JUST AS there have been amazing displays of heroism and courage during and since the massacre by Hamas on October 7, there have been incredible initiatives to perpetuate the memories of both soldiers and civilians who fought Hamas and died while defending their homes, their families, their friends and total strangers who were targeted by Hamas.
One of those somewhat unusual initiatives is a private label packet of tea honoring the memory of Yeftah Dan Twig who was born and raised in Moshav Azaria.
Together with four of his best friends, he was murdered three months ago at the Nova Festival and in his final moments saved the lives of two women by shielding them with his body.
He was 27 years old when killed by Hamas.
On cold nights on the moshav, Yeftah and his friends liked to sit on the balcony of his home and drink hot tea that he served from his legendary teapot.
Knowing how fond he was of tea, his parents Meir and Shoshana Twig, asked the Wissotzky tea company if they could produce a private label package bearing their son’s image and the story of his bravery.
The Wissotzky company was honored to be presented with such a request and brought 200 The Magic of Yeftah boxes of tea to the Twig family. The boxes feature his life story, his image, his values and the moving tale of his heroism.
Israel proudly has renowned artists
■ ITALIAN AMBASSADOR Sergio Barbanti had been scheduled to attend a performance in Jerusalem’s Train Theater of the jazz musical Last Night in Florence on Wednesday evening, but had to send his apologies because his wife was not feeling well.
But a few nights earlier in Tel Aviv, he was in the audience for the Israel Opera production of Lucia di Lammermoor which opened the new season of the Israel Opera, and he was so delighted that he tweeted his appreciation to conductor Carlo Montanaro and tenor Oreste Cosimo for what Barbanti perceived as “an outstanding performance of Gaetan Donizetti’s masterpiece.” He added that he was proud to have such internationally renowned artists in Israel during such difficult times.
Getting through difficult times
■ APROPOS DIFFICULT times, learning about them can be tedious, but much easier to understand and remember, when the facts are presented as theater.
Last Night in Florence which is based on the book by Daniel Taub, and is directed by Aviella Trapido, with music by Hillel Goldblum, and choreography by Maayan Allen played to an enthusiastic full house. The setting is Florence, 1938. The ambience in music, dance, and costumes is decidedly on the cusp of 1930s-40s vogue.
Fascism is approaching its zenith, and together with the antisemitism of the Catholic Church makes life extremely difficult for Jews. The J-Town Playhouse production is very professional. The plot, in many respects, resembles issues confronting Jews today but also carries a Biblical theme in that there are good people of conscience even in an evil nation; and that even good people carry an evil streak.
The cheers when the highly talented cast took their final bow indicated that the run of the production was all too short, and that it should be extended to give more people the opportunity to appreciate a history lesson cloaked in entertainment. There was only one jarring note. The actors speak with American, English, and Australian accents, the differences in which are all too obvious. Otherwise it was a show well worth seeing.
Finding humor in the pain
■ A CENTURIES old Jewish characteristic is the ability to find humor in almost any situation. A long-term French expatriate who still keeps a finger on the pulse of politics and diplomacy in the old country, says that French Jews in Israel are amused by President Emmanuel Macron’s choice of a new prime minister to replace Elizabeth Borne in the person of Gabriel Attal. It’s not a matter of the wide age difference between the two.
What has caused a chuckle is that although both are Jewish, Borne is of Ashkenazi stock and Attal is Sephardi. Borne’s father Joseph Bornstein was active in the French Resistance, arrested by the Gestapo and deported to Auschwitz. Gabriel Attal’s father was of Tunisian Jewish descent.
The moral of the story is that Macron is keeping a balance between Sephardi and Ashkenazi. Now an opposite number has to be found for Yael Braun-Pivet, the president of the French National Assembly, who also happens to be Jewish.
100 days of captivity
■ TO MARK the 100th day in captivity of hostages taken from southern communities to Gaza, several organizations and institutions will be holding different events to heighten international awareness.
