Grapevine October 31, 2025: Jolting memories

One such event will take place on Tuesday, November 4, at 7 p.m. at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, where there will be a unique, immersive audio-visual presentation assembled from video clips, television broadcasts, and newspaper cuttings of the peace rally that preceded the assassination for which university student Yigal Amir was sentenced to life imprisonment and spent many years in solitary confinement before being permitted to join other prisoners in a Torah study group.

Numerous conspiracy theories about the assassination and who ordered or inspired it have been published in traditional and social media outlets; books have been written, and documentaries have been made, but the full story has never been told and is unlikely to be revealed unless someone happens to make a deathbed confession. It would be interesting to know whether Amir’s son, Yinon, who was conceived in prison, has served in the IDF, which Rabin was chief of staff of during the Six Day War.

In the US, Hadar Susskind, the president and CEO of New Jewish Narrative, will host a webinar on November 4 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time to delve into how Rabin’s murder reshaped American Jewish politics, identity, and engagement with Israel.

He will be joined by NJN board members Letty Cottin Pogrebin, founding editor of Ms. magazine and longtime activist, and Samuel Norich, former publisher of The Forward. At the time of the assassination, Pogrebin was president of Americans for Peace Now, and Norich was a consultant to the Israel Democracy Institute.

Before Oslo, Israelis and Palestinians lived in relative harmony, recalls Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh. On weekends, there were sometimes more Israelis than Arabs in places such as Tulkarm and Bethlehem. After Oslo, all that changed.

However, many Israeli Jews choose not to believe this and regard all Arab citizens with suspicion. Generalization is dangerous, unfair, and painful. “Stop judging us according to our religion!” said Abu Toameh, who is Muslim.

“There is a psychological barrier in Israel between Jews and Arabs. Don’t generalize. It’s a big mistake by Israeli politicians to vilify Arabs in Israel.” Abu Toameh, who in his writings and his oratory has never been afraid to criticize Palestinian or local Arab leaders, acknowledged that “rhetoric by some Arab leaders in Israel is very bad.”

In lectures that he has given abroad, including at venues such as Yale University, a hotbed for pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activity, he has often defended Israel while simultaneously pointing to its imperfections. “There is no apartheid in Israel, but there is discrimination,” he declared, as he cited difficulties incurred by Arabs with regard to education, building permits, and acceptance for employment. Arabs represent 20% of Israel’s population and want to be incorporated, not separated, he said.

■ ATTENDANCE AT any general event in Israel is broadly representative of the mosaic of Israeli society – people of different national and ethnic backgrounds, different faiths, religious and secular, conflicting political viewpoints and ideologies, varied economic and social status, and more.

But there seemed to be even more components to the mosaic that came to Hadassah-University Medical Center on Mount Scopus this week for the official inauguration of the Gandel Rehabilitation Center, which was opened before the complex was completed because there were severely wounded soldiers who were sorely in need of the best therapists and the most advanced state-of-the-art equipment in order to heal.

Video clips of the healing process proved that the impossible can become possible when people believe in it and work hard to make it happen. It’s a step-by-step process, where even the tiniest sign of improvement, such as raising a finger, is a moment of triumph that brings victory smiles to the faces of both patient and therapist.

It was extremely gratifying to see some of the healed patients who had appeared in a near hopeless condition on video. It was also heart-warming to learn that many of these patients had been visited by former chiefs of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, Gadi Eisenkot, and Benny Gantz.

Both President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also been among the visitors who had come to give moral support to the patients and were present at the inauguration.

Australian philanthropists John and Pauline Gandel, who toured the facility two years ago when it was largely a skeleton edifice of raw concrete, were unable to attend last week. As nonagenarians who are not in the best of health, they were advised by their physician not to travel, but other members of the Gandel family, as well as Graham Goldsmith, the chairman of the Gandel Foundation, were present.

Goldsmith underscored the compassion and humanity of the Gandels and noted that the Australian Jewish community is one of the most ardently Zionist in the world. (This was endorsed later in the week by Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, who had just returned from Australia.)

Herzog referred to the long history of the Gandels’ support for a variety of projects in Israel. Relating to the Rehabilitation Center, he said that it was of primary national importance “because rehabilitation is an act of healing that reflects a deep belief that one can recover after pain and suffering.”

Netanyahu, who two years ago had visited wounded soldiers in the old Hadassah building, said that he had seen some difficult things on the battlefield, but to see the young heroes who had lost limbs and suffered unbelievable pain and wounds was heart-rending. Yet seeing their courage, stamina, and hope was so moving that he had to move aside to wipe a tear because what he saw was an inspiration.

He also had warm words for the people performing daily miracles.

“I saw unbelievably committed medical teams, unbelievable treatments,” he said.

“What we have here is not just a building. It’s a foundation of hope; it’s a foundation of resilience, of tomorrow.”

Prof. Yoram Weiss, director-general of the Hadassah Medical Organization, in speaking of the Hadassah family, took pride in the fact that in every sphere of Hadassah – medical, administrative, maintenance, etc. – every person, when asked to do something, never refused, and some went well beyond the call of duty.

Of course, nothing gets done in terms of providing funds for a multitude of projects and equipment at Hadassah without the input of Hadassah, the Zionist Women’s Organization of America, and Hadassah people were present in force.

“As part of the national effort, we undertook the mission of opening the Gandel Rehabilitation Center ahead of schedule,” said Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz. “We were driven by a profound sense of duty and responsibility to care for and rehabilitate the wounded. For many undergoing rehabilitation, their battle continues every day, physically and emotionally, for months and years.”

■ AS IF it was not enough to disrupt both public and private transport, the massive anti-army service rally by haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft dodgers also interfered with diplomatic relations. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky was scheduled to speak at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Thursday (yesterday), but the event was canceled due to the inability of would-be participants to get past the throng en route to Mount Scopus. Did demonstrators spare a thought for the sick who had to get to Shaare Zedek or Hadassah for emergency treatments? This was not Judaism. It was HOOLIGANISM.

■ AT THE Team Lita Business Award ceremony organized by the Lithuanian embassy, Israir Airlines was recognized for its efforts in promoting tourism and economic cooperation between Israel and Lithuania by launching a direct Tel Aviv-Vilnius-Tel Aviv flight route.

Lithuanian Ambassador Audrius Bruzga noted that the award represents an acknowledgement of an initiative that truly reshapes the geography of Lithuanian-Israeli cooperation. Direct air connectivity not only brings business partners closer, he said, but also strengthens people-to-people ties and increases Lithuania’s visibility in Israel and Israel’s visibility in Lithuania.

This opens broader opportunities for both countries in the fields of technology, tourism, and innovation. The guest of honor at the event was MK Uri Maklev, a former deputy transportation minister and a proud Litvak (Jew of Lithuanian descent). He highlighted the historical bond between Israel and Lithuania and emphasized the strengthening of bilateral ties in recent years. As many Israelis are of Lithuanian descent, the direct flights will add to the incentives to visit Lithuania in search of family roots.