Fifty lone soldiers from the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center were treated to a Friday afternoon pre-Passover celebration at Cantina in Tel Aviv, hosted by American billionaire philanthropist Brandon Korff.
Korff closed the restaurant for the occasion, offering the soldiers an afternoon of exceptional hospitality, abundant food and drinks, and live entertainment.
A DJ energized the celebration, filling the dance floor and playing the saxophone. The lively atmosphere remained strong, even when a siren was sounded, and the festivities resumed immediately afterward.
Korff, a keen supporter of the IDF and its lone soldiers, was presented with a certificate of appreciation from the Lone Soldier Center in recognition of his commitment.
The billionaire has a particular reason for being so devoted to lone soldiers – his brother was one several years ago.
Tzachi Dabush, the director of the Brandon Korff Foundation in Israel, said, “For us, lone soldiers are superheroes. They are among the very best of our sons and daughters, who left everything behind and came to fight for the State of Israel.”
“We are grateful for the opportunity to host them, and we thank the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center for the partnership that made it possible to give these soldiers a bit of respite and bring a wide smile to their faces,” he added.
Drorit Nitzani, the president of the center, said: “To see the soldiers happy, enjoying themselves, and feeling embraced during such a difficult time – that is what our work is all about.”
Korff, a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, has done quite a lot to earn a good name for himself and live up to the name of his famed ancestor.
His father is Rabbi Yitzhak Aharon Korff, better known as the rebbe of Zvhil-Mezhbizh. Further, Yitzhak Aharon Korff is the chief rabbi of Boston and serves as the chief rabbi of the Jerusalem Great Synagogue and frequently commutes between Boston and Jerusalem.
Brandon Korff’s mother is Shari Redstone, the daughter of media mogul Sumner Redstone.
Neubach bids farewell to 'Agenda' program
Nothing lasts forever. Last Wednesday, prize-winning journalist Keren Neubach bid farewell to her faithful listeners to her Agenda program on KAN Reshet Bet.
Neubach’s Agenda, which she considered a mission in life, was to bring to the fore important issues that were not properly recognized – education for children with special needs, access and equal opportunities for people with mobility problems, saving women and children from domestic violence, providing shelters in communities that were under frequent terrorist attack, to name a few.
So many other human interest issues to which the government and the legislature paid insufficient attention were also covered on the show. The program ran for nearly 18 years. Neubach’s fans can rest assured that she is neither retiring nor leaving. She is just taking a different track in her radio career. Fans of Agenda will have to get used to a different program. The world is constantly changing.
Imperceptible changes over time
We barely notice the changes in matters that do not affect us personally, but are either thrilled or furious about those that do.
For people confined for long periods in public shelters, it would be an interesting memory game to look back on how things were regarding certain subjects 10, 20, or 30 years ago, and how they are today.
For instance, there were 12 ministers in Israel’s first government compared to 25 in the present one. Just imagine the difference in the cost factor. It’s not just a matter of individual ministers. Each minister needs staff, and all staff need salaries.
Just think about weighing 2026 against 1948. On a more mundane subject, think about what a slice of pizza costs today compared to what it cost a decade ago, or the height of the tallest building in your street or neighborhood compared to the massive towers now reaching skywards. It’s the kind of game that can occupy people indefinitely, and even distract from fears of being hit by a ballistic missile.
From time to time, this column hears a complaint that the many requests for financial aid that are accompanied by heart-rending stories presented in the first person on various platforms do not include essential details beyond the first name of the alleged sender.
And sometimes this pertains to the name of a suffering child who is the beneficiary of any donations received as well. If one clicks on “Donate now” or “Donate here,” it’s an organization with a generic name, without the names of the president, chairperson, or CEO, or the names of the beneficiaries.
Many people want to help, but no one wants to be a sucker and fall victim to a scam. Sometimes the name of the organization is accompanied by an address, which is more often than not in the US, which helps explain why the appeal is in such good English.
Some of the appeals from Israel are also in English. It would help if donors could better understand where their money was going. If donors can’t be put in touch with actual recipients, the Knesset must find a way to verify the authenticity of donation requests.
Retired Supreme Court judge concedes there is room for legal reforms
Retired Supreme Court justice, former attorney-general, and former dean of the Hebrew University’s Law Faculty, Yitzhak Zamir, who will celebrate his 95th birthday on April 15, has refrained in recent years from giving interviews.
In frail health and beset by the vicissitudes of age, he recently published a book that touches on some of today’s legal issues. In an interview with Esti Perez-Ben Ami, Zamir conceded that there is room for certain legal reforms.
But the what and the how are extremely important, he noted. He was particularly angry about the way government members treat the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Isaac Amit.
To criticize is legitimate, said Zamir, who was also angry at the way some elected public officials treat current Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, but it has to be in a civilized manner.
The main purpose of the interview was to hear opinions on the latest attempt to persuade President Isaac Herzog to grant a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Zamir sides with fellow legal experts and former Supreme Court judges in saying that the law must be upheld. He commended Herzog for continuing to play by the rules despite all the pressure that he is under.
Herzog cannot grant a pardon to someone who has not yet been convicted. Should Netanyahu be convicted, he cannot receive a pardon without asking for it and expressing remorse.
This would be tantamount to confessing to the crime, in which case he could no longer serve as prime minister. Perhaps all those good-hearted people who’ve gone to bat for Bibi may realize that they are not doing him a favor.
If the court, which Netanyahu disdains so much, acquits him, he can continue in office indefinitely until his party loses an election or he decides to step down and give another talented person the opportunity to lead. And then Netanyahu will go down in history without a blemish on his name.
Reservist suspected of spying for Iran
If his surname is any indication, Raz Cohen, the 26-year-old reservist from Jerusalem who is suspected of spying for Iran, is a member of the priestly tribe.
Therefore, he has both the privilege and the obligation to bless the congregation. If he is charged and convicted, will he lose his priestly rights as a convicted felon? If so, who, if anyone, will bless the prison inmates?
Secular Jews who missed out on a Jewish education often feel uneasy at a traditional Seder because they can’t follow the Haggadah even when it’s translated and transliterated. They don’t know any of the songs.
In a digital age, technology comes to the rescue. Aura Lipski is a singer and collector of songs in Hebrew and Yiddish, whose texts she makes available online.
She has prepared a special edition of songs for the Seder accessible through https://hebrewsongs.com/seder-songs.asp
The lyrics are in transliteration and can be printed for singing along with the recorded melodies, so that interested parties can attend the Seder with a sense of familiarity with most, if not all, Seder songs.
Lipski, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, spent several years in Israel. She is married to Sam Lipski, one of the most eminent journalists in Australia, who, many years ago, was the Washington correspondent for The Jerusalem Post.
His daughter and son-in-law also worked for the Post some years later, and two years ago, the couple brought their son to Jerusalem for his bar mitzvah at the contentious egalitarian section of the Western Wall.
Hospitals to have underground wards for times of crisis
Because Iran and Hezbollah also target hospitals, a decision has been made by the executive boards that all Israeli hospitals will have underground wards for the protection of patients during periods of crisis.
Long before the war, Laniado Hospital in Netanya decided to take such a measure, but it is still raising funds for the project.
In recent weeks, missiles have repeatedly struck Netanya, and doctors and nurses, sometimes at risk to their own lives, have rushed to move patients and newborn babies to safer areas in what was previously an underground storage area.
This adds to the case for urgently building a fortified, underground medical facility rather than a makeshift area for administering vital medical treatments. Supporters of Laniado and the hospital’s director, Eli Knoller, are hopeful that construction of the $55 million new facility will begin later this year.
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