In Washington on Wednesday, February 14, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) will convene an event to examine and raise awareness of the sexual and gender-based violence that Hamas perpetrated on October 7 and since then against Israeli women.
She will be joined by second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, (who is Jewish), Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog and his wife, Shirin, a high-powered lawyer who advises clients on public and private company mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, private equity investments, and other financial transactions, Deborah Lipstadt, US special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, as well as several Israeli and civil society officials.
Several other members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have indicated that they plan to attend, among them Lois Frankel (D-Florida), who cochairs the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism. Frankel will talk about her bipartisan resolution to forcefully condemn Hamas’s use of race and sexual violence as weapons of war.
Discussing antisemitism in Washington
■ ALSO IN Washington, in a recent meeting that took place at the State Department, Lipstadt met with CEO of Aish HaTorah Rabbi Steven Burg and CMO of Aish Jamie Geller. The three engaged in a profound discussion on the surge of antisemitism following the tragic events of the October 7 attack against Israel by Hamas.The meeting highlighted the urgent need to combat this growing threat and foster stronger international alliances, particularly with Gulf states, to address the issue head-on.
Lipstadt emphasized the dramatic shift in the global landscape after October 7, noting the direct and parallel lines between recent antisemitic acts and the broader political tensions affecting the Middle East. She clarified the distinction between legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and antisemitism, pointing out the alarming actions of those who not only question Israel’s right to exist but also perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
She also expressed her shock at the rapid escalation of antisemitic incidents, which took place immediately following Hamas’s attack against Israel and predated Israel’s incursion into the Gaza Strip. “The speed of the denial of the attack and the denial of the horrific gender-based violence, including rape, is something that is shocking to me,” said Lipstadt. “These acts of prejudice challenge the very foundations of rational discourse and historical understanding.”
Burg and Geller echoed her sentiments, stressing the importance of a strong Jewish identity and active engagement in countering antisemitism. They highlighted the disillusionment among many who felt betrayed by the silence of human rights and women’s rights organizations during this crisis.
“On October 8, we were suddenly faced with a situation where Jews in many parts of the globe were trying to figure out why their best friends of last week suddenly hated them this week,” Burg explained. “People reached out to us at Aish, in person and online, looking for help, for a community, and we were there for them. We need to continue to empower, embrace, and educate Jews from all over and to double and triple our efforts to help those who are most vulnerable to antisemitism.”
National Council of Jewish Women
■ DURING THE struggle in 19th- and early 20th-century America for a just and more equal social order, the National Council of Jewish Women adopted the feminist slogan “Where there’s a Woman, there’s a Way.”In many countries, that struggle is ongoing despite groundbreaking achievements for and by women. In Israel prior to October 7, there appeared to be a regression when it came to including women as political decision-makers.But women have some remarkable accomplishments to their credit in other fields, and some of these will be recognized on International Women’s Day.
Several conferences before, during, and soon after International Women’s Day will illustrate how far women have come in so many spheres in contributing to the development of the nation.
During his period in office as president, Shimon Peres had no qualms about giving women their due. The top three people on his team – Efrat Duvdevani, Yona Bartal, and Ayelet Frisch – followed him to the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation when his seven-year term came to an end. Frisch later established herself as a global strategist, but continues to maintain contact with the Peres Center.
While still in office, Peres established the Presidential Medal of Distinction, Israel’s highest civilian honor. Intended to be conferred on both Israeli and non-Israeli individuals who made significant contributions to humanity and the improvement of the quality of life, it was never awarded during the seven years in which Reuven Rivlin was president.
When Isaac Herzog came into office, he changed its name and called it the Medal of Honor, robbing it to some extent of its significance.
If the two sons and daughter of Shimon Peres were put out by this or by Rivlin ignoring the medal, they played the game of political correctness but decided that the Peres Center would revive the Medal of Distinction and award it accordingly in line with International Women’s Day. This year’s ceremony will be slightly ahead of the actual date of March 8 and will be held on Wednesday, February 28, at the Peres Center in Jaffa.
Awardees this year will be linked in one way or another with the events of October 7 and their aftermath.Twenty remarkable individual women, as well as groups of women, have been selected, from among many more who are equally deserving, to receive the medals this year.
