■ CYNICS MAY have thought that the launch of President Shimon Peres’ new
Facebook page last week, facilitated by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, was
nothing more than a gimmick. Whether it was or not, a lot of people took
the president’s invitation to be his friend for peace very
seriously. Within the first 24 hours of the launch, Peres received the
“Like” thumbs-up from some 30,000 people – some of whom, in all likelihood,
think they could do a better job than the politicians as partners for peace.
Widely syndicated Berlin-born American journalist Tom Tugend, who reported on
Peres’s visit in Los Angeles for The Jerusalem Post, made a point of mentioning
the president’s age and the fact that he showed no signs of fatigue or jet lag.
It should be noted that the extremely prolific Tugend is only two years younger
than Peres and continues to do a lot of reporting from the field.
■ LAST
WEDNESDAY’S column carried an item about the Dajani family who briefly came back
to Jaffa after, in some cases, having fled the area and the country in 1948.
They were permitted to return as the result of a campaign waged for several
years by Samuel Giler after seeing a documentary called Four Friends, in which a
member of the Dajani family, returning to the scenes of her childhood, lamented
the fact that her father’s grave had no headstone.
The Grapevine item
stated that Giler felt outrage, but he was quick to correct that impression,
saying that what he felt was, in fact, sympathy. He also made it clear – just in
case any reader labored under the misconception that Israelis had in any way
damaged the grave – that there had never been a headstone on the grave.
Moreover, although he initiated the process of a putting a headstone on the
grave of Dr.
Fouad Ismail Dajani, he refuses to take credit for the final
outcome, which also included the name of the Dajani Square. The person who
really deserves the credit, he said, is Tel Aviv City Council member Hamed
Masharawi, who labored diligently to arrange the naming and the ceremony. There
was also one more correction: Giler has not yet retired – he’s still
working.
Unlike judges, architects do not have a mandatory retirement
age.
■ IT’S NOT only humans who dressed up for Purim. Even hotels do it.
Overseas, it’s commonplace to see hotels exquisitely decorated for Christmas,
and in Ashkelon on Friday, through a joint initiative by Ben Janover, the
general manager of the Ganei Dan Hotel, and Mayor Benny Vaknin, the hotel’s
parking lot in the south of the country started to look like those of hotels in
the north.
Rockets in the south notwithstanding the parking lot was
covered in specially imported snow so that the children in the area could have a
rare treat and escape briefly from reality.
■ TO COMMEMORATE the first
anniversary of the massive earthquake in Japan, which was the most devastating
in the country’s history, Japanese Ambassador Hideo Sato held a reception at his
residence to express appreciation to the State of Israel, as well as to various
institutions and individuals who had demonstrated solidarity with Japan in its
time of crisis and great human suffering. The universal language of diplomacy
these days is English, which is certainly the most common language at diplomatic
receptions, but in this case Sato and Counselor Mitsuhiko Shinomiya conducted
the memorial ceremony entirely in Hebrew and Japanese.
Curiously, it was
Ruth Kahanoff, deputy director general for Asia and the Pacific at Israel’s
Foreign Ministry, who spoke in English. Although this was not a National Day
reception, it did fall in the year in which Israel and Japan are marking 60
years of diplomatic ties; and therefore the national anthems of both countries
were played. Sato and Shinomiya, who are each fluent in Hebrew, sang the words
of both.
Among those present were members of the Foreign Ministry,
including former Israel ambassadors to Japan, Brig.-Gen. Shalom Ben Aryeh, who
headed the search-and-rescue unit that included doctors and nurses from the
Medical Corps of the Israel Defense Forces; Shachar Zehavi, the founder of
IsraAID, which is continuing with its humanitarian activities in Japan; and
Yehuda Meshi Zahav, the founder of ZAKA, which helped to identify
victims.
The areas affected by the earthquake are in the process of
complete recovery, said Sato and hope has returned to the eyes of the
population. Recovery can also be seen in business, tourism and studies. Japan
would not have been able to recover in the way it has without warm support from
around the globe, he said.
With respect to Israel, Sato noted that
despite the geographic distance, Israel had sent a medical team and equipment
very early in the piece – something that will remain engraved in the hearts and
minds of all the Japanese people, and not only those with whom the Israelis came
into direct contact. In addition to the on-site involvement of the medical team,
the search-and-rescue unit, IsraAID and ZAKA, said Sato, the Embassy was aware
that there were people who worked hard to raise funds to help the survivors of
the tragedy.
Minami Sanrikucho, in the Miyagi region, where the Israeli
medical team set up a field hospital, was one of the areas that suffered the
worst damage, said Sato, adding that he was certain that the residents of Minami
Sanrikucho would always remember the compassionate help they had received from
Israelis.
Sato read excerpts from a letter he had received from Minami
Sanrikucho Mayor Jin Sato, who referred to the Israeli team having laid the
foundations for medical services to resume as they should.
