It’s a Jewish thing to give to charity, whether it’s throwing a coin into a beggar’s cup, contributing a sum of NIS 18, $18, €18, or £18 or multiples thereof, to help feed the poor, or large sums for projects such as hospitals, museums, libraries, schools, and university buildings.
But we all want to be sure of the bona fides of recipients, Israelis are currently being plagued by a series of sob story bots - sometimes two or three in one day - with tales of cancer-stricken adults and children; a widow left with a bunch of tiny tots to raise; a man in desperate need of a kidney transplant; a poor bride who can’t afford a wedding dress, much less a wedding reception.
All these and other pleas for financial help are written with the greatest of pathos but there’s no guarantee that they’re not part of a scam. For one thing, they are all in English in a country in which the first national language is Hebrew. For another, when Hebrew words are included here and there in the text, they are all in Ashkenazi Hebrew, whereas haredim use Sephardi Hebrew in everyday speech and Ashkenazi Hebrew in prayers and religious studies.
Community aid and generosity
In addition, ultra-Orthodox communities all over the world have a gemach (gemilut hassadim), which is a free loan society that supplies bridal and other formal occasion wear for no payment or a small, symbolic sum. At most, the borrower pays for the dry-cleaning cost after wearing the garment.
Aside from that, Australian diamond mining entrepreneur and philanthropist Joseph Gutnick, who in the past has given financial support to the political campaigns of Benjamin Netanyahu and Ayelet Shaked, has given literally millions of dollars to charitable organizations in Israel to establish free of charge banquet halls for the poor in which to celebrate their life-cycle events, ritual baths, educational facilities, and more, A haredi bride in economic distress just has to approach her local gemach and she’s set.
The other sob stories may be authentic but should be treated in accordance with the age-old Jewish warning: Respect but suspect.
- VETERAN PEACE activist Vivian Silver, who was murdered by Hamas at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, will remain in the consciousness of both Israelis and Palestinians in the peace camp, just as the memory of Emil Grunzweig, who was killed by a grenade thrown by an Israeli right-wing extremist, has for years remained in the consciousness of the bipartisan peace camp. Silver’s son Jonathan Zeigen has established a foundation in her memory that will confer annual awards on an Israeli and a Palestinian woman who have individually or together worked towards peace, harmony, and coexistence between Israelis and the Palestinian people as well as between Jews and Arabs and towards the advancement of women to positions of influence in both camps.
- ONCE A judge, always a judge – even after leaving the bench. Retired Supreme Court president Esther Hayut is far from idle. Among her current activities is chairing the adjudicating committee of the prestigious Mifal Hapayis (Israel National Lottery) Prize for Literature. This gives her both the time and the opportunity to read the books under consideration. Few jobs could be as pleasant. Fortunately, Hayut happens to love reading, and she also believes that culture is the glue that cements the spirit of a nation. As literature is a significant part of culture, it is sorely needed at this time of national crisis and distress, both as a creative outlet and as an absorbing pastime to make readers think.
- AS PART of the UK’s year-long presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) for 2024, the British Embassy in Israel recently held an event to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. Billed as Securing the Holocaust Memory to the Future, it was the embassy’s first event during the UK’s presidency of the IHRA.The UK’s focus for the presidency is safeguarding the remembrance of the Holocaust and the narrative for the future – through education, protecting facts and records, and tackling distortion, including AI, deep fake technology, and disinformation.“The Holocaust was humanity’s darkest hour. It cannot be stressed enough,” said Deputy Chief of Mission Ben Myers, who spoke on the importance of remembering what happened and ensuring that future generations know of the horrors. “This feels especially poignant as we witness a spike in antisemitism around the world,” he continued, adding, “The UK is proud to hold the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. We are committed to ensuring that the terrible events of the Holocaust are forever seared in our collective memory.”During the event, five individuals spoke about their projects that focus on how to secure Holocaust memory for younger generations and how to prevent and challenge misinformation and Holocaust denial, mainly by using AI technologies and social media.Maayan Sarig, head of communications at Meta, talked about Meta’s project alongside the NGO Latet –Maalim Zikaron (posting memories), in which celebrities and social influencers met with Holocaust survivors and posted videos with them, using their exposure to share the survivors’ stories and increase awareness.Erez Kaganovitz, a photographer and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, called his project The Humans of the Holocaust, which through the medium of digital storytelling tells the human stories of Holocaust survivors, their children, and the stories of Jews around the world affected by antisemitism today.Dr. Yael Richler-Friedman, pedagogical director, The International School for Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem, talked about the connection between Holocaust memory to social media and AI from the perspective of a formal institute.Sharon Buenos, the global director of Zikaron BaSalon, shared information about the organization’s joint project bringing survivors and gamers together in the Call of Duty video game that includes WWII maps to make Holocaust remembrance accessible for Gen Z.Ori Kessler, founder of Savee-AI, explained how Savee-AI, a “generative AI” technology, provides a solution to anyone looking to influence and be active in the struggle against Holocaust denial on social networks.
- SOUTH AFRICA’s hostile attitude to Israel is not emulated by all African states, several of which are pro-Israel and have signed solidarity pacts, as for instance Inkosi Shembe, who heads the second largest Zulu tribe on the African continent, and who came to Israel from Natal, with a delegation of dignitaries. A Baptist evangelist whose followers observe many of the biblical traditions, such as holding Sabbath church services on Saturdays, covering their heads with kippot, and refraining from eating the meat of unclean animals, Shembe and his group visited the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, accompanied by Eli Belotserkovsky, Israel’s ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Madagascar, and Mauritius. They were hosted by FOZ CEO Daniel Voiczek. During their tour of the museum, they also sang and danced, spoke of how impressed they were with the country and with the museum, and frequently repeated the words Am Israel Hai (the People of Israel live).
Shembe later tweeted that he had come to learn more about Israel at close quarters and how important it was for him to be in Israel at this time.
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