Despite Australia’s strong surge of antisemitism and anti-Zionism, coupled with Australia’s change of policy reflecting a more positive attitude towards the Palestinians two courageous Australian women who are not Jewish have spoken out on behalf of the Jewish community and the State of Israel, against the barbarism of Hamas.
Journalist Erin Molan and rock singer Deborah Conway were in Israel last month as guests of the Israel-Australia Chamber of Commerce, with the aid and blessing of the Zionist Federation of Australia and the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council. Molan spoke in Israel at some well-attended events and also met with President Isaac Herzog, who was highly appreciative of her stance.
Conway attended the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival at the Jerusalem Cinematheque for the world premiere of Marathon Mom, which tells the story of Beatie Deutsch, the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) long-distance runner and mother of five. Conway also sang at the reception and will sing again with Willy Zygier on January 6 at Hangar 11 at the Port of Tel Aviv.
Conway says of herself, “My name is Deborah. The Judge who sent her troops into battle. I always knew that if I was going to pick a hill to die on, defending the right of Israel to exist would be it.” Tickets are NIS 70, and proceeds, at Conway’s request, will go to Magen David Adom.
Beatie Deutsch depicted in film
■ AS FOR the film, it does more than show viewers the stamina and resolve of the petite Beatie Deutsch, whose slim build betrays no sign of having gone through five pregnancies. It shows how she manages to combine motherhood, being a good wife, and, above all, her ability to maintain an unwavering faith in her religion and God with her love of running – a sport relatively new to her.
She didn’t start running until she was 26, but neither sport nor challenges were new to her. She has played basketball and has a black belt in taekwondo. Her mother says in the film that as a child, Beatie was always climbing trees. That was quite a challenge for a little girl in a haredi family.
She is fortunate to have the support not only of her parents, who help out with the kids when she’s in training or competing abroad but also of her husband, Michael, a yeshiva teacher who is also engaged in computer studies.
Michael Deutsch is a long-distance cyclist, and he invited her to join him. She took to cycling like a duck to water, and presumably, if introduced to other sports, she would be no less competent. They married when she was 19. She’d been on a couple of dates before, and then she was “set up” with the man she married and who has proved to be her biggest fan.
The film shows Beatie’s high and low moments: her collapse after a race, her victories, and her heartbreak over the young, teenage anorexic relative who committed suicide. The youngster had knitted a cap for Beatie’s fifth child, and Beatie had included it with some clothes that she had given away. What she regretted was that there was no photograph of the baby wearing the hat, and she wept on camera.
Because her story is so unusual, she is frequently asked to speak – not just to adults but to schoolchildren in Israel and abroad.
Danny Hakim – a karate champion and a well known figure in Israeli and international sporting circles who is the founder of Sports for Social Impact – is a co-producer of the film. Hakim, who hails from Australia, is also a member of the Board of the Azrieli Foundation, headed by his wife, Canadian-born Danna Azrieli.
Understandably, there were quite a number of Australians and Canadians at the sold-out screening, as well as relatives and friends of Beatie and Michael Deutsch and of the co-directors Rebecca Shore and Oren Rosenfeld. Among the Australians were Australian Ambassador Dr. Ralph King and his wife. The yellow pin associated with waiting for the return of the hostages was prominently displayed on King’s jacket, and a photograph of him and his wife at the prescreening reception quickly appeared on his X/Twitter account.
Hakim said that twenty years ago, he had made a film about an Arab girl who became a world karate champion. He was always interested in women in sport and how they inspire others, he said. When he first met Beatie, he knew they would do a film together. It’s not only women in sport that he and the Azrieli Foundation support – but women in all fields.
Max Silverstein is inaugurated
■ JERUSALEM MAYOR Moshe Lion, together with Jerusalem Foundation President Arik Grebelsky, co-hosted the inauguration ceremony of the Max Silverstein Tunnel in the developing Jerusalem Gateway business district last week.
Among those attending was donor Nathan Royce Silverstein, who funded the project in memory of his late father, in addition to two other projects enabled by his generosity: the adjacent Elizabeth (Blume) and Max Silverstein Square for Law and Justice and the Elizabeth (Blume) Silverstein lane.
Both honor his late parents, Max Silverstein and Elizabeth Blume Silverstein, inspiring pioneers in their fields who led full and meaningful lives of impactful activism in the American Jewish and legal spheres and helped shape early American policy toward the State of Israel This is a momentous moment for our city and a major step forward for the development of Jerusalem, declared Lion.
