From the Nova massacre to the Huppa
People who watched Channel 12 last week were heartened by coverage of the wedding of Gali Segal and Ben Binyamin, who got engaged shortly before October 7, and went to celebrate the occasion at the Nova Festival. During the Hamas onslaught, the two found shelter together with other people and were right at the back of a house, which was a comparatively safe area, until Hamas hurled grenades into the building.
Both Gali and Ben were badly hurt. In the force of the explosion, each lost a leg – their right legs, which actually worked out well for their wedding dance. They were determined to go ahead with the wedding, but not until both could walk to the bridal canopy – each of them with a prosthetic right leg.
All their guests were delighted for them because their rehabilitation was yet another sign of Israeli resilience and the ability to overcome. Ben, who was a keen soccer player before losing his leg, now plays with a team of players with disabilities. It’s not quite the same, but it’s not as bad as not playing at all, he says.
Bringing children into the world a universal right
Up until a few years ago, people with intellectual disabilities were discouraged from getting married – and certainly not to each other. But love is stronger than intellectual or physical disabilities – or ethnic, national and religious differences. Aside from that, if so-called “normal” people can conceive and give birth to children with disabilities, why is there a reason to suppose that people with disabilities cannot bring children healthy in body and mind into the world? Deaf couples have children with good hearing and blind couples have children with 20/20 vision, so why not give intellectually impaired couples the opportunity to bring a genius into the world?
Proud to help mentally disabled couples marry
AKIM Jerusalem, one of the leading organizations that support individuals with intellectual disabilities, is proud of helping to make an important advance in that direction and considers the wedding of Horesh and Nataly, the first couple with special needs to marry under the organization’s care, to have been a historic milestone.
Their wedding was not only a personal triumph for the bride and groom, but also represents a significant advance in AKIM Jerusalem’s mission to promote inclusion and equality. The organization’s dedication to supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities extends beyond daily care to encompass all aspects of life, including the fundamental right to marry and build a family.
Set against the backdrop of current regional challenges, this wedding serves as a powerful reminder of the enduring nature of love and the importance of community support. It highlights AKIM Jerusalem’s commitment to ensuring that individuals with special needs can lead full, meaningful lives and participate in all societal institutions.
The month of Av contradictions
Tisha B'av, a time of great sadness, is almost upon us, to be followed a week later by Tu B’Av, a time of happiness and romance. It’s a day on which you should tell the people you love how you feel about them. The past year has taught us that nothing in this world can be taken for granted and that change comes when we least expect it. As we have witnessed over the past ten months, such sudden changes can be not only life changing, but life taking. So while the opportunity exists, tell whomever should hear it from you that you love them.
Internal strife
Aside from all the cross-border battles in which Israel is engaged, there are numerous internal battles related to ideology, religion, economy and real estate. In Jerusalem, there is a law against constructing any building higher than the walls of the Old City, but the same respect for heritage does not extend to Mount Herzl, where Yad Vashem, the country’s main military cemetery, and the graves of Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl and other national leaders are located.
There has been a long, ongoing dispute over the Marom Tower, a 40-story structure that will be the tallest building in Jerusalem, until someone with more money and more influence comes along and builds a 50-story one. Families of victims of the Holocaust and of fallen soldiers, as well as people who live in the neighborhood have vehemently objected to the project, which is part of the new Jerusalem Gateway plan, but Mayor Moshe Lion is adamant about the tower going up.
It’s not as tall as some of the towers in Tel Aviv, but will stand out above the general skyline, just like the Holyland apartment project which is regarded as the eyesore of the capital. Deputy Mayor Yosi Havilio is at odds with Lion – but to no avail.
It’s a little reminiscent of the Mount Meron tragedy, and even more so of 9/11, with the huge difference being that the people in the World Trade Center did not receive sufficient warning to get out of the building in time. And if they had been warned a month or two earlier, most would have ignored the warning, taking the attitude that such a thing could not happen in New York. But it did and claimed the lives of more than 2,900 people.
Just imagine how many people would die if a rocket from Iran hits the 40 story building after all the residential units are occupied. How many children would be included in the death toll? We have seen the devastation that rockets and bombs have caused in southern communities and throughout the North, but as usual, the supposed representatives of the public are not really interested in what the public does or doesn’t want.
