Grapevine December 19, 2024: Wanted: A constitution

The squabbling among members of the government and among the government coalition with members of the opposition over conflicting interpretations of what ministers and legislators are permitted by law to do, points to the urgent need for a constitution. The subject has been debated for decades, but remains in limbo.

This week, the Jewish People Policy Institute brought together academics who are legal experts, former Speakers of Knesset, past and present MKs and members of an organization advocating for a lean constitution as an interim solution to lack of clarification over what the law permits and what it forbids.

Among the former Knesset speakers were Reuven Rivlin, who is also a former president of the state and a former government minister; Mickey Levy, who is still an MK, and Avraham Burg. All three are from three different political parties, but one of the things they have in common is that they were all born in Jerusalem.

Among the issues over which there are disputes, is the circumstances under which an attorney-general can be dismissed. The vendetta which National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has carried out against Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara would not be tolerated in many other countries.

Then there is also the issue of Ben-Gvir coming close to toppling the government by voting against the state budget. According to some pundits, such an action demands his immediate dismissal.

In addition, there is the attempt by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to privatize public broadcasting, and the threat that if he fails, he will close down KAN 11. Even though he has since moderated his bill to make it less stringent, it still spells disaster.

If passed, it will deprive literally hundreds of people of their jobs, countless listeners of the information they acquire only or mainly from public broadcasting, and Israel of positive global attention due to the ineligibility of commercial channels to participate in Eurovision. The process of closing KAN 11, would take at least two years, during which time there will be new elections, and there is no guarantee that Karhi will retain his Knesset seat or that he will be a minister even if he does remain an MK.

Then there’s Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is in the process of reviving national chaos by putting the judicial reform bill back on the table. These and other actions by irresponsible or obsessive ministers for whom personal ego is more important than national stability call for the establishment of a constitution even if it is only a lean one, because that would be preferable to no constitution at all.

THIS COMING Tuesday, December 24, is a special day for the family of President Isaac Herzog, because it marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of his mother Aura Herzog who died in January 2022. There are many customs which evolve into transition but whose founders remain anonymous after their generation has passed on.

It was Aura Herzog who initiated the youth Bible Quiz, which is part and parcel of Israel’s Independence Day celebrations. She also initiated the concept of industrial aesthetics, by getting manufacturing plants to clean up the areas around their buildings and plant flowers and shrubs. Aura was also the founder and longtime head of the Council for a Beautiful Israel.

In its early days, she was closely involved with Schneider Children’s Hospital. She worked in the Jewish Agency during the nascent period of the state, and was also in the first class for diplomats, although it was her husband and second son who later became ambassadors while her youngest son is a former chairman of the Jewish Agency. She was both the wife and mother of presidents of Israel.

Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremony for victims of terrorism

■ NUMBERS ARE nothing more than just numbers until you see what they represent. At the annual Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremony which the Organization of Victims of Terrorism organizes each year, there were many more boys and girls transitioning from puberty to maturity than in previous years. It is heartbreaking to learn how terror and war have robbed so many children of a father, a mother or both during the past 14 months. But it is even more heartbreaking to see these children with their baby siblings, some of whom never got to know their parents.

The ceremony in which they attain maturity takes place at the Western Wall. Then they and immediate members of their families tour Jerusalem and at the end of the day meet the president in his official residence.

Herzog used the analogy of Adam being unaware of day and night because he thought that daylight was unending, and then believed when night came that he had done something wrong and was being punished. He compared this tale to what is happening today when the lives of so many families are clouded in darkness. But the president is convinced that daylight would return to the lives of the 67 youngsters and they would be happy and successful.

Similar sentiments were voiced by Labor Minister Yoav Ben Tzur and Organization of the Victims of Terrorism Chairman Abie Moses.

In an interview on KAN Reshet Bet the following day, Moses said that over the years, thousands of children had lost one or both parents to terrorism, and the number had significantly increased over the past 14 months, with half of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah youngsters having lost a parent on or since October 7.

A fervent, unapologetic Zionist

■ ANYONE WHO knows Prof. Gil Troy knows that he’s a fervent Zionist who is not afraid to say it and to show it. It’s obvious that he and his wife Linda have handed it down to the next generation.

At the launch of Troy’s latest book To Resist the Academic Intifada at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center this week, he interviewed three young people – May Brown, who was an emissary in Seattle with her husband and is now director of the Tel Aviv University Hillel; Nora Rosenfeld, a student at Northwestern University who had just arrived in Israel a few hours earlier; and Aviv Troy, the author’s son – about how their Jewish and Zionist identities had been affected by the events of October 7 and beyond. Aviv, who is no less articulate than his father, said that he didn’t have to talk about Zionism – he lives it like his father and mother.

As for Troy, what motivates and guides him is hope, which he noted is the Hebrew title of Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.” “Look at all the despair – and we still remain a nation of hope,” he said.

Interwoven into the book is the story of his own family, who he said journeyed from Europe to America as unapologetic Zionists.

When Jewish kids were being hit on during his childhood in New York, his mother told her sons that if someone hits them, they should hit back. Other mothers told their children to keep a low profile.

The finished product is his third attempt at writing the book. He started it as a memoir before October 7, then changed it afterwards but somehow it didn’t flow as it should. It was suggested to him that since he’s a teacher, he should write it as letters to his students.

Judging by the review comments and who they came from, that was absolutely the correct formula.

Troy is an emotional speaker, and in his address promoting Jewish and Zionist pride he lamented that “we were stuck in pogroms, Holocaust and weeping. But heroes are part of Zionism.”

Like so many speakers these days, he referred frequently to heroes, and the reference was not to soldiers alone, but anyone who stands up for Zionism and Judaism and says “They can’t push us around.” “It’s about a culture of responsibility and building a healthy Jewish identity” he said, underscoring that Harvard has betrayed its core identity.

The introductory speaker was Prof. Yedidia Stern, president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, who had been a student at Harvard. At that time, he’d been very proud of the fact, but said that he is no longer proud.

The Lee Fund lends a hand

■ SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP has become a big deal in Jerusalem and is actively encouraged by the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jerusalem Municipality, with the help of Keren Lee (the Lee Fund), which provides funding for distribution to various grant applicants. Ten lucky social entrepreneurs will receive NIS 50,000 each.

Keren Lee was established by Arik Grabalski, the recently appointed president of the foundation, long before he took office. A prominent businessman and philanthropist, he persuaded others to join him, and soon after assuming the presidency, he and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion held a special reception at the National Library to honor all the donors and to simultaneously give those of them who had not yet visited one of the newest treasures of the capital, the opportunity to tour the impressive building next to the Knesset.

The event also provided an opportunity for the change of name of the fund to Shai Li in memory of the dynamic previous president Shai Doron who died while on a working visit to London last July. Shai means gift in Hebrew, so the name of the fund now translates as “A gift for me,” which is totally appropriate, since each of the recipients now has a fairly handsome sum to continue and develop their operations.

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