More people are expected to attend the Nova concert in Park Hayarkon on August 14 than the highest number of participants in rallies on behalf of the hostages in Gaza.
If an agreement for the return of the hostages is reached before then, the concert will be one of rejoicing, and many tens of thousands of people will show up.
If there is no change in the status quo, many will come to call for a change of government while the hostages are still living. It makes no difference whether that new government is Left, Right, or Center, as long as it reaches some kind of accommodation with Hamas that will put an end to the war and enable the hostages to come home.
The government keeps blaming Hamas for the lack of an agreement, and Hamas keeps blaming the Israeli government. The best way to test Hamas is to agree to an immediate withdrawal from Gaza on condition that Hamas produces every hostage who is still alive, and brings them as close as possible to the Israeli border, so that they can be seen and identified by family members using binoculars. If this happens, Israel must agree to an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal, after which the hostages can proceed to the Israeli side of the border under the supervision of multi-national forces. Immediately afterwards, the bodies of deceased hostages should be transferred to Israel for forensic testing. If Hamas fails to agree to this, the world will know that it was lying.
Meanwhile, at the Nova Healing concert, performers will include performers such as Rita, Infected Mushroom, and Yuval Raphael, as well as singers and musicians from the Tribe Nova community, who survived the October 7 massacre but continue to be haunted by it.
■ HAIFA IS fast developing a reputation as the cultural capital of the North. In addition, it is fostering binational cultural relations by featuring the visual and performing arts of other countries. This is not exactly new, as Haifa has long held exhibitions of Japanese arts and crafts at the Tikotin Gallery.
But early this week, the focus was on India, which has been busy with events designed to strengthen its cultural ties with Israel.
The occasion was the launch of the Amaiza Dance Troupe’s Israel tour, which included Or Akiva and Mishmar HaEmek. The opening event was a collaborative effort between the Embassy of India, the Haifa Municipality, the Indian Cultural Center, and the Port of Haifa.
Among the 500 people who attended the event at the Beit Aba Hushi auditorium were Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav and his wife Rivka, and Indian Ambassador J.P.Singh, as well as several diplomats and members of Israel’s Indian community.
Amaiza is sponsored by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). The troupe, founded in 2014 by dancer and choreographer Nitisha Nanda, presented a rich and impressive show blending the traditional Indian dance form of Odissi with modern styles including fusion, Bollywood, urban dance, and even Middle Eastern influences.
Nanda, known for her appearances on leading reality shows So You Think You Can Dance India and India’s Got Talent, currently also heads the Tapaswini Nav Sadhana Foundation, which promotes community and women’s empowerment through arts and education. Her signature piece, Charishnu, which merges classical dance with fusion, has garnered millions of views and wide acclaim on social media.
The performance in Haifa mesmerized the audience with its passion, precision, and energy, showcasing both the traditional and contemporary spirit of Indian culture through color, rhythm, and movement.
Yahav remarked that when he was at school, he had been taught that the British liberated Haifa, but he later learned that “it was Indian soldiers who shed their blood to free the city.”
Ambassador Singh said that the relationship between India and Israel, especially with the city of Haifa, was built on trust, mutual respect, and lasting friendship..
He also mentioned the sacrifice of Indian soldiers in liberating Haifa.
■ ON AN entirely different Haifa-related subject, the Maccabi Haifa Soccer team was in Czestochowa, Poland, this week, to play against Raków Czestochowa under the auspices of UEFA. The match took place yesterday – Thursday, and a return game is due to be played in Haifa next week.
Czestochowa is known as the holiest city in Europe after the Vatican. It is the home of the famous Black Madonna. It also has an extremely small Jewish community.
Before World War II, Czestochowa had a relatively large Jewish community with members of the tribe of every denominational stripe, cultural interest and expression, political affiliation, and living conditions determined by everything from economic hardship to large-scale affluence.
Some saw the writing on the wall and left Poland in 1938 to mid-1939 for places outside of Europe. Many of those who opted for other European countries, thinking they would be safe, found to their cost that they were mistaken. Many did not survive. Those who did had chosen countries further afield than the European continent.
Israeli sports teams are not only proud to display the national flag but also make it their business to pay their respects to Jews murdered in the Holocaust. A representative group of Maccabi Haifa management and players, including, among others, president Yaakov Shahar, as well as officials of the Czestochowa municipality, which had made all the necessary arrangements, paid their respects at a memorial service. The service took place beside a monument designed and built by the late Samuel Willenberg, a native son of Czestochowa, who was one of the few survivors of Treblinka and one of the leaders of the revolt there during the Holocaust. Willenberg later fought the Nazis and migrated to Israel after the war.
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