Always on the move
Journalism is a very nomadic profession. Whether a journalist is a general reporter or covers a specific area such as politics, environmental issues, security, sport or any number of other subjects, he or she gets to move around, even in a digital era where everything is available via the internet. If you watch news programs on television, you see journalists completely absorbed in their cell phones and then giving a report as if they had just rushed in from a government meeting, an anti-government demonstration, or the site of a missile that missed its target.
Even though print journalists also have access to such information, they are in the field more often to pick up on “color” stories and to interview some of the people who are involved in whatever it is that’s happening.
Journalists are nomadic in other ways, too. While some remain with the same employer for the whole or most of their careers, others tend to change horses every four or five years, and some last the distance for a whole decade before they move on to what looks like greener pastures.
Haaretz columnist Anshell Pfeffer, who many years ago worked for The Jerusalem Post before moving back to his old stomping ground, wrote an interesting column in the English edition of the publication for 17 years. His final column appeared last Friday, because he was in the process of leaving and moving on. He is now the full-time Israel correspondent for The Economist, though he hopes to return to Haaretz as a guest columnist from time to time. He actually started his career in journalism at the newspaper’s local Jerusalem weekly Kol Ha’Ir, writing in Hebrew. Born in the UK, he is equally fluent in English and Hebrew.
After writing for some years in Hebrew, he left Haaretz and joined the Post, where he naturally wrote in English. He subsequently put all that he had learned at the Post into the English edition of Haaretz.
Simon Parnass' voice will be missed
Also in the sphere of a nomadic profession, is the vacating of the Reshet Bet weekend microphone by Shimon Parnass, whose last Parnass on Shabbat program was broadcast last Saturday. It’s rather sad, because the 70-year-old broadcaster, after more than 20 years on Army Radio, returned to Israel Radio-Reshet Bet where he had first embarked on a career in journalism. He returned to a great print media fanfare this past January, but his program did not last for more than half a year. Still, he’s also a lecturer, writer and tour guide, so he probably won’t be idle.
Helping getting back on the career track
Nefesh B'Nefesh which works in cooperation with Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Ministry, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, and JNF-USA, as well as in partnership with the Jerusalem Municipality’s Absorption Authority, hosted its first Errands and Employment Day fair for IDF reservist immigrants from Jerusalem and neighboring areas.
The event included support from the Jerusalem Municipality’s Hizdamnut (Opportunity) employment center, offering participants personalized vocational guidance, including insights on boards with job offers and local networking opportunities. Staff from Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Post Aliyah NBN Answers service hotline were on-site to provide information on various employment opportunities and higher education courses from the organization’s Upgrade program, as well as to address issues and concerns regarding employment options and national service.
Participants engaged with governmental and municipal representatives, accessing biometric passport services, as well as insights from the Israeli Tax Authority, guidance from the Aliyah and Integration Ministry’s Student Authority, the Transportation Ministry’s Licensing Bureau, assistance from the National Insurance Institute, representatives from Qalita, and others. The event also provided specialized services in crafting CVs, optimizing profiles, and offering professional photos for LinkedIn profiles and personal websites, ensuring that the reservist immigrants are well equipped for their career aspirations in Israel.
“The integration of olim into the job market and receiving assistance with bureaucratic procedures from government authorities is a critical component in their absorption process and their establishment in Israel,” said Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer.
“Together with our partners in national institutions, immigration organizations and municipal authorities, we are investing significant efforts to ease these processes for them,” he said.
“The fair was also a tribute to the many young people who made aliyah to enlist in the IDF as lone soldiers, chose to stay in Israel, and were called up for reserve duty to defend the homeland – and I thank them for that.”
“Since the outbreak of the war, the Jerusalem Municipality has been investing much effort and significant resources in supporting reservists and their families, through a wide range of services and community programs,” said Mayor Lion.
“This special fair was initiated in response to understanding the specific needs and challenges faced by olim reservists and newcomers alike,” he said. “We are committed to supporting the olim community in the city by providing them with essential guidance and assistance. Most importantly, we aim to ensure they feel cared for and know they are not alone.”
It all appears to be very positive, and Nefesh B’Nefesh and its cohorts deserve the highest commendation for their efforts. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the most important lesson that any new immigrant should learn is how to cope with Israeli bureaucracy, where people who may be insignificant in their private lives, wield a lot of power in the office, and often use it to make the lives of ordinary citizens miserable.
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