The Max Silverstein Tunnel is more than just a road. It will reduce traffic, connect neighborhoods, and improve daily life for residents and visitors alike. This project is proof of what we can achieve when we work together for the future of Jerusalem, he said.
Max Silverstein, whose name this tunnel proudly bears, was a visionary leader dedicated to the future of the Jewish people. He helped found the American Jewish Congress under President Woodrow Wilson, which played a critical role in shaping US support for a Jewish homeland.
Grebelsky told Nathan Silverstein: “I was touched to see that the tunnel and the upcoming project – the square – are named after your late parents. I have read up a little on them, and they were both fine people who attained outstanding personal achievements and have done much to support the state of Israel. Commemorating your parents and honoring them is perhaps the most valuable mitzvah (commandment), and I am certain that if they can see us from above, they are incredibly proud.
Silverstein replied that it was extremely moving to commemorate his parents in the city that is the eternal capital of the Jewish state.
Bringing French youth to get emergency medical service training
■ ISRAEL’S DIRE deficit in trained medical staff may reverse itself in the coming years despite the anticipated population growth. 800 French youth arrived in groups of 80 each day at the headquarters of Magen David Adom for training in emergency medical services. The program is called Blue and White Matriculation.
Some of these youngsters, after they return to France and complete their high school studies, may choose to study in various branches of the medical profession and may opt to come live in Israel, where there is already a large French community, which will help them to feel at home.
Even if this doesn’t happen, what they learned at MDA will be useful to them in the future. Victor Wintz, the director-general of MDA Europe, said he was delighted to be engaged in this project, which was held in cooperation with the Jewish Agency’s Israel Experience project.
Bar-Ilan hosts French high schoolers
■ BAR-ILAN University also received a group of French high school students through the Israel Experience and hosted the 21st cohort of French 12th graders in Israel as part of the Bac, Bleu, Blanc program.
About to embark upon their college education and perhaps even make aliyah, the youth from Jewish high schools across France are in Israel, in part, to learn more about local universities, decide whether they’d like to pursue a college education in the country, and, if so, to decide where to apply.
The Israel Experience project is supported by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry. Within this framework, hundreds of students come to Israel every year.
The visit to Bar-Ilan was organized by MASA Prépa Progress, an Israel Experience program on the Bar-Ilan campus serving as an academic preparation facilitator for young people from France who are considering moving to and studying in Israel.
Faculty members originally from France, including Prof. David Zitoun from the Department of Chemistry, Prof. Patrick Sebbah from the Department of Physics, and Prof. Pascale Benoliel from the Faculty of Education, met with the students and shared their personal experiences of immigrating to Israel and integrating into the worlds of research and academic studies. Bar-Ilan immigrant students accompanied the youth on a tour of the university’s green, award-winning campus.
“The social aspect is very noticeable in Israel, especially at Bar-Ilan, compared to universities in France,” said 17-year-old Liora Shelly from Paris. “I like that here you combine studies and work. In France, you put your life aside to study. It’s also important to me that I can experience my Jewish identity here without fear,” she said.
Bye-bye Jack Lew
■ AS HE winds up his role as US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew will address some of the younger future voters in American presidential elections when he speaks to members of the Tel Aviv Salon at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation on Thursday, January 9.
He will be in conversation with former Israeli Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, who initially came to Israel from the US as a 15-year-old, returned later as a lone soldier, went back to the US to continue his university studies, and then came back to Israel. He’s been shuttling between the two countries for decades as a student, historian, prolific author, politician, lecturer, and diplomat.
Jack Lew is a former US secretary of the Treasury and, before that, a White House chief of staff. But well before that, he worked in the Clinton Administration as a special assistant to the president. All in all, he has served Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. He has also worked as a lawyer and in senior positions in education.
Both men happen to be aged 69 and have lived through the same tempestuous events, albeit not always in the same place or with the same involvement. Nonetheless, they should have a lot to discuss. The members of the Tel Aviv International Salon are mostly young immigrants in their twenties and thirties and include a large number of people with American citizenship.
The event is free of charge, but prior registration is required at USAIsrael.eventbrite.com.
Jonathan Pollard and politics
■ NEWS OF the political ambitions of former Israeli espionage agent Jonathan Pollard hardly comes as a surprise. Pollard’s life sentence for passing classified material to Israel was considered by many to be extreme, especially considering the much lighter sentences given to Americans who had passed classified materials to America’s enemies.
