■ JUST AS he accepts the credentials of foreign ambassadors who come to represent their countries in Israel, President Isaac Herzog also farewells Israeli ambassadors prior to their going abroad to represent Israel. Whereas the meetings with foreign ambassadors are usually on a one-to-one basis, the meetings with the Israeli ambassadors are usually a group affair, because the president has the same message for each of them. As has been the case for the past year and three quarters, Herzog lists the return of the hostages as Israel’s No. 1 priority.
He does this at private meetings, seminars, conferences, and other events. He did so again this week when he spoke to a group of ambassadors and lesser diplomats who came to receive his blessing before departing to the various countries to which they have been posted.
Nothing is more important, he said, than saving the lives of those hostages who are still living and bringing all hostages back home, especially after Israel’s triumph in Iran.
The hostage issue is now Israel’s strongest and most paramount endeavor, together with all those involved in the mission – meaning negotiators from Washington, Cairo, and Qatar. Herzog also stressed that this must be one of the key issues that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss next week when he meets US President Donald Trump in Washington.
■ YOU CAN take the man out of Jerusalem, but you can’t take Jerusalem out of the man. Even though he has lived away from the city of his birth for many years, Yehoram Gaon, 85, keeps returning to his roots in person, in spirit, and in song. A former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Gaon, continues to be involved in various cultural and social welfare projects in the capital. Best known as a singer, he is also an actor, author, and radio and television host. He is currently the subject of an exhibition that will open at the capital’s Tower of David Museum on Thursday, July 10, in the presence of Mayor Moshe Lion and Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar.
Gaon has made a documentary film about Jerusalem, has sung many songs in praise of Jerusalem, and he will, of course, be the guest of honor at the opening of the exhibition. The invitation features an audacious young Yehoram Gaon as he appeared in the lead role of the movie Kazablan. He had previously starred in the stage production. The stage and screen productions steered his path to stardom, even though he had been singing publicly since he was a teenager. The exhibition celebrates 70 years of Gaon’s creativity.
As Caroline Shapiro, the spokesperson for the Tower of David, wrote when sending out invitations to the event:
“These have been challenging and turbulent times – days when we had to pause, care for our loved ones and communities, and postpone events and activities. But as Chaim Hefer wrote and Dov Seltzer composed for Yehoram Gaon: ‘We will not stop singing.’
“So we won’t stop singing... and we won’t stop hoping for better days to come.”
■ MANY OF the spouses of heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Israel become involved in local causes. Julie Fisher, the wife of former US ambassador Dan Shapiro, was deeply involved with the African refugees who were mostly living and working in south Tel Aviv. Janet Huckabee, the wife of current US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, is calling for volunteers to help distribute humanitarian aid to evacuees whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged by Iranian ballistic missiles.
When the Huckabees visited Magen David Adom headquarters this week, Janet Huckabee was aware that many of MDA’s volunteers had treated people wounded by the Iranian rockets.
But she asked them to walk that extra mile in providing other forms of humanitarian aid.
Janet Huckabee is a long-time devoted volunteer with the international humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, which recently donated an ambulance to MDA after having previously donated several other ambulances and medical intensive care units as well as helping extensively in other ways. Since then, Janet Huckabee has assisted war-affected families by distributing aid vouchers donated by Samaritan’s Purse to people whose homes were damaged by rocket attacks.
Samaritan’s Purse is an international Evangelical Christian humanitarian organization focused on strengthening medical and emergency systems worldwide.
■ SWISS AMBASSADOR Simon Geissbühler visited Shaare Zedek Medical Center this week and met with the facility’s Director General Prof. Ofer Merin, as well as with Swiss staff members of the hospital. The ambassador toured the sheltered underground ICU that was used during Operation Rising Lion and was briefed about Shaare Zedek’s activities throughout the war.
Geissbühler was invited to Shaare Zedek by Prof. Gabriel Izbicki, director of Shaare Zedek’s Pulmonary Institute, who is himself of Swiss descent.
Since his arrival in Israel this past August, the ambassador has made it a point to see as much of the country as possible.
During the visit, he did not confine himself to purely medical issues but also discussed Israel’s hostages in Gaza and the threats from rising antisemitism in Europe.
Izbicki noted that the ambassador’s visit was also an opportunity to discuss cooperative ventures between Switzerland and Israel, how to combat antisemitism in Europe, and what the Swiss Embassy can do to help return the hostages.
It may not be well known that there are around 25,000 Swiss nationals living in Israel, which amounts to more than the total number of Jews living in Switzerland – where estimates are between 16,000 and 17,000 members of the Jewish faith.
■ THERE ARE many ways in which individuals and communities abroad identify with Israel. One of those ways is through Tzalash, a Hebrew acronym for Tzava L’Shem Shamayim (Army for the Sake of Heaven), connecting Diaspora Jews with IDF soldiers.
Jews from Switzerland, France, England, Argentina, and elsewhere belong to global Zionist organizations such as JNF, WIZO, UJA, and Emunah – and now they also have Tzalash, which, in addition to being a military-associated acronym, is also a word used for a military decoration of valor. Tzalash is a community adoption program that enables the less affluent to make an easily affordable monthly contribution to the well-being of a unit of 40 soldiers.
Communities each adopt a combat unit, for which the community donates $1,800 per month. The figure is significant as 18 in gematria is the equivalent of life. Through the program, soldiers receive spiritual guidance, team-building retreats, and Torah study sessions, while sponsoring communities get regular updates about their adopted unit’s activities. This ongoing exchange creates a deep emotional connection between Diaspora Jews, IDF soldiers, and the State of Israel. “Knowing that Jews around the globe are thinking about them gives our soldiers tremendous strength,” Tzalash activists report.
Tzalash was conceived by Ronny Gast, originally from Switzerland, who, after finishing high school, immigrated to Israel by himself through the Machal (volunteers from abroad) program.
Gast studied at Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in Ma’aleh Adumim under Rabbi Haim Sabato, and as a lone soldier, he served in the Givati Brigade.
Following his service, he spent 20 years as an investment adviser, but, as he tells it, “After years of just chasing after money, I decided it was time to give it real meaning – by turning it into merit, both for this world and the next.”
The program pairs each military unit with a dedicated coordinator who manages the connection with the community, helping to build genuine relationships between them.“What’s so moving,” Gast reflects, “is that wherever I go to talk to people about supporting Tzalash – I get such immediate positive responses. They want to connect with our soldiers, their families, and the activities we do to help and support them. We have donors from across the entire religious spectrum. And by the way, one of our biggest donors isn’t even Jewish…”
According to Rabbi Peretz Einhorn, chairman and co-founder of Tzalash, “Nothing strengthens a soldier’s morale more than knowing that Jews around the world stand behind him, love him, and pray for his success. This connection between Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora is an essential part of our victory.”
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