Jewish tradition teaches that people should not be judged in their grief. It is a miracle that the parents and siblings of the hostages are still sane after all the grief and humiliation they’ve gone through in their attempts to secure the release of their loved ones. If they scream a little or use inappropriate language in the Knesset or outside the prime minister’s homes, it is mostly out of frustration that the government is in their view ignoring the will of the people. When they are interviewed on radio and television, by journalists who are sympathetic and who give them a platform on which to express themselves, they are polite and often soft-spoken, and extremely grateful for the opportunity to say something that might be heard by a hostage relative in Gaza.
To deny Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among the hostages, entrance to the Knesset on the grounds that she is a disruptive force is nothing short of disgusting, when Knesset members include people such as Tally Gotliv, May Golan, and Limor Son Har-Melech, whose behavior is often a disgrace. They are the real disruptive forces. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana should publicly apologize to Zangauker for the way in which she was treated in what is supposed to be the house of the nation.
Degrading Australia-Israel ties
■ IN AN interview that he gave to Matthew Knott, foreign affairs correspondent of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Melbourne Age, Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon said that he believes that Australia fails to grasp the seriousness of the security threats to his nation. He was speaking in response to mounting pressure from the Albanese government and the international community for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Maimon said that such pressure will not accelerate the establishment of a Palestinian state and insisted that antisemitism is the main driving force behind global criticism of Israel.
The article mentions the once close relations that existed between Australia and Israel which deteriorated after the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza, and later when Australia voted against Israel in the United Nations, and more recently when it denied an entry visa to former justice minister Ayelet Shaked.
Herzog to give out Presidential Medals of Honor
■WEDNESDAY EVENING, January 8, President Isaac Herzog will confer the President’s Medal of Honor on a group of individuals from the US, UK, Israel, Germany, and Australia who have distinguished themselves in their activities on behalf of the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and humanity in general.
The recipients are Maurice Levy, Malcolm Hoenlein, Julie Platt, Sir Frank Lowy, Sir Trevor Chinn, Brigitte Zypries, and Mark Leibler.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder was unable to be in Israel at this time, and will receive his medal when Herzog is in the US for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Quezon's Game to be screened in Holon
■ AS A follow-up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Philippines Embassy in Israel, in cooperation with the Holon Municipality, Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), Mediatheque Culture Center Holon, and the family of the late Max Weissler will hold a screening of Quezon’s Game at Mediatheque, 6 Golda Meir Street, Holon, on Tuesday, January 28, at 6 p.m.
Weissler was one of the German Jews who responded to the Open Door Policy of president Manuel Quezon during the Second World War. Quezon’s actions were particularly daring given the fact that Nazi officers were constantly around him, including at social events.
For a long time, the late Antonio Modena, who was the Philippines ambassador to Israel some 20 years ago, battled unsuccessfully to have Yad Vashem recognize Quezon as Righteous Among the Nations, but it was only when people such as Weissler and others who owed their lives to Quezon began to campaign that his role in saving Jews was finally acknowledged.
What also helped was the biographical drama film made by Matthew Rosen and released in 2018, including in Israel, where it has been screened several times. Once Quezon was recognized, a meeting of survivors and offspring of survivors who found a haven in the Philippines was held at Yad Vashem.
Speakers at the forthcoming screening will be Danny Weissler, son of Max Weissler, Shai Kenan, mayor of Holon, Prof. Eduard Yakubov, president of HIT, and Anthony Achilles Mandap, chargé d’affaires at the Philippines Embassy.
The Ruth Hotel reopens
■ THE CHARMING Ruth Hotel in Safed, which is part of the Dan chain, has reopened after being closed for more than a year. Tourism in the Galilee was hard hit by the dearth of tourists during the Israel-Hamas War and the war against Hezbollah. Both domestic and foreign tourism have begun to pick up in recent weeks, a factor warranting the reopening of the Ruth Hotel in Safed’s Old City.
