently heard in Berlin bars is Yiddish?

For want of a better description, Yiddish could best be described as cockney German. There are various German dialects, so there’s no reason for Yiddish not to be one of them, considering its similarity to German.

Be that as it may, there is a wonderful article in The Forward by Rosamond van Wingarden in which she writes about the shmueskrayz, or conversation group, which, since early 2022, has been meeting every two weeks in bars around Berlin.

Participants, whose native languages vary, include people with academic degrees in Yiddish, as well as people whose Yiddish is more limited. But the group gives everyone the opportunity to speak Yiddish in a more informal manner outside the classroom.

Founded by Yiddish translator Jake Schneider via Yiddish.Berlin, the group is made up of small gatherings of six to 14 people sitting around a table and schmoozing in Yiddish, and sometimes making up new words. That’s a great way to revive a language which since 1945 has allegedly been dying.

Their conversation often attracts other patrons at nearby tables, who try to guess what kind of “German” they are speaking, and are surprised to discover that it’s actually Yiddish.

One of the secrets of its success is that the meetings are held in bars where participants can drink a glass of wine while chatting or singing Yiddish songs. In other words, they’re having fun.

Heartbreaking scenes at Hostages Square

■ AMONG THE people gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv last Saturday night was Julie Fisher, who is visiting from the US and catching up with many of the friends she made when living in Israel for more than a decade. As the wife of US ambassador Dan Shapiro, she took up many causes, and kept on doing that after he had completed his service.

She had a heartbreaking meeting at Hostages Square with the two daughters of Ron Benjamin, who is among the hostages being held in Gaza.

■ ON THE previous morning in Hostages Square, there was a gathering attended by many people who were draped in Ukrainian flags to mark their sympathy with Ukraine on the second anniversary of Russia’s aggression. The diplomatic community, which was well represented, included the ambassador of Japan, Mizushima Koichi.

The event was organized by the Friends of Ukraine with the support of the Ukrainian Embassy.

The world seems to be losing concern for Ukraine

■ PERHAPS THE greatest tragedy of an ongoing war, in addition to the number of casualties, is that the world at large tends to stop being concerned about it.

That has not quite happened with regard to Russia’s war against Ukraine, but were it not for the two-year anniversary last weekend, it’s doubtful that Ukraine would continue to be making headlines this week.

Political pundits say that the war is more against the United States and the West in general than it is against Ukraine per se. That, they say, is one of the main reasons that Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that he will keep the war going.

Political commentators have also stated that were it not for the Russia-Ukraine war, Hamas would not have attacked Israel. That may sound far-fetched to some. On the other hand, October 7 happens to be Putin’s birthday.

Next month, Russia will hold presidential elections, which it claims to be democratic. But there are growing numbers of Russians who want to see Putin removed from the pinnacle of power, particularly after the cruel treatment accorded to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison under suspicious circumstances in mid-February.

It’s unlikely that democracy will win the day. Due to an amendment to the law, Putin may retain his place in the Kremlin for another two six-year terms. On the other hand, if he and former US president Donald Trump are each returned to office, Putin may finally stop the aggression against Ukraine, because unlike his relationship with present incumbent Joe Biden, he and Trump are buddy-buddy.

■ TWO YEARS have passed since IsraAID, Israel’s leading nongovernmental humanitarian aid group, began supporting people affected by the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

A press release put out by the organization this week stated that 14.6 million people are still in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

IsraAID has built strong partnerships with governmental offices and officials, local NGOs, and local communities to supply aid in public health, mental health, psychosocial support, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. People continue to face daily crises within the wider context of the war.

IsraAID was among the first international aid groups to arrive on the Moldova-Ukraine border, just days after the beginning of the war, and immediately began supporting refugees crossing to safety. By July 2022, the organization was operating across three countries – Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania – delivering essential aid supplies, medical support, and psychosocial support to vulnerable and displaced communities.