Over the years, several prominent Israeli politicians had made a point of visiting Pollard in prison when they were in the US. In addition, other political and religious figures lobbied for his release, but he was only eligible for parole after completing a thirty-year sentence, and even then, could not leave the US for another five years while on parole. He finally arrived in Israel in December 2020.
Most of the people who supported him in prison and after he came to Israel were from the National-Religious camp. Pollard has put out feelers indicating he wants to run in the next Knesset elections, though he is still undecided as to which party he would join.
A familiar figure in Jerusalem’s Talbiyeh neighborhood where he lives, Pollard is less known elsewhere in the country, though he is occasionally interviewed by print and electronic media outlets. He might make a good politician, but he’s now 72 years old, which is a little long in the tooth for a novice.
Perhaps he should take note of what happened to the late Noam Shalit, the father of Gilad Shalit, the soldier who was held in Hamas captivity for five years.
Noam Shalit, who had fought relentlessly for his son’s release – even to the extent of chaining himself to a metal barrier close to the Prime Minister’s Residence –was frequently interviewed while campaigning on behalf of his son.
After Gilad’s release, Noam decided to run for Knesset on a Labor Party ticket. In the primaries, he scored 39th place on the Labor list – but Labor only won 15 seats. Noam Shalit was 61 years old at the time, but he never ran again, though he did make political comments and was often critical of the IDF.
Yair Lapid and Gali Baharav-Miara aren't dead
■ IS THERE no limit to how disgusting people can be? Last weekend, bogus death notices were posted on social media, announcing the deaths of opposition leader Yair Lapid and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, along with details of each shiva mourning period.
Aside from having a really sick sense of political rivalry, anyone who was party to the writing of these vulgarities displayed their ignorance of Jewish tradition. When someone’s demise is falsely announced, it is considered a segula, a good luck symbol that guarantees that the subject of the erroneous announcement will enjoy a long and productive life.
With regard to Baharav-Miara, it’s fortunate that all those MKs who are trying to expedite her dismissal can claim parliamentary immunity if accused of tampering with justice. It’s understandable that they want to protect their prime minister and his wife, but not at the expense of national integrity. It is presumed that if they get rid of the A-G, the investigation she ordered into the allegations of criminal activity on the part of Sara Netanyahu would be dropped.
Netanyahu's surgery
■ THE MORE important member of the Netanyahu family is, of course, the prime minister, whose privacy has been totally invaded. As is customary, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed the reason for his surgery, but he didn’t spell it out in fine detail – and there was no real reason that he should.
Several physicians, including some not associated with Hadassah-University Medical Center, in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem, where Netanyahu underwent his surgery, confirmed that this was a relatively easy procedure commonly undertaken by older men. Patients are usually discharged within three or four days of their operation.
The PM has consistently been given a clean bill of health, though a heart murmur was recently detected, so a heart specialist was on hand. Actually, it’s a good idea for a cardiologist to be available during any kind of surgery, particularly in view of the fact that although he strides with confidence and purpose, Bibi is already 75.
But he came through the process with flying colors, and next week, he’ll be striding around again, and later in the month, he will be fit enough to attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump if invited.
Shlomo Karhi vs Haaretz
■ WEIGHING THE possible consequences is a rule we should all follow before saying or doing something brash. Haaretz publisher and co-owner Amos Schocken spoke before he thought at a conference in London, saying something that greatly angered the government and many citizens, including some who are left of center. Schocken realized his mistake, publicly apologized, and explained what he had really meant to say.
But that wasn’t good enough for Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who canceled all Knesset subscriptions to the paper and ensured that it would receive no further government advertising. Advertising, with the exception of entertainment in its Gallery supplement on Fridays, was never the paper’s strong suit, so although Karhi’s dictate did make a somewhat painful wound in the income of Haaretz, it created an anti-Karhi effect in that advertising in Haaretz from other sources picked up dramatically, as seen in national and local editions last Friday.
Haaretz, which has been published consistently since 1918, is Israel’s most veteran daily newspaper, which, while other publications have fallen by the wayside, continues to hold its head above water. How dare Karhi try to close down a publication that was established thirty years before the founding of the state?
Talking about journalistic freedoms under threat
■ AS FOR his intention to close down KAN, the public broadcasting network, what would we know about so many of the patriotic young men and women who have given their lives for Israel in this ongoing war in which we are embroiled or of the fine families in which they were raised, without KAN’s special on-air memorial project?
