FEW IF any nations have a blameless history. Among the countries critical of Israel is the UK, which has also issued sanctions against Israeli cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Yet the British hardly have a lily white history in their treatment of those whom they regard as enemies or infiltrators.
One only has to reread the story of the ship Exodus, which in 1947 left Europe en route to Haifa. It carried Holocaust survivors, including many orphaned children. The ship was intercepted by the British and in the fighting that ensued, several people were killed. Before deciding to confine the 4,500 passengers to detention camps in Cyprus, they sought to send them back to Europe – and to Germany of all places. That’s how they treated Holocaust survivors.
■ IT MUST be extremely frustrating for the personal assistants of presidents and prime ministers, when their bosses change schedules. It happens more than the public realizes. There were changes in the schedules of both visiting Argentinian President Javier Milei and Israel’s President Isaac Herzog. When the two met on Wednesday, it would have been perfectly natural for Herzog to present Milei with the President’s Medal of Honor. But instead, the presentation was made on Thursday afternoon – and the announcement that it was to be presented was made only on Thursday morning.
Such announcements are usually made well in advance, and when the presentation is made in Israel, it is at a special event at the President’s Residence. Milei’s appearance at the Knesset on Wednesday took media attention well away from his meeting with Herzog, plus the fact that the meeting between the two, though live streamed, was closed to the press.
The award of the Genesis Prize to Milei at the Museum of Tolerance on Thursday afternoon was also closed to the press, but was held early enough to make the Thursday news outlets and the Friday papers. So on Thursday morning just over three hours ahead of the event, the announcement of Herzog’s participation and the presenting of the Medal of Honor was made public.
■ APROPO MILEI, people attending the Portugal Day reception, hosted by the country’s vivacious ambassador Helena Paiva, were surprised to see Gil Haskel, Israel’s Chief of State Protocol, among the early arrivals. It was generally presumed that Haskel would be spending a lot of time with Milei throughout the latter’s visit. But as things worked out, the Argentinians took care of their president by themselves, leaving Haskel free to attend to other diplomatic issues and affairs.
There was no representative of the government at the Portuguese reception and, contrary to such absences in the past when Haskel and his predecessors imparted a congratulatory message on behalf of the government, Haskel was not called upon to do so on this occasion.
In her address, the ambassador said that there were close to 70,000 Israelis with Portuguese citizenship, and she estimated that taking into account children soon to be born, the number would rise to 100,000.
Some of these dual nationals were in the audience at Tel Aviv’s Einav Cultural Center; three others are sadly among the hostages still languishing in Gaza.
Portuguese citizenship was initially restored in 2015 to descendants of Sephardic Jews whose ancestors had been persecuted and expelled during the period of the inquisition five centuries earlier, providing that applicants could furnish proof.
Thirteen Portuguese citizens were killed during the Hamas incursion. Tsachi Idan Eini was killed in captivity, and Ariel Cunio and Segev Kalfon are still being held captive. Portuguese citizens released from captivity include Ofer Kalderon, Omer Shem Tov, and Adina Moshe Galante. Two other former hostages – Or Levi and Eli Sharabi – were still awaiting Portuguese citizenship at the time of their release.
To celebrate its National Day with the cultural flavor of Portugal, the amazing Rumos ensemble, a string, brass, and piano trio comprising Anne Victorino d’Almeida on violin, Luis Gommes on clarinet and Joao Vasco on piano, demonstrated their unique talents, which earned them two standing ovations.
Billed as a multimedia concert, they performed against a backdrop of short films promotional travel documentary films about various places in Portugal that would be of interest to tourists. Each was cloaked in centuries-old traditions and lifestyles, with the exception of Lisbon. Buildings were low, alleys were narrow, water was plentiful, beaches were beautiful, and the introduction to each venue was made by one of its residents, some of whom were widely traveled, but who said that they did not want to live anywhere else but in their own village.
In a private conversation with the writer of this column, Ambassador Paiva noted that during the Second World War, Portugal had been a haven for thousands of Jews fleeing the Nazis. The country had declared itself neutral, which was one of the reasons that so many Jews found their way there. However, neutrality did not prevent Portugal from continuing to do business with Nazi Germany.
■ IT’S NICE to be able to combine business with pleasure, which is what socialite, businesswoman, and fashion maven Nicole Reidman did when she celebrated her 39th birthday with the official launch of her pop-up store in the Ramat Aviv Mall. Reidman has always been good at promoting herself, and the name of the new venture No1Better is a reflection of that ability.
The merchandise carries a high quality European fashion aura, which is not surprising as Reidman attends the new season’s showings in Paris and previously was the proprietor of an elegant fashion boutique in Kikar Hamedina in Tel Aviv.
Although the launch of her new store began on an exclusive note, Reidman, mindful that this is the last year in which she can be described as a woman in her thirties, decided to make her birthday party an open event to which she invited anyone and everyone who happened to be in the mall, adding that she would be happy to host the whole of Israel. Together with a DJ, dancers and other performers, she quickly turned the mall into a carnival resembling the one in Rio de Janeiro.
The DJ was not there just for a one night affair. He will appear nightly from 7 p.m. while on-screen fashion shows will give visitors to the mall an appreciation of the stunning clothes that Reichman is featuring.
Among the people who came to the launch-cum-birthday party were the mall’s owner Liora Ofer, along with the mall’s general manage David Ben Moshe, former Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik – who currently chairs the board of Hadassah International – Tzipi Refaeli, mother of supermodel Bar Refaeli and a former model herself, plus many other well-known personalities.
■ ANYONE TRAVELING the length of Jerusalem’s Hovevei Zion Street cannot help but notice the stately residence with a plaque attesting to the name of the owner, American billionaire, hedge fund manager, and mega philanthropist Michael Steinhardt. If it hasn’t already been taken down, the plaque will disappear, as the 84-year-old Steinhardt has sold it to Canadian billionaire Ronnen Harary for $22 million, after owning the property for many years.
The impressive mansion built in the 1920s, was once home to philosopher Martin Buber. Notwithstanding certain improvements and repairs over the years, the house has retained its original character. It is doubtful that Harary will actually live there; he owns other properties in Israel.
If asked, he may rent it out to the Argentine Foreign Ministry. The announcement this week by President Milei that the embassy may move to Jerusalem, puts the house in an ideal location for an embassy given that the residence of the ambassador of Argentina is literally across the road.
If so, it could lead to Hovevei Zion and adjoining upscale streets becoming Jerusalem’s Embassy Row.
A co-founder with Charles Bronfman of Birthright Israel, to which both men have donated considerable sums of money, Steinhardt is also a former chairman of the board of Tel Aviv University. He also endowed the Museum of Natural History in Ramat Aviv. He and his wife Judy have been extremely active in the American Friends of the Israel Museum, and there are numerous other Israel causes which they support.
■ THE SLINGS and arrows hurled at Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara are admittedly not a women’s issue per se, but one would think that in view of the abominable insults and humiliations to which she has been subjected, women’s movements would give her support at a time when continuation of her career is under threat.
No one should be addressed in the manner that certain MKs and cabinet ministers address her, because when this is accepted as a norm, it also means that it is a regressive step for women who have fought for so long and so hard for equal rights.
Moreover, many members of the government have announced that, if the matter goes to court and the judges rule in Baharav-Miara’s favor, the ruling will be ignored. This is a signal that Israel may become a completely lawless society.