The reopening of the hotel was considered sufficiently important to attract the attendance of Chabad Rabbi Mordechai Bistritzky, Michael Federmann, one of the owners of the Dan chain and his wife, Liora, his cousin Ami Federmann, who is also among the owners of the chain, Prof. Salman Zarka, the director of the Ziv Medical Center in Safed, Eli Cohen, the president of the Israel Hotel Association, and other IHA officials, Eli Mor, head of the Galilee-Golan fire station, Ilan Hassan, head of the Safed Municipality Tourism Division, and members of the Dan chain executive board.
The Ruth Hotel is one of the few hotels in Israel with a female general manager in the person of Ruth Kaplan, who took all those attending the reopening of the hotel on a tour of the premises, sections of which had been renovated, some to the extent of a total facelift.
Michael Federmann explained the importance of reopening the hotel as soon as possible as a sign of the Dan chain’s support for the residents of the North and an eventual return to a normal lifestyle. He emphasized the need to support Safed, which suffered so many rocket attacks from Lebanon.
Shlomi Tahan, CEO of the Dan chain, praised the hotel’s staff for its speedy and efficient return to work.
Evacuees who have yet to return
■ WHILE SOME evacuees have begun to return to their homes, some will remain in other parts of the country indefinitely, especially those who come from places such as Kiryat Shmona and Metulla, which are on the Lebanese border.
Among those who are yearning to return to Kiryat Shmona are people who have been living in the Theatron Hotel in Jerusalem for 14 months, and do not know when they will be going home, because the security situation has not been resolved.
However, they are fortunate in that the owner of the hotel, Zion Hasid, has made every effort to make them feel welcome, as have various social welfare organizations in Jerusalem. These include Gesher Shel Zahav, which on the last night of Hanukkah organized a festive event at the hotel and initiated a permanent connection between the people of Kiryat Shmona and Jerusalem.
Attorney Yehuda Zaretsky, who heads Gesher Shel Zahav, said that its branches in Israel and abroad have pulled out all the stops since October 7, 2023, to help those personally affected by the massacre and the ensuing war.
Jaffa Hotel chapel to host its first major event of 2025
■ THE CHAPEL of The Jaffa Hotel, which is located in the very heart of Jaffa, will this coming Friday, January 10, host its first major event for 2025, with an exhibition and sale of fashion, jewelry, fashion photography, and other art forms, in addition to which visitors will be able to sample the hotel’s cuisine and its cocktails.
Under the title of “A Love Letter to Jaffa – Design and Art Fair,” the event will feature creations by six Israeli artists, including Kianne Frankfurt, Idan Laros, Asaf Einy, Yigal Levi and Raz Danon.
Discussing a state investigation into October 7
■ EVER SINCE the Hamas incursion into Israel, there have been calls from many quarters for a state investigation to determine who bears responsibility for the lack of preparedness against such an assault. Some people have already accepted responsibility, including former defense ministers Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, each knowing that it could cost him dearly, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still holding out until the war against Hamas is won. Meanwhile the hostages are languishing, which is yet another mark against the prime minister.
This situation will not go away and is coming up for discussion on Wednesday, January 15, at an open meeting of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 43 Jabotinsky Street, Jerusalem, at 7 p.m.
Under the heading of legal responsibility, the discussants will include retired judge Menachem Finkelstein and retired Supreme Court justice Ayala Procacia. The two will talk about ministerial and legal responsibility. The meeting will be chaired by Prof. Nili Cohen, a former president of the academy.
The event will be broadcast live on the Academy website, www.academy.ac.il
University of Haifa staff helps evacuees
■ FACULTY AND administrative staff at the University of Haifa have volunteered in the effort to enable evacuees from the North to return to their homes. Some 60 people employed at the university are working to rehabilitate the Ya’ara village in the Upper Galilee.
Due to the security situation, the residents were evacuated 14 months ago. Some of their homes have fallen into disrepair or are covered in dust resulting from long neglect. The volunteers have engaged in cleaning and basic repairs, painting, trimming shrubs, and generally tidying up so that residents will return to a more pleasant and welcoming environment.