In addition, a special Medal of Distinction will be awarded to the most heroic of women – those captured and taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Those who have been released from captivity will receive their medals in person.
Those who are still in captivity will receive their medals at a special ceremony following their return home.Duvdevani, who was the director of the President’s Office under Peres, and who subsequently became the director of the Peres Center, noted that this is the fourth year in which the Medal of Distinction will be awarded to influential, trailblazing, and inspiring women who spearheaded civilian initiatives, selflessness, and civilian and military resilience in numerous fields.
Among the recipients will be actress, author and public speaker Noa Tishby, who has been a consistent voice in America’s film and television industries in combating antisemitism and advocating for the release of captives.
Other recipients include Lilaq Logan of the Israel Air Force, who promotes Israel online; Druze social activist and entrepreneur Lorena Khateeb-Kizel, who, speaking in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, promotes education in Arab communities inside and outside of Israel and brings food parcels to army bases; Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, a specialist in international law, human rights, and gender-related crimes; Supt. Shifra Buchris, who, though aware of the extreme danger, embarked on a rescue mission with three members of her team on October 7, without having been called to serve; Supt. Shoshana Mali, a veteran Border Police officer in Sderot, who unhesitatingly fired at terrorists as they approached the police station and, though wounded in her hand, continued fighting; Prof. Karine Nahon, who liaised with evacuated families and families of hostages when necessary; Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, who chairs the medical committee responsible for assessing the medical conditions of the hostages; Sisters in Arms, the female component of Brothers in Arms, which transformed from a protest movement to the nation’s leading civil aid organization, with women taking the places of men who had been called up to fight; Dr. Efrat Bron-Harlev, CEO of Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, who in the early stages of the war persuaded the Health Ministry to dedicate a facility to receive mothers and children released from Hamas captivity; Kibbutz Nir Oz resident Osnat Perry, who managed to escape while her husband was abducted to Gaza, and has led the plan for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the kibbutz; tank commanders Hagar, Hila, Tal, Sarah, Michal, Karni, Ophir and Tamar of the Armored Corps, who fought in the battle of Re’im on October 7; attorney Hanan Alsanah and Shir Nosatzki, who opened a Jewish-Arab support network in the Bedouin town of Rahat; television producer Inbal Shevach Sharvit, who established Hahamal Shel Inbal, which provides food and equipment for soldiers; Dr. Yaffa Nahumi, founder of the haredi charity that assists the army with food, equipment, and other supplies, as well as financial donations; Ella Keinan, a former travel blogger, who has managed to convince some influential people, including US President Joe Biden, that Hamas is ISIS; finance manager Sharit Weisengrin, who manages a resilience center in Eilat, in which capacity she leads collaborative efforts between local authorities and leaders of various community organizations.
In addition to all of the above, there will be three lifetime achievement Medals of Distinction presented to one of Israel’s leading singers, Yardena Arazi, who makes a point of visiting wounded fighters and assisting families of abducted Israelis; journalist Ilana Dayan, who for close to 40 years has fearlessly investigated political and other prominent figures to expose corruption, as well as failures among the national leadership that have caused needless deaths and economic crises; and philanthropist Batia Ofer, who though she now lives in London, left her heart in Israel, and is an ardent campaigner against antisemitism in universities. Her family has donated millions of shekels to a variety of organizations working on behalf of IDF soldiers in combat, bereaved families, evacuees, and sectors of the Israeli public affected by Operation Swords of Iron.
Women leaders in key positions
■ ON FEBRUARY 26 Yediot Aharonot will host a conference, also at the Peres Center, featuring women leaders in management, innovation, economics, business, science, hi-tech, culture, and social activism.Also attending will be Michal Herzog, the wife of the president.
Tishby to receive an award
■ THE AMBASSADOR’S Club of Israel, which will give Woman of Valor citations to a number of women on the actual date of International Women’s Day, has also selected Tishby to be one of the recipients, at a ceremony to be held at the Hagana Museum on Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv. The venue is highly appropriate in that female combatants are included among the honorees.
There are also two non-Israeli honorees: Asako Koichi, wife of the ambassador of Japan, and Kanta Rizal, the ambassador of Nepal.
