ONE OF the perks of a having a managerial position in a luxury hotel is that one gets to meet heads of state, movie stars, celebrated singers, sports champions, prize-winning academics, etc. While it’s great to add photos of such meetings to a Who’s Who album, it’s not always as smooth and seamless as it looks.Just over a month ago Chemi Gur, the general manager of the David Citadel Hotel, in all his sartorial splendor, was digging into and sweeping up snow and ice so that US Secretary of State John Kerry could exit the building. Fortunately, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived on a beautifully sunny day, so Gur did not have to strain himself with physical labor.Together with David Toker, the deputy CEO of Alrov Hotels, Gur was more than happy to welcome the Canadian leader – not only because Harper is a great friend of Israel, but also because the Canadian Embassy had made reservations for 286 rooms for the Canadian delegation. It’s not as if the hotel is unused to mega-bookings, but one this big is a rarity.
FORGET ABOUT the usual formality that is part of the protocol when the mayor of one city visits the municipality of another. It’s well-known in Tel Aviv that Mayor Ron Huldai is a cycling enthusiast – and, it just so happens, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is also a bike fan. So when Barkat went to Tel Aviv to see what was doing in the city that never stops, Huldai, instead of taking him around in a car, took him on a bike ride so that he could get up close to everything. Both mayors enjoyed the experience and when it’s Barkat’s turn to reciprocate, he will take Huldai on a bike ride through the capital. The two intend to take each other on bike rides through their respective cities several times a year.CHILDREN FROM religious and secular families are enrolled in a new kindergarten in Yemin Moshe that was inaugurated by Mayor Barkat, who following the ceremony, sat down on one of the low chairs made for tiny tots and spoke to the children at eye level. The kindergarten is located in a building that had been neglected for years, and was recently repaired and restored by the municipality. There has been no kindergarten in the area for 17 years, and the municipality, which had long been assailed by complaining parents, finally came to the party.JERUSALEMITES AND tourists alike are familiar with the Montefiore restaurant in Mishkenot Sha’ananim. Proprietor Meir Ben-Arush, who also runs the coffee shop at the Jerusalem Theater, has added another string to his bow, and last week, together with his wife, Hani, hosted the launch of the Montefiore Boutique opposite the Western Wall.The new facility, which can hold up to 300 people, is designed to enhance bar and bar mitzva celebrations, so that youngsters who come to the Wall to mark their Jewish maturity do not have to go outside the Jewish Quarter to celebrate the occasion. They and their guests only have to move across the plaza.Among the invitees who were introduced to the new venture was Rabbi Baruch Wiener, who affixed the mezuza. Ben-Arush cannot be in three places at once, so the general manager of Montefiore Boutique will be Reuven Gershowitz.THE JERUSALEM College of Technology this week announced it will be launching an international program in English, at the College’s Machon Lev Academic Center for Men. This will enable students to earn a fully accredited business degree while studying at the yeshiva of their choice. Rabbi Adi Isaacs, director of the international three-year program, said the program will begin in the fall, and will be an ideal experience for religiously observant young men who are contemplating aliya.THERE WAS quite a sizable turnout at the Great Synagogue on Sunday night when Ruby Ray Karzen, former national president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, launched her book Cherry on the Top. Karzen has had a varied career in education, real-estate and interior design.She and her husband of 58 years, Rabbi Jay Karzen, use the term “my roommate” to describe one another and work as a team. In introducing his wife, who was already quite well-known to most of the people present – some who had actually known her in their teens, others who had purchased real estate through her, and still others whose homes she had decorated – said that when they got married, they decided to live and work as a rabbinical couple, or as he put it a team, which is an acronym for “together each accomplishes more.”Referring to his own book Off the Wall, a humorous anthology related to his career before opting to live in Israel in 1985, and later as the rabbi who led bar and bat mitzva services for tourists at the Western Wall and other holy sites, Karzen said that proceeds from all sales after covering publishing expenses have gone to charity. The same arrangement would be applied to his wife’s book, he said.While most of the evening was upbeat and richly laced with humor, there was a momentary lull and aura of sadness. Less than four hours earlier, many of those present had attended the funeral of retired lawyer Jonathan Sheink, who, Ruby Karzen was certain, would surely have attended the launch had he been spared to do so. She used Sheink’s sudden death to illustrate the importance of living every day to the fullest, because one never knows what’s in store. She told her guests not to count the days, but to make the days count.greerfc@gmail.comGrapevine: Cherry on top
ONE OF the perks of a having a managerial position in a luxury hotel is that one gets to meet heads of state, movie stars, celebrated singers, sports champions, prize-winning academics, etc. While it’s great to add photos of such meetings to a Who’s Who album, it’s not always as smooth and seamless as it looks.