The Ya’ara population numbers some 8,000 souls. Ya’ara, which is close to Shlomi, was one of the Hezbollah targets in its goal to invade the Galilee and was subjected to a bombardment of rocket attacks.
University of Haifa President Prof. Gur Alroey noted that the volunteers were given a very warm welcome by those residents of Ya’ara who have already returned. They were most appreciative of the efforts of university staff to make their homecoming a positive experience in every way possible.
Glorious Gloria Deutsch
■ ONE OF the benefits of being a freelance journalist is not having to worry about offending colleagues by writing a story that would ordinarily be on their beat. Part of journalistic ethics is not poaching on a colleague’s territory. But that basically applies to journalists on salary.
Freelancers can write about any subject they wish and don’t necessarily discuss the matter with an editor in advance, nor do they have a loyalty to any particular publication, but are free to roam the field.
Although her byline has appeared in The Jerusalem Post for 50 years, Gloria Deutsch, currently known as a restaurant reviewer, has tackled almost every subject that has been published in the Post. Although she is a freelancer, there were times when she had more published articles than some of the salaried editorial staff. This was particularly so during the 1980s, when she interviewed many of the top-line figures in Israel’s entertainment industry. Over the years, she also wrote about women in prison, medical problems, ceramics, pets, Prisoners of Zion, tourism, fashion, home decor, and a whole lot more.
It all started when her husband, Alex, a surgeon, was working at Laniado Hospital in Netanya. He met a group of Brahamites, who are Christian Evangelists, who were waiting for the Second Coming of the Messiah, which they thought was imminent. They worked with hassidim and dressed like them, with the men all wearing fedora hats and braces on their trousers.
Gloria Deutsch pitched the story to Fay Doron, who was then the features editor of the Post. She accepted the article, and in the years that followed, Gloria Deutsch wrote hundreds of articles for the paper. These days, she and her husband, who is now retired, enjoy traveling around the country and sampling the menus of different kosher restaurants and making them known to Post readers.
Bringing more lawyers into Israel
■ INCLUDED IN the category of common knowledge about Israel is that there are arguably more law graduates per capita than in any other country, and that there is an acute shortage of doctors and nurses.
Organizations such as Nefesh B’Nefesh and The Israel Experience are attempting to amend the latter lacuna, but surprisingly, there is also an effort afoot to encourage American lawyers to relocate to Israel.
Admittedly, not all lawyers work for law firms. Many act as legal consultants within major companies. Nonetheless, it seems a little strange to make a pitch for American lawyers. But that’s what happened this week when representatives of some of Israel’s most prestigious law firms gathered in New York at the offices of DLA Piper to recruit American legal professionals who are interested in making aliyah.
Despite having relatively few immigrants in their current ranks, especially from the professional sector, the participating Israeli law firms are demonstrating a strong commitment to integrating new immigrants into Israel’s legal community.
The recruitment event featured an impressive lineup of speakers, including senior partners from major Israeli law firms such as Herzog Fox Neeman, Gornitzky & Co., and Arnon Tadmor-Levy, as well as in-house counsel from prominent organizations and representatives of international law firms which operate in Israel.
This was not the first time that such an event was held. Last year’s event led directly to multiple job offers and successful aliyah stories, which illustrate the strong impact of this initiative.
The program included panel discussions on opportunities in Israeli law firms, in-house positions, and an economic retrospective of Israel’s resilience. American lawyers who attended were also informed of an upcoming mission to Israel where they could explore possibilities for themselves, meet with potential employers and with American lawyers who have already moved to Israel and are employed in their profession.
A history of Jewish heroism
■ JEWISH HEROISM is not exactly new. It dates back to biblical days. Since then, Jews have distinguished themselves in the armies of the countries in which they lived, and for the past three quarters of a century in the army of Israel.
