When he attends synagogue services, President Isaac Herzog comes as an ordinary congregant and behaves as such, though understandably, as a Levite, he receives the honor of being the last person to read from the Torah. Occasionally, he also gives a brief talk, but makes no big deal about his status. Yet try as he might to focus on his prayer book, several other congregants cannot resist the opportunity of having a word with him. This includes the rabbi, who has the advantage of sitting next to him and keeping up a conversation in which Herzog barely participates, but keeps looking into his prayer book.
Herzog comes to synagogue to communicate with his Creator, not with other congregants beyond exchanging a festival or Sabbath greeting. The most uneducated and poorest of the poor can pray in peace – and the same should apply to the president of the state.
Remembering the victims
■ THE MESSAGE that came across loud and clear at memorial ceremonies for the victims of Hamas atrocities and for those who fell in battle against Hamas, Iran, and all the Iranian proxies on and since October 7, 2023, was loud and clear. We will remember, we will continue to mourn, but we will rebuild our lives and our communities and restore the values on which this nation was established. Not everyone engaged in this mission was directly affected by the horrific events of the past two years. But they are no less determined to rebuild. One such person is Emy Palmor, who, for almost 24 years, worked in numerous capacities in the Justice Ministry, the last five of which as director-general, first under justice minister Tzipi Livni, then Ayelet Shaked, and finally under Amir Ohana, who fired her because he wanted to appoint his friend Ophir Cohen.
Palmor’s dismissal sent shock waves through Israel’s law and justice community, which was well aware of her abilities and manifold achievements. She was immediately offered positions by various institutions and organizations, and took up some of these offers, which included lecturing on policy design, government, and law at Reichman University, and also lecturing in the IDF’s educational leadership program.
But now she sits on the board of the planning and steering committee for the rebuilding and rehabilitation of Kibbutz Nir Oz, which suffered severe losses in human life, numerous abductions to Gaza, and extensive damage to property in the merciless Hamas assault.
Palmor, who was born and raised in Jerusalem, does not have a kibbutz background, but she is a consummate professional who is guided more by logic and fairness than by emotions. She has had to learn a few things about kibbutz mentality and values, but she’s a quick learner and has won immense respect for her dedication to the project and the multi-faceted experience that she brought with her.
■ SUCCESS HAS many fathers, especially in the fields of top honors. Following the announcement that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry had been jointly awarded to three prominent researchers, Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, UK-born Richard Robson of Melbourne University, and Jordanian-born Omar M. Yaghi of University of California, Berkeley, for developing a new type of molecular architecture, the powers that be behind the Wolf Prize, which is regarded as Israel’s equivalent to the Nobel, published a press release with a reminder that Yaghi had been the recipient of the Wolf Prize for Chemistry in 2018. The award ceremony attended by Yaghi and other Wolf laureates of that year had been in the Knesset’s Chagall Hall, where Yaghi had been congratulated by Reuven Rivlin, who at the time was president of the state. Several Wolf Prize laureates over the years have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Prize.
■ VETERAN PATRONS of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra were looking forward to welcoming Zubin Mehta, the emeritus music director of the IPO, who had been scheduled to conduct concert recitals by the orchestra in November and December. But Mehta, who will celebrate his 90th birthday in April, has been plagued by ill health in recent years and has informed the IPO that, for health reasons, he is unable to return to Israel to fulfill his commitments. The concerts for which he had been engaged will now be conducted by Vincenzo Milletari, 35, who is considered to be one of the leading Italian conductors of his generation.
■ ADDING TO the many honors he has received over the years, former deputy chief justice Elyakim Rubinstein will receive an honorary degree from Netanya Academic College. He will be one of three recipients on October 21. The other two are former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo and Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Shimon Hefetz, who is a member of the steering committee of NAC’s Center for Strategic Dialogue. In the course of a long military career, Hefetz served as military secretary to presidents Ezer Weizman, Moshe Katsav, and Shimon Peres. He also served as Israel’s defense attaché in Washington and currently holds significant positions in a number of Israeli institutions and enterprises. The awards ceremony will take place in the Tshuva Auditorium, named for prominent businessman Yitzhak Tshuva, who has been a generous donor to NAC, providing both scholarships and physical amenities.
■ OPINION IS divided in Israel with regard to far-right British journalist and political activist Tommy Robinson, who is one of his country’s most prominent anti-Islam campaigners. Many Jews have embraced him with open arms, while others say that just because he hates one set of Semites doesn’t prove that he loves another. There is a strong suspicion in those circles that Robinson may be just a little less anti-Jewish than he is anti-Islam. For those who have not yet heard him and want to judge for themselves, the Tel Aviv International Salon will be hosting Robinson on Saturday, October 18, at 9 p.m. at Federation Hall, Hangar 11 at the Port of Tel Aviv. Although he has been interviewed in Israel, he has not previously spoken in public, so this will be his first public speaking address in the Holy Land. There will be ample time for Q&A with members of the audience.
■ AMONG THE performers at the International Art Festival at Georgia’s prestigious Kote Marjanishvili theater in Tbilisi, last week, was Israel’s Vertigo contemporary dance company, headed by choreographer Noa Wertheim. In the audience was Israel’s recently arrived ambassador, Walid Abu Haya, who, at the conclusion of the performance, exclaimed, “What a gift I received that Vertigo is here, and I, the newly arrived Israeli ambassador, have been privileged to meet so many people in the audience. It is exciting to see Israeli art represented with such pride.”
During the evening, Wertheim also participated in a panel discussion in which she spoke of what inspired her to create the dance Mana – Vessel of Light.
■ DURING THE years in which he was advertising and marketing manager of The Jerusalem Post, Avi Golan used to come on a daily basis from his home in Modi’in to the office in Jerusalem, and knew the city like the back of his hand.
Throughout those years and afterwards, he had a lot to do with the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, and was therefore among the Israeli invitees to the ICEJ’s gala Feast of Tabernacles event last week. Golan had not been to Jerusalem for a couple of years and barely recognized the city, which has changed so radically that had he been led blindfolded to the capital, he would not have known where he was when the blindfold was removed.
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