Heroes of October 7
■ ON MARCH 27, The Jerusalem Post will host the Women Leaders Summit at the Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv. Women who broke through the glass ceiling will tell their personal stories.As with most other conferences this year, there will be special focus on women who displayed heroism during the October 7 massacre.
Milei meets the Pope
■ THERE WERE smiles all round on Sunday when Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, met with Pope Francis in the Vatican shortly after the pope canonized the first female Argentinian saint, Maria Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, better known as Mama Antula.
Milei, who was present at the ceremony, was in the past one of the pope’s fiercest critics. But on a day in which an 18th-century Argentinian woman who had renounced her riches and focused on charitable deeds – like the pope himself, before he became head of the Catholic Church – all the leading figures who participated in the ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica were Argentinians.
For Milei, February will be one of the most memorable months in his career and possibly in his life. Not only did he have religious experiences in Israel and Italy, but he was able to share the joy of Israelis and Argentinians everywhere upon the rescue from Hamas captivity of hostages Fernando Marman and Luis Har, who are Argentinian-Israeli dual nationals from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
The two were rescued in a special forces nighttime operation and brought to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. Their relatives were informed in the predawn hours of their safe arrival.
Milei's visit to Israel
■ DURING HIS visit to Israel last week, Milei had a religious experience – in fact, more than one. On his first day in the country, which was on Tuesday, he prayed at the Western Wall, and on Thursday he was back in Jerusalem’s Old City and also visited the Aish HaTorah World Center, which directly faces the Western Wall. He beheld the spectacular view from the Aish rooftop, where weddings and other celebrations are frequently conducted, and also visited Aish’s new center for Jewish learning for the yeshiva’s program for Spanish-speaking students from Latin America.
It was there that he met Rabbi Zvi Klor, the director of the Aish Latin American program, whom he told that his visit to Israel, especially Jerusalem, had given him a lot of strength of faith.Klor happens to be a personal friend of Rabbi Axel Wahnish, who is Argentina’s next ambassador to Israel, and who accompanied the president to all the places that he visited. Milei studies Torah with him, a factor that augurs well for the future of Israel-Argentina relations.
Milei spent more time with President Herzog than with any other Israeli, with the possible exception of his tour guide. The J in Spanish is pronounced like a guttural H. Commenting on how this made Milei’s name sound like haver, the Hebrew word for friend, Herzog described him as a true friend of Israel.
“Haver” with somewhat different pronunciation was adopted by the miners who came during the 1850s from America and Europe to the gold fields in the Australian state of Victoria. Those from English-speaking countries could not pronounce the guttural H, and instead pronounced it like a C or a K. Thus the colloquial Australian word for friend is “cobber,” which Australians have translated into English as mate.
UK ambassador visits Nazareth
■ BRITISH AMBASSADOR Simon Walters visited Nazareth last Thursday and met senior representatives of the Arab community from various sectors, including civil society organizations, health, business, and media.Among the people with whom Walters met were Dr. Samer Swaid, the director of the Arab Center for Alternative Planning, and Dr. Mohammad Khalaileh. When touring the EMMS Nazareth Hospital, Walters met hospital Director Prof. Fahed Hakim and Waseem Dibbini, acting CEO of Nazareth Trust and finance manager. Next, he met with Ahmed, Waleed, and Majd Afifi from the Afifi Group, and then visited Radio A-Shams, where he met with Suhel Karram, CEO and founder of A-Shams radio station, Jacki Khoury, head of the news department, and Majd Karram, executive manager.
“As ambassador it is important for me to understand and engage with all parts of Israeli society. That is why I visited Nazareth and met representatives from the Arab community in Israel,” said Walters. “I heard of some of the specific needs Arab society has, and I am looking forward to even closer cooperation in technology and innovation.”
Bar-Ilan University grants honorary doctorates to those greatly involved in war
■ IN JUNE, Bar-Ilan University will award honorary doctorates to men, women, and organizations whose work has had a profound effect on Israel during the war and in anticipation of the “day after.”
The first recipient, announced this week by the university, is Haim Jelin, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, former head of the Eshkol Regional Council, public activist, and a person strongly identified with the eventual rehabilitation of the Gaza border area.