During that period of time, many immigrants to Israel had grown up with the stereotyped image of the ghetto Jew who was scared of his own shadow. It was a fear that manifested itself out of the harassment against Jews by many of their fellow citizens living in predominantly Catholic countries. It took a very long time for a reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.
Anyone seeking evidence of Jewish heroism in the world at large can find it at the Chaim Herzog Museum of the Jewish Soldier in World War II, which will be toured by members of the Israel, Britain and the Commonwealth Association on Wednesday, February 19. Unfortunately, the event is limited to members only and will be followed by a visit to the nearby Khan Sha’ar Hagai (also known as Bab el-Wad), which pays tribute to the saga of the Burma Road, a bypass built to enable daily provisions to be delivered to Jerusalem, which was under siege and surrounded by hostile Arab villages.
Prior to the creation of the Burma Road, Sha’ar Hagai was the main route for deliveries to Jerusalem. But it was constantly under attack, and lives were lost in the process.
Nonetheless, the supply convoys continued to ply the route until they were able to use the Burma Road alternative. This, in itself, was heroism.
The museum, named for Chaim Herzog, who was an officer in the British Army during the Second World War, and later in the nascent Israel Defense Forces, is located in the grounds of Israel’s famous tank museum, the Armored Corps Memorial Site and Museum at Latrun. It was officially opened in May last year on Victory in Europe Day.
The opening was attended by President Isaac Herzog and his older brother Michael, who is Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the US and a former senior army officer himself. The creation of the museum was supported by the Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation, which honored the memory of Mike Segal’s father, artillery Maj. Yevsey Segal, one of four brothers who all fought in the Red Army and Navy.
Some 500,000 Jews served in the Red Army, and a similar number served in the US Armed Forces, plus 400,000 in other Allied armed forces. In addition, there were some 100,000 Jewish partisans.
This year’s VE Day ceremony at the museum promises to be even more memorable than the opening, because it will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and among those attending will be the last living heroes of that era.
Remembering Noam Abramowitz
■ ONE OF the many contemporary heroes among the young soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice in the attempt to defend the state and to eliminate Hamas was Noam Abramowitz, who was killed at the Nahal Oz military base in October 2023.
Noam’s family decided to perpetuate her memory by launching a program at Reichman University in her name. A public service leadership program, it has been named Bedarchei Noam (In Noam’s Ways).
At the launch ceremony, Noam’s mother, Adva Abramowitz, delivered a moving lecture in which she said that imbuing people with a sense of public service was Noam’s dream, and that the program is a direct continuation of that dream. It will provide exceptional students with specialized training in public service and leadership, with the aim of cultivating the next generation of Israeli leaders.
Reichman University President Prof. Boaz Ganor shared Noam’s personal story – that of a young woman who dreamed of becoming prime minister of Israel and was murdered by Hamas terrorists.
“Noam had a deep love for the state and society of Israel,” said Ganor. “As a true leader, she set herself the admirable goal of becoming prime minister and steering the country toward a better future.”
He added that Noam had planned to study at the university’s Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy. “With the loss of Noam, we lost a future student who I am sure would have left her mark on the school. Her family lost a precious daughter, and the State of Israel lost a leader at a time when we needed her most.”
In her heartfelt and intimate address, Adva shared personal anecdotes about Noam’s life, the values that guided her, and her unique personality. She recounted her daughter’s final moments through the family’s correspondence with her during the difficult hours of October 7, and reiterated the tragic story of the female observers at Nahal Oz. With moving honesty, Adva also spoke about coping with bereavement and the challenges of navigating this new, painful reality.
Noam Abramowitz was one of the 23 soldiers who fell at the Nahal Oz base during the Hamas terrorist onslaught. While her dream of leading the country was brutally cut short, her vision endures through the Bedarchei Noam program, which will nurture young leaders who aspire to follow in her footsteps.
That her family chose to memorialize her in the place where she had hoped to receive the tools that would serve her ambitions says a lot about Noam and about Reichman University.
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