The limbo situation in which some activities are permitted on a limited scale, while others are not, has led to a dearth in genuine news.
By GREER FAY CASHMANUpdated: FEBRUARY 16, 2021 18:47Newspapers, illustrative.(photo credit: NEEDPIX.COM)
Restrictions imposed by fresh outbreaks of COVID-19 have further delayed the country from getting back to normal. The limbo situation in which some activities are permitted on a limited scale, while others are not, and in which some are facilitated by government grants while others are not, has led to a dearth in genuine news as distinct from events that at the beginning of this year would at best have been relegated to a paragraph in a social column, are now receiving double-page spreads in the print media and repeated coverage on television.A recent prime example is the bar mitzvah of Nuriel Toledano, which was given excessive coverage over a three-day period for a number of reasons, the most frequently quoted being the presence of Likud MK and former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat. The event was a much-larger social gathering than restrictions permit, and Barkat, in common with other guests, was not wearing a mask. Barkat, who is related to the Toledano family, was quoted as saying that he was under the impression that the celebration would be in accordance with the Health Ministry’s guidelines. It wasn’t. The bar mitzvah boy’s father, Itzik Toledano, a real estate tycoon, invited politicians, retired senior police officers, entertainers and business associates. His daughter Shirel is the significant other of popular singer Omer Adam, who naturally was part of the entertainment lineup. Other entertainers present included Lior Narkis, Moshe Peretz, Benny Peretz, Moshik Afia, Zion Golan and Eden Ben Zaken, who came with her husband, Shuki Biton.The festivities were held on the rooftop of the three-story Toledano penthouse in the north Tel Aviv luxury residential neighborhood Park Tzameret. The noise was so deafening that neighbors called the police. Neighbors were also disturbed by the huge fireworks display and by the fact that more than three guests at a time were using the elevators, which meant that residents who were observing the rules had to wait to be able to go up to their own apartments.The police mounted a superficial investigation and invited Toledano to come to the station the following day. But he didn’t show and sent a message that he was not feeling well. Presumably, the matter will be shelved.■ ALSO GIVEN somewhat less media play, but nonetheless more than it deserved, was the breakup of the marriage of singer Dudu Aharon and his wife, Natalie Levi. Why was it important? Because Aharon is a mama’s boy, whose mother, Tzipporah, conforms to the worst stereotyped images of the Jewish mother. She wanted him to get married – but only to someone who met with her approval. Aharon’s search for a suitable bride was turned into a weekly television reality series, The Bachelor, featured on the now-defunct Channel 10, in which a bevy of attractive young women competed for his attention. None of them proved to hold the key to his heart.Tzipporah Aharon was getting desperate. She wanted grandchildren. Her son had dated many young women, but none of those dates had led to the bridal canopy.Finally Aharon met Shir Rosenblum, who he said was the love of his life. The problem was that his mother didn’t like her and publicly announced that she was determined to get this woman out of her son’s life. Embarrassing though it was for the young couple, Tzipporah’s efforts were initially futile. Aharon and Rosenblum announced their engagement and moved into an apartment together.Tzipporah didn’t let up and publicly castigated Rosenblum for taking Aharon away from his family. The strain became too much, the wedding was called off and the couple went their separate ways. Soon afterwards, Aharon started going out with Natalie Levi, who may or may not have met with Tzipporah’s approval, but there was a limit to how much of a spoke Tzipporah could put into Aharon’s romantic wheel. So that wedding went ahead, and 18 months ago, Tzipporah was blessed with a grandchild named Rena. But trouble was brewing. Levi didn’t get along with Tzipporah nor did she get along with her husband’s manager, and it was only a matter of time before the couple would decide to divorce. Levi has now launched a career as an accessories designer, and Aharon will continue singing while searching for another bride.■ JOURNALISM WAS once an honorable profession, but the mistreatment of journalists in America and elsewhere, and the lack of respect for television crews, photographers and reporters who are doing their job has resulted in humiliation, unjust arrests, serious injuries and even death at the hands of both rioters and police in many countries – not only in the United States, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Journalists, wearing identifying gear, have been pepper-sprayed, Tasered, subjected to tear gas and shot at with rubber bullets in efforts to prevent them from recording police brutality.But even journalists who are not in the middle of the fray, do not have an easy life. When broadcast journalist Yigal Ravid moved from Tel Aviv to New York a couple of years back, he did not anticipate the effect the coronavirus would have on the Big Apple. Once New York became an overwhelmingly perilous place in which to live, he moved to Los Angeles, again not anticipating what was to follow. Ravid lives only a block away from the main riots in the city, which he is reporting on for Reshet Bet. Because something of this nature is important to report live rather than to record in advance, Ravid has to work in accordance with Israel’s time zone and not that of Los Angeles. Reporting last week at a little after 2 p.m. Israel time, he made a point of saying that it was 4:10 a.m. in Los Angeles■ DURING THE most severe crisis period of the coronavirus lockdown, many surgical operations and procedures were delayed – not just for hours, but for days, weeks and even months. Although there are still coronavirus patients in some hospitals, in general hospitals have returned to their routines, which made it possible for 83-year-old Yehezkel Marom to receive a kidney transplant at Sheba Medical Center. The donor was an 80-year-old man. The story, reported in Israel Hayom, stated that Marom, a resident of Neveh Monosson, had been on dialysis for five years, waiting impatiently for a suitable donor.People of his age do not usually receive transplants, but Prof. Eytan Mor, head of Sheba’s transplant center, said that what had prompted him to make the exception to the rule was that other than his kidney complaint, Marom was in good health both physically and mentally, had come on his own for his dialysis treatments, kept in good shape physically by exercising and swimming and displayed a great sense of humor and excellent cognitive abilities. Mor had been impressed by all this, aside from which the kidney donor and Marom had been compatible. Mor conceded that there is always an ethical problem as to whether a kidney should be given to an older or younger person, and there always will be – but in the final analysis, it’s given where there is a suitable match.■ ANOTHER HEARTWARMING story that appeared in Yediot Aharonot is that of two-year-old Noam Gabbay of Modi’in, who had a complicated brain tumor. Noam began showing signs that something was wrong when he was only 11 months old. His parents, Hadas and Sefi, took him from doctor to doctor where he was tested, diagnosed and treated for a variety of ailments until the true source of his problems was discovered, after which he had more than 40 chemotherapy treatments. His parents were told that removal of the stage-3 tumor was too complex an undertaking to be performed in Israel. They were advised to go to the US. There they were told that in order to remove the tumor, surgeons would have to remove one of Noam’s eyes and part of his jaw. With heavy hearts, the parents agreed.The date for the surgery was set, and suddenly America was overwhelmed by the galloping coronavirus. The Gabbays, reluctant to take any chances, especially as they have two other children, were among the Israelis who took the first flights home. The decision saved Noam’s eye and jaw. He was successfully operated on at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. Prof. Ziv Gil and Prof. Moni Benefila performed what the Gabbays call “the coronavirus miracle.” They successfully removed the tumor without any damage to Noam’s eye or jaw.greerfc@gmail.com
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