Those who have
to be hospitalized are being cared for as outpatients, and the city is now in
the process of building a temporary medical center which it hopes to open in
April. A recovery plan for the city has already been prepared, including the
rehabilitation of the hospital, which should be fully functional some time next
year.
Kahanoff thanked the Japanese government, which despite its own
problems, continues to support peace-keeping efforts and regional cooperation in
the Middle East. She also thanked the Japanese ambassador for his longstanding
friendship towards the State of Israel, and declared that everyone in the
Foreign Ministry is committed to strengthening the relationship with Japan. The
Japanese Embassy made generous and careful provision for those of its guests who
are kosher, and a member of the Embassy, together with the kashrut supervisor of
the Koros Restaurant, kept close watch over the kosher section to make sure that
there would be no mix-ups between non-kosher and kosher-eating
utensils.
■ MOST MINISTERS who represent the government at National Day
receptions hosted by heads of diplomatic missions to mark Independence Day,
Constitution Day, Reunification Day – or whatever other reason there may for
having a national day – follow a script laid out by the Foreign
Ministry.
When Michael Eitan, the minister for the Improvement of
Government Services, attended Ghana’s Independence Day reception at the Carlton
Hotel in Tel Aviv last week, he said he was particularly pleased to be able to
join the March 6 celebrations, because March 6 was his birthday. Members of the
Ghana community spontaneously began to sing “Happy birthday to you…” It’s always
a joy to be a guest at receptions hosted by ambassadors of African states
because so many of the African people living in Israel come in their traditional
attire made of the most gorgeous colorful fabrics, and with their very presence
conveying an aura of festivity.
Ambassador Henry Hanson- Hall, his wife
Patience, and nearly all the embassy staff came in traditional national costume,
adding a certain authenticity to Independence Day celebrations so far from
home.
Together with other African States, Ghana, whose ties with Israel
date back to the 1950s, severed relations in 1973 in a show of solidarity with
the Arab States, which had been defeated in the Yom Kippur War. Notwithstanding
the official break in relations, cooperation between Ghana and Israel continued,
said Hanson- Hall. Eventually the Ghana Embassy was reopened in Tel Aviv in
1996. It took a lot longer for Israel to reciprocate and reopen its embassy in
Ghana. In fact, it did not do so until last year. The reopening of the Embassy
in Accra after a 38 year absence was according to Hanson-Hall the “greatest
achievement of my tenure.” In this context, he lauded the “immense contribution
and personal commitment” of Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman.
Another no
less admirable achievement was the signing in January of a NIS 100-million loan
agreement between the Israel Export Insurance Company and Ghana.
At the
same time, Bank Hapoalim offered to finance the construction and equipping of a
new modern teaching hospital for the University of Ghana Medical School, while
the TAHAL Group is involved in the rehabilitation of three urban water projects
in the country. Other Israeli companies are also involved in the construction of
various infrastructural projects in Ghana, while Israeli institutions continue
to offer technical assistance to Ghanaian professionals in the fields of
agriculture, education and health.
Hanson-Hall underscored the efforts
made by Ghana, which has made the transition from colonialism to democracy, to
maintain its democratic system. After various experiments, he said since 1992,
Ghana has built strong and vibrant democratic institutions evident in the
successful presidential and parliamentary elections held every four years. “This
has earned the country an enviable reputation worldwide for her commitment to
democracy and democratic governance,” he said. Furthermore, the government of
Ghana has achieved macro-economic stability – reducing inflation to single
digits, said the ambassador, who made the point that despite the continuing
turmoil in the global economy, Ghana’s economy has experienced unprecedented
growth. According to the World Bank, he said, Ghana was the fastest growing
economy in the world in 2011, growing at 13.4 percent. He implied that Ghana’s
economy would continue to improve as a result of recent discoveries of oil in
commercial quantities. Production is currently around 90,000 barrels per
day.
This has opened further opportunities for investment in Ghana’s
petro-chemical industry. Hanson- Hall reiterated Ghana’s continued support for
efforts to achieve durable peace and security in the Middle East and his own
sincere hope that Israel’s ongoing efforts to achieve a two-state solution to
the conflict with the Palestinians will yield fruitful results. Eitan commended
the work of the ambassador and his staff in strengthening relations between
Ghana and Israel, and congratulated Ghana on its great achievements as a stable,
peace-loving democratic state, whose economic growth is among the highest in
Africa. Ghana has become a focal point for investment from Israel and the world,
and is a gateway to commercial and economic activity for the whole of West
Africa, he said.
Eitan noted that Israel’s relationship with Ghana
extends back to 1957, when Ghana achieved independence and was the first African
state to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. Ghana’s first president Kwame
Nkrumah and Golda Meir, who was then foreign minister, recognized a shared
destiny in development and nation-building, said Eitan, adding that Israel’s ZIM
shipping line had assisted in the establishment of Ghana’s Black Star carrier,
and the Israel Air Force had played a role in the establishment of Ghana’s Air
Force. Today, Israel values Ghana’s participation in UNIFIL, the United Nations
peace-keeping forces in Lebanon.