On behalf of the degree committee, university president Prof. Arie Zaban wrote to Jelin to inform him of the honor. Part of the letter states: “The degree committee has recognized the commendable values that have guided your Zionist work from your youth to the present day, and, in awarding this honor, wishes to recognize the beneficial impact you and the entire Gaza border community have on Israeli society.”
Zaban added: “Love of Israel, love of mankind, working the land, and advancing your vision to serve the public – this is what Zionism looks like in practice, and this is what we learn from you in studying the story of your life. You survived the inferno on October 7 and decided to return to your kibbutz, to your home, to Be’eri – even when the kibbutz is still empty, the inferno is evident in every corner, and the pain burns the heart – to begin the work of revival.”
The letter also read, “Especially during this time, which is so complex, Bar-Ilan University wishes to magnify the determination and courage, the heroism and the ability to overcome, and the signature and influence of you and the surrounding community on our past, present, and future, as a people and as a nation.“In awarding this honorary degree, we would also like to express the moral obligation that we, Israeli society, have towards you.”
The honorary doctorate convocation ceremony will take place on Monday, June 3, in the framework of the annual board of trustees meetings and in the presence of friends and donors from Israel and around the world.
Estonian embassy celebrates Independence Day
■ OUT OF respect for Israeli families who have lost loved ones during the current war and families of hostages, who are campaigning for their release or rescue from Gaza, several embassies have opted not to hold national day receptions since October 7.
But there are ways to celebrate without fear of offending, and the Embassy of Estonia, which is celebrating its Independence Day this month, has hit the jackpot.
Robert Derevski, the deputy dead of mission, says that on February 26, at 6 p.m., which is actually two days after the official date, resident ambassadors, members of Knesset, businesspeople, and other guests will come together at the Cooking Studio to cook under the supervision of a professional chef. All the food will be kosher, and after the cooking is completed, guests will pack it, and the Estonian Embassy will donate it to evacuated families and others affected by the war. The food will be transferred to recipients on that same evening while it is still completely fresh.People at the Estonian Embassy see the totality of the event as an example of unity and social resilience, and a demonstration of people from around the world coming together to support Israel and its people.
IDF's rescue mission
■ IT WASN’T only this week’s amazingly successful rescue mission that caused Israelis to say proudly, “There’s nothing like the IDF!” It’s the caliber of individual soldiers who, knowing the risk, not only show up for duty but ask to be assigned to combat missions. If and when they are wounded, they display the same courage and resilience.A case in point is Orr Sheizaf, a reserve soldier who was wounded in Gaza and suffered severe and complicated wounds to his hands and legs as a result of an explosion during a mission in Khan Yunis. An experienced marathon runner, Sheizaf was present at Soroka Medical Center for the unveiling of the official shoe of the Jerusalem Winner Marathon produced by Saucony Israel, a brand of running and fashion shoes for men and women.It was at Soroka that he met Liat Pitaro, the head of the sports department at the Jerusalem Municipality, and Hanita Mey-Tal, CEO of the Saucony Israel brand. Sheizaf told them that once he completes his difficult rehabilitation, he will attempt to participate in the community race. The determination he displayed on the battlefield will guide him back to the running track.
Explaining the needs of passengers on the autistic spectrum
■ SOCIAL ACTIVIST and prizewinning journalist with Maariv, the sister publication of the Post, Josh Aronson, who happens to be on the autistic spectrum, met in London at the request of the Lufthansa airline with one of the company’s executives, Frank Wagner, to explain the needs of passengers on the autistic spectrum.Aronson listed some of the difficulties experienced by passengers with various disabilities, including those on the autistic spectrum, and received a commitment from Wagner that the company would improve the service for people with disabilities in general.
“In the meeting with Lufthansa representatives, we came to many understandings on the subject of accessibility and equality,” Aronson said afterward. “I have all the hope and prayer that every person on the autistic spectrum will be able to fly equally like every other passenger, without feeling discomfort.”Aronson is also a graduate of the Ono Academic College – something that five years ago he never dreamed possible. Encouraged by MK Gilad Kariv and helped by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in his previous ministerial role as education minister, by the National Insurance Institute, and by the students who understood and accepted his autism and studied with him, Aronson now has an academic degree.
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