IsraAID continues to support thousands of vulnerable Ukrainians every day. The organization has trained more than 250 facilitators for child-friendly spaces across Ukraine’s south and east; provided more than 9 million liters of safe water for residents and displaced people who have been completely cut off from water infrastructure in the Mykolaiv region; trained more than 135 psychologists to work in Ukrainian hospitals, integrating mental health into Ukraine’s medical system for the first time; and trained more than 500 first responders and police officers in first aid in crises, and provided comprehensive first aid kits. It also runs public health programs on primary healthcare.

Mental health needs are on the rise as Ukrainians continue to face daily crises.

“For the last two years, we’ve partnered with dozens of local nonprofits and government officials to build a network of support for affected Ukrainian communities,” said IsraAID Ukraine’s country director Alena Druzhynina.

“All this has been made possible by the dedication of the organization’s Ukrainian team, and the inspiring resilience of the Ukrainian people. Roughly four million Ukrainians are still internally displaced, with 14.6 million, or 40% of the population, in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Dire economic conditions are taking a physical and emotional toll on civilians, as people who once had the resources to help one another find that they, too, need help.

“IsraAID is committed to supporting Ukrainian communities for as long as needed – not just the immediate needs, but on the long road to recovery.”

A controversy over Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest

■ FOR YEARS now, Israel has claimed that results in the Eurovision Song Contest are politically motivated. This has been strenuously denied by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and in some cases that denial is valid – particularly taking into account that Israel has won the competition four times.

Given the furor surrounding Israel’s current entry and the strong possibility that it may be disqualified on the grounds that there is political content in the lyrics, Israel’s first Eurovision winner, Izhar Cohen, who triumphed in 1975 with “A-Ba-Ni-Bi”, has been interviewed by numerous media outlets in Israel and abroad.

Cohen thinks that the current entry is appropriate and has praised Israel’s representative, Eden Golan, as a powerful singer who can definitely hold her own. Even in the year he won, he said, he was accompanied 24/7 by a member of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), who shared his hotel room with a cocked pistol by his side

Israeli contestants are always surrounded by heavy security, said Cohen.

In Golan’s case, if the dispute between KAN 11 and the EBU can be settled, the security will be even tighter, because Malmo in Sweden, where Eurovision will be held this year, is a hotbed of antisemitism and anti-Israel incitement.

Gil Omer, who chairs the board of KAN, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, refuses to change the lyrics of the song or to replace it with another.

Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar is of the same mind and has urged the EBU to desist from allowing politics to interfere with art.

President Isaac Herzog has also weighed in on the matter, and, speaking at the annual Jerusalem Conference this week, suggested that being wise is preferable to being right, meaning that being right may exclude Israel from participating in this year’s Eurovision contest, whereas being wise and compromising by changing the lyrics or offering a different song would enable Israel to send a message to the world.

Herzog believes that Israel’s participation is important because millions of people from around the globe watch the show on television or social media platforms.

Jerusalem Prizes awarded

■ THE B’SHEVA media group, which hosts the Jerusalem Conference, each year gives out Jerusalem Prizes to people in different categories.

Of the recipients, there were only two who were actually born and raised in Jerusalem.

Well-known broadcaster Ayala Hasson, who received the Jerusalem Prize for Communications, grew up in the neighborhood of Talpiot, which during her youth was nowhere near as developed as it is today.

The other native Jerusalemite, Rabbanit Puah Steiner, who was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for Literature, has the distinction of being a seventh-generation Jerusalemite, who in her youth lived in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

She recalls the siege of the Old City during the War of Independence and the period before the founding of the Israel Defense Forces.

International Women's Day

■ ARGUABLY THE most active and most visible presidential couple since the establishment of the state, the Herzogs participate in a huge variety of activities involving representatives of every sector of society. They attend numerous events around the country, and host many more at the President’s Residence.

Among the International Women’s Day events in which Michal Herzog will participate is one that is titled “Their Stage,” cohosted by Israel Hayom at Tel Aviv Port, where citations will be awarded to several outstanding women in different fields. Also present will be Israel Hayom owner and publisher Miriam Adelson. The event will be broadcast live.

