Grapevine: Romantic runaround

Uri Revah, Channel I’s religious affairs reporter, takes a group of colleagues from the IBA to visit the graves of the righteous in North.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
rami kleinstein 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy)
rami kleinstein 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy)
FOR MORE than two years, the romance between singer, composer and musician Rami Kleinstein and Alex Ilan titillated the Hebrew gossip columnists.
In 2007, Kleinstein and popular singer Rita separated after 19 years of marriage and numerous on-stage collaborations that began during their army service. The separation came as a great shock to their fans, who had regarded them as one of the more stable couples in the entertainment industry.
About a year ago, Kleinstein and Ilan announced their engagement but kept delaying the wedding, primarily because Ilan wanted to complete her university studies. In the interim, Rita had a highly publicized romance with investigative journalist and author Ronen Bergman, who was nearly 10 years her junior. With Kleinstein more than twice Ilan’s age, it seems that both he and Rita were doing their utmost to hang onto their youth.
Rita’s romance fizzled last year, and during Pessah, Kleinstein and Ilan decided to call it quits. Now that Kleinstein and Rita have each had a fling, perhaps they might link up again.
Alternatively, the separation between Kleinstein and Ilan, who has returned to her parents’ home in Haifa, may be temporary.
Only time will tell.
On June 12 her many fans will celebrate the wedding of singer Maya Buskila to Jerusalemite Matan Cohen, who is employed at the Defense Ministry. The two were introduced by mutual friends.
Buskila, whose name has been linked with several beaus, previously had a long and much publicized romance with Dudi Melitz, whom she nearly married, but the year-long romance fizzled just ahead of the projected nuptials. Buskila’s upcoming nuptials have been dubbed the wedding of the year by local entertainment industry pundits.
One can only hope that the diva will not do a cold-feet encore before June 12.
AND WHILE on the subject of wedding bells, Uri Revah, Channel I’s religious affairs reporter, took a group of colleagues from the IBA to visit the graves of the righteous in the northern part of the country.
According to Jewish tradition, unmarried people who visit these graves and pray for a bride or a groom will have their wishes granted.
There may be some truth to the story because four couples who participated in these visits, but were not couples to start, with have been married in recent weeks.
AN UNINTENTIONAL compliment is always the most sincere.
Raya Jaglom, honorary president of World WIZO, instead of spending Pessah in Tel Aviv as she usually does, took her daughter Nurit and grandson Ro’i to Cyprus, where they were invited to a Seder with some 16 or 17 other guests, some also from Israel, some local. The other guests had all been primed to expect a 92-year-old woman in their midst. When one of them was introduced to Jaglom’s grandson, he mentioned that they were still waiting for the nonagenarian to turn up. “But she’s already here,” retorted Ro’i.
“She’s my grandmother.”
The truth is that the exquisitely groomed and highly fashionable Jaglom doesn’t look anywhere near her age – in addition to which she has been blessed with an almost infallible long-term and short-term memory.
FOR THE first time since its inception in 1974, the board and other members of the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society have decided to present an award unrelated to any particular exponent of the piano or any musical composition. The award will be given to Sara and Prof. Michael Sela, who are among the society’s stalwart volunteers, in recognition of their continuous devotion and outstanding contribution throughout the years. The presentation will be made on May 10 at Tel Aviv Museum of Art prior to the gala opening concert which will herald the start of the 13th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, in which 37 highly talented young pianists from 16 countries will compete.