Turning to Israel’s engagement in
Ghana’s economy, Eitan said there are some 200 Israelis who are part of Ghana’s
business community, and who represent companies specializing in communications;
software; chemicals; agriculture; aquaculture; bio-energy; water engineering;
infrastructure; and more.
Now that there is once again an Israel Embassy
in Ghana, Eita said he is confident that relations between the governments and
peoples of both countries would intensify.
■ AS DEPUTY chief of the
Mossad, director-general of the Foreign Ministry, ambassador at large, ardent
peace activist, gifted public speaker, and respected intellectual, the late Dr.
David Kimche who succumbed to cancer two years ago, had friends and admirers in
many places – especially among those members of the Foreign Ministry, who like
him, had also been part of Israel’s intelligence community. Several of them,
last week joined members of his family in commemorating the second anniversary
of his death at a symposium at the Truman Institute where he had been a member
of the board of trustees. The event was held in conjunction with the Israel
Council of Foreign Relations, of which Kimche was the founding president.
Speakers who worked with Kimche at various stages of his and their careers
talked about his quick mind, his inventiveness, his ability to get people to do
what they considered to be impossible, and his commitment to peace between
Israel and her neighbors. Kimche went on many dangerous missions abroad, some of
which were made public years later, and others which will forever remain in the
secret files of the Mossad and the Foreign Ministry.
Gen. Mansour Abu
Rashid, chairman of the Amman Center for Peace and Development, who was a
central figure in his own country’s intelligence community, came specially from
Jordan to pay tribute to Kimche’s memory, and several times reiterated his
appreciation to the organizers for having invited him. Abu Rashid, who had been
a friend of Kimche’s for some 20 years, had initially met Kimche when he headed
Jordan’s Intelligence Department. He had read a lot about Kimche’s work in the
Mossad, and had come across a photograph of Kimche with legendary Kurdish leader
Mustafa Barazani in a book by an Arab writer. He mentioned this to Kimche, who
confirmed that the Kurds who were looking for support in their battle with the
Iraqi regime, had approached Israel in the early 1960s, and that he had visited
Kurdistan and met with Barazani in 1965. This was further confirmed at the
symposium by Abraham Barzilai, a veteran of both Israel’s Security Service and
the Foreign Ministry, who is an expert on the Kurds. Rashid, who had been a
negotiator in Israel’s peace talks with Jordan, recalled Kimche’s instrumental
role in the finalizing of the peace agreement, and said that Kimche still has a
lot of friends in Jordan who are proud of their relationship with
him.
“He was a friend of Jordan and a friend of the Arabs,” said Rashid,
emphasizing that Kimche had urged Israel’s “withdrawal from the occupied
territories” and called for dialogue with the Islamic Movement so that Israel
and the Islamists could get to know each other and build trust. Kimche was also
behind the Geneva Accords, said Rashid, who asserted that Kimche was not only a
peace activist for Israel, but took his efforts for peace to a regional level.
“He was an ardent advocate for peace and in his last years even advocated
dialogue with Hamas. With his experience, noone should disregard his
recommendations.”
Rashid said that he was proud to have worked with
Kimche and that he hoped that Israel’s leaders would walk in the path that
Kimche pioneered.
■ WORLD-RENOWNED immunologist, Israel Prize laureate
and recipient of numerous other prestigious prizes and awards
Prof.
Michael Sela celebrated his 88th birthday last week. Sela, who is a
former president of the Weizmann Institute of Science, was honored by current
Weizmann Institute President Prof. Daniel Zajfman who organized a festive event,
which brought joy not only to Sela but to future generations of scientists. In
addition to Sela’s friends, the event was attended by several prominent
philanthropists who joined Sela in setting up a scholarship fund for promising
young scientists to which Sela contributed a million dollars.
■ OVER THE
years, Prof. Zeev Rotstein, CEO of the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, has
received various awards and prizes in his name and on behalf of Sheba. Last
Friday, he was in Berlin to receive the German Senses Social Award for his
hospital’s humanitarian work around the world. The award was presented to him by
Eva Luise Koehler, wife of the former president of Germany Horst Koehler, at the
German- Russian Friendship House in Berlin, in the presence of Russia’s
Ambassador to Germany, Vladimir M. Grinins and Prince George Yourievsky of
Russia.
Koehler has served as the president of the German Friends of
Sheba and visited the hospital twice.
“Sheba Medical Center is a peaceful
island of sanity in a very stormy region,” she said at the award ceremony. “This
hospital’s open-door policy – treating Jewish, Muslem and Christian patients
regardless of their nationality, ethnicity or religion – is compassionate and
admirable. Our troubled world today needs more hospitals like Sheba.”