Supporting evacuees in Netanya

■ VOLUNTEERS OF the Snir Association, the management of Hazahav Shopping Mall in Rishon Lezion, popular children’s entertainment star RoyBoy, and the Jewish community of Melbourne combined their efforts on behalf of 300 evacuees who are being accommodated at the Island Hotel in Netanya.

Together they orchestrated a fun day in which there were various activities for children, including a performance by RoyBoy, plus a free of charge store in which adults were given huge bags in which to take away whatever they wanted without paying a single agora.

Stores within the mall had donated new clothing, underwear, shoes, essentials for babies, and much more.

Snir Association chairman Nir Shmuel said that everyone in the association was pleased to be able to bring some pleasure to the evacuees and to be of service to people who had been taken from their homes in the middle of the night from places such as Kiryat Shmona and Sderot.

The association had begun working with the Hazahav Mall from the very beginning of the crisis, he said. “Our goal is to bring some joy to the evacuees.... As soon as we began working with the Hazahav Mall, we began collecting merchandise, and store proprietors were extremely generous with their donations.”

The mall’s CEO, Yossi Legziel, said that everyone in the mall was proud to be associated with the Snir Association’s initiative, and was happy to cooperate.

Sharon Saida, the general manager of the Island Hotel, welcomed the opportunity to work with the Snir Association to provide yet another perk to help brighten the lives of the evacuees.

Snir Association CEO Dr. Yehudit Rubinstein thanked everyone involved, but especially the Jewish community of Melbourne, which, though geographically distant, was close in its heartfelt concern, expressed in what it provided for both soldiers and civilians.

Planting trees near devastated Gaza border communities

■ MORE THAN a century ago, poet Joyce Kilmer wrote a poem called “Trees,” which later evolved into a beautiful song, the opening lines of which are: “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.” The imagery in the lines that follow contains all the beauty that emanates from a tree.

It’s not often that a luxury hotel asks its guests to contribute to a tree-planting project. But given the time and the circumstances, the Kempinski hotel management asked guests and friends to follow its example, and together they donated ten thousand trees this month for the purpose of planting a forest near Kibbutz Be’eri, to be named the David Kempinski Forest, in memory of the victims murdered by Hamas on October 7.

The project was conducted within the framework of the hotel’s cooperation with KKL-JNF to rehabilitate the Gaza border communities.

Guy Klaiman, the hotel’s CEO, invited leading travel agents and employee representatives to help him plant the trees.

Members of the Royal Thai Embassy will plant a smaller but still significant number of 70 trees to mark the 70h anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Thailand. The Thai tree-planting ceremony will take place in the Ben-Shemen Forest on March 12.

Jewish life in Turkey

■ THE NEGATIVE rhetoric against Israel by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not mean that Turkish Jews have to flee the country. Turkey has actually been quite good in protecting the safety of its Jewish communities, and has also permitted Jewish construction and restoration projects, such as the ancient Izmir synagogues dating from the 16th century.

Of 34 synagogues built in Izmir, 13 have remained, nine of them in the old city. Some are still in reasonably good shape and have active congregations. They are not all in the same style, but represent different eras from the Spanish Golden Age onward, and serve as monuments dedicated to a once flourishing Sephardi Jewish community.

The Izmir Project, established several years ago by the Jewish community and the Mordechai Kiriaty Foundation, has worked toward the creation of an open Jewish Museum of Izmir Jewish Heritage by restoring those ancient synagogues that were in need of repair and linking them with those synagogues that have been maintained.

On Thursday, February 29, at 3 p.m., Uri Bar-Ner, on behalf of the Kiriaty Foundation, will deliver a PowerPoint presentation of the project as it stands today and as it is envisaged in its Jewish Museum context.

Those synagogues that have been preserved, as well as those that have been restored, are accessible to visitors to Turkey.

Ben-Ner will show images of these magnificent structures at the Saraya building, 23 David Raziel Street, in the Clock Tower Square in Jaffa.

The Saraya building serves as the Turkish Cultural Center, and is reminiscent, in its architecture and decor, of the days of Ottoman rule.

greerfc@gmail.com