Grapevine: A princely invitation

Prince Albert II of Monaco: 'It is important that countries of the Middle East cooperate in protecting the environment.'

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Prince Albert II (photo credit: Courtesy )
Prince Albert II
(photo credit: Courtesy )
TWO STUDENTS, alumni of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies located at Kibbutz Ketura, met up with royalty last week when they traveled to Monaco as the personal guests of Prince Albert II. Eitan Amiel and Lina Ismail were awarded a joint scholarship of €22,000 by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, and flew there with Executive Director of the Arava Institute David Lehrer to meet the Prince. The students are among the first to be awarded scholarships from the Foundation. Prince Albert II, who has visited Israel, said that: "It is important that countries of the Middle East cooperate in protecting the environment." The prince pledged to support the activities of the Arava Institute on environmental issues. During their three-day sojourn in Monaco, Amiel and Ismail met with various representatives of academia, business and government, to whom they spoke at length about challenges in the field of environmental protection in the Middle East. WILL THE famous name Kollek once again grace a city hall in Israel? According to an interview that he gave to Yediot Aharonot, filmmaker Amos Kollek, the mayor's son, is seriously considering following in his late father's footsteps. When he was younger, said Kollek, he used to resent being referred to as Teddy Kollek's son, but now has a different perspective and is giving much thought to entering the political arena - not for the upcoming elections, but in five years time. Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, it looks as if Ron Huldai will comfortably walk into another term of office because no one seems to want to run against him. COMME-IL-Faut, the fashion company that advocates social responsibility and environmental awareness through its marketing campaigns, is releasing an 85-page report on social responsibility dealing with political issues, ethics, marketing, social agendas, environmental influences, and other matters of significance. In some respects, the philosophies generated by Comme-il-Faut founder Sybil Goldfiner are similar to those of Benetton and have had as much impact on the local scene as Benetton on the international scene. The essential difference is that Goldfiner is a committed feminist and much of what she does is prompted by a feminist agenda which is translated into fashion design and her business approach. Comme-il-Faut was founded some two decades ago in Tel Aviv where it now operates three stores, plus seven others in Jerusalem, Givatayim, Haifa, Ra'anana, Rehovot, Ramat Aviv and Ramat Hasharon. Its flagship, Bayit Banamal, is on the ever trendier port of Tel Aviv and includes a waterside café, a fashion house, art gallery and jewelry store all under one roof. SHENKAR COLLEGE is used to having its students and graduates singled out for prizes and other honors, but they still get excited when it happens. That was the case when jewelry design students Tehila Levi and Doron Taubenfeld were chosen by the Galerie Marzee in Nujmegen, Holland - one of the most prestigious jewelry galleries in Europe - to exhibit with alumni of other design schools. The Galerie Marzee exhibits the works of some of the world's top jewelry designers. JERUSALEM BASED entrepreneur Erel Margalit, who is the Chairman of Jerusalem Venture Partners and is involved in many of the capital's cultural endeavors, now has an extra feather to his bow. He is also chairman of a foundation that looks after the interests of Jerusalemites studying at Haifa's Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. When the late Teddy Kollek was mayor of Jerusalem, Margalit spent some time as the city's director of development, during which period he brought more than 70 high-tech firms to the capital, thus radically changing the city's image and status. To ensure that Technion-educated Jerusalemites would return to the city to boost its technological human resources, Kollek, together with the late Yitzhak Cherniowski, in 1977 launched the organization which Margalit now chairs. It's almost like the closing of a circle.