Memories by family members are shared not just once but are rebroadcast at all hours of the day and night, indicating how precious each life had been to his or her family and what admirable, polite people the bereaved relatives are. It’s a way of showing the beautiful Israel in all its human diversity to a wider public.
Journalistic and creative freedom, which are under serious threat, will be discussed by journalists, satirists, filmmakers, choreographers, and human rights activists at a conference at the Abraham Hostel, 8 HaRakevet Street, Tel Aviv, on Tuesday, January 21, at 5 p.m.
The event, co-sponsored by Haaretz, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and the European Union, will feature, among others, Amos Schocken, Raviv Druker, anchor of the investigative program HaMakor (The Source) on Channel 13; ACRI CEO Noa Sattath; Suleman Maswadeh, KAN political affairs reporter; Aluf Benn, editor-in-chief of Haaretz.
Also joining will be Muli Segev, creator and editor-in-chief of the television satire Eretz Nehederet (Wonderful Country); actress and singer Mouna Hawa; chief choreographer of the Bat Sheva dance company. Ohad Naharin; film director Neta Shoshani, who directed 1948: Remember, Remember Not; and Kholoud Masalha, the editor of the Bokra Arabic website and CEO of the I’lam – Arab Center for Media Freedom, Development, and Research.
Chamber music to fund therapy for reservists
■ PHONE IN programs on the radio indicate that a lot of couples in which one or both partners are IDF reservists are experiencing more problems than they can handle alone but can’t afford the cost of therapy due to income lost during the war. A small measure of help toward such costs will emanate from lovers of chamber music on January 6.
The Pell family of Jerusalem is organizing a chamber music recital at their home with donations earmarked for therapy for reservists. Contributions to the musicians will also be welcome. A program of works by Bach, Schubert, Ravel, Fauré, and others will be performed by The Rosmarin Ensemble. To register, call Oshrat at 0505995593
The Pell family’s address is 50 Hizkiyahu Hamelech Street, Apt. #1, Katamon.
80 years since Auschwitz was liberated
■ COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the most notorious of the Nazi death camps, have already commenced, and many more will be held in the weeks ahead leading up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, as designated by the United Nations.
This was the date on which Auschwitz was liberated, though commemorations are likely to continue well beyond this date as the Second World War did not end in Europe till May 8, 1945, when Germany surrendered to the Allied forces. The war in the Pacific continued until September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur on board the USS Missouri.
Of all the countries in Europe that suffered under the Nazis, Poland was most grievously affected. Not only did it have the largest Jewish population, but millions of its Catholic population were also murdered or killed in battle.
Worse still, for decades after the war, the erroneous expression “Polish concentration camps” appeared in international media and books, when the fact of the matter was they were Nazi or German concentration and death camps on Polish soil. Although a law has been passed that makes any reference to Polish death camps a criminal offense, there are still people who refer to the camps as such.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Polish Embassy and the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv, after participating in Israel’s commemorative ceremony, will host their own event at the Suzanne Dallal Centre on Wednesday, January 29, with TOD, a powerful new dance performance, by Anat Oz. Performed by five young women, the piece shares a message of hope even in difficult times.
Set to Schubert’s timeless Death and the Maiden, it explores the delicate connection between life and death, with reflections on the past and a hope for a peaceful future. TOD celebrates the passion for living life to the fullest and is particularly timely, given the tragedies that have befallen the hostages in Gaza and their distraught families in Israel.
The Jewish people has a long history of rising from the depths of despair and from near annihilation. Mighty empires and powerful tyrants have fallen. The Jewish people is still here, having reclaimed their ancestral homeland and once again evolving from a tribe to a nation.
Attend Local Testimony
■ LOCAL TESTIMONY, the 21st annual exhibition of photographs in different categories of works by photojournalists, opened at MUZA, Eretz Israel Museum last week. The opening was hosted by MUZA CEO Ami Katz and attended by photographers and their families, museum patrons, and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, who, at age 80, is still constantly on the move.
Walter Bingham turns 101
■ ANOTHER MORE senior action-oriented individual is radio and print media journalist Walter Bingham, who will celebrate his 101st birthday on January 5. Bingham wanders around Jerusalem, accepts invitations to receptions in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, and participates in conferences abroad. In Jerusalem, when not traveling on his scooter, he travels on buses and has much more vigor than a lot of people 20 years his junior.
greerfc@gmail.com