In a symbolic gesture, the Hebrew University Jerusalem, at yellow ribbon rallies that will be held on four campuses this coming Sunday will release 100 yellow balloons at each campus.
The rallies will take place at the entrance plaza of the Edmond Safra campus in Givat Ram; the Frank Sinatra Square on the Mount Scopus campus; the entrance lobby of the Faculty of Dentistry on the Ein Kerem campus; and the Franklin Square near the fish pond on the Rehovot campus.The link to register is http://tinyurl.com/35xrjsjb
Taking a moment for solidarity
■ THE HISTADRUT, The Federation of Labor, has called for a 100-minute solidarity strike from 11 a.m. on Sunday to identify with the families of the hostages; to thank the soldiers, the reservists, and their spouses; to embrace all the residents of the South; to pause to think about the physically and mentally wounded; to remember the fallen; to strengthen the IDF in the knowledge that together we can triumph; and to maintain the unity of Israeli society.
■ RELATIVES OF Hamas hostages are going to places and meeting people that they never thought to come across. Almog Meir Jan, 21, who had helped care for his 87-year-old grandfather, was last seen in a video taken by Hamas at 12:30 p.m. on October 7. At 7:45 that morning his mother Orit had received a phone call from him in which he told her that there was a lot of shooting, but he couldn’t understand what was happening.
Since receiving confirmation that Almog had been positively identified as having been kidnapped and taken to Gaza, his mother and his uncle Aviram Meir have left no stone unturned in trying to secure his release or to at least receive a sign of life from him. They have traveled extensively and have spoken to diplomats, politicians, and statesmen in Israel and abroad. Most recently they were in New York where they met with Gilad Erdan, Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
Traveling with the Meirs was Galia David, the mother of Evyatar, 23, who is also believed to be in Gaza. While the trio visited the UN, Erdan addressed the general assembly and spoke of the hostages and their families, emphasizing that the UN is morally bankrupt, and has not done enough to facilitate the return of the hostages, a factor which has left the mothers of hostages heartbroken and disappointed.
■ PEOPLE IN Israel and abroad frequently remark on how heartwarming it is to see how many individuals and organizations have given of themselves and their money to aid Israeli evacuees and Israeli soldiers. Some of the initiatives that have been undertaken were mentioned in this column and read by Mosheh Wolfish a resident of Baltimore in the United States.
Wolfish and his wife have been fortunate in marrying off all their children, but he feels very guilty over having reasons to celebrate while so many Israelis are grieving over murdered relatives, kinfolk, and friends who are still being held captive in Gaza, soldiers who have fallen in battle, soldiers who have been injured and evacuees whose homes have been destroyed.
Wolfish and his wife arrived in Israel this week to be present for the bar mitzvah of one of their grandchildren who is the second son of the eldest of their children, Yaakov Pinchas, who made aliyah several years ago, and will be marrying off his own eldest son four days after the bar mitzvah. Their daughter, Leah, who is the youngest of their children, was married straight after Purim last year, and made aliyah with her husband almost immediately afterward. She was due to give birth last week but was slightly over her date.
With so much for which to be thankful, Mosheh Wolfish wants to contribute to the loving kindness that over the past three months has become an Israeli trait.
He is renting a car and would be prepared to visit the sick and injured in hospitals around the country and the homes of people mourning soldier sons and daughters. As he is not sure where to start, but feels that this is a mitzvah (a gracious deed) that he must perform, he would be grateful for guidance. He can be reached via whatsapp on 443 422 8127 or by email: mwolfish@verizon.net
Being welcomed
■ JEWISH STUDENTS looking for a Friday dinner or Saturday lunch, know that if they hang around the Western Wall just before Sabbath services, they will probably bump into Jeff Seidel who runs the Jewish Students’ Information Center, the varied services of which include Sabbath meals. Seidel has a whole bunch of hosts lined up to host a handful or more of additional guests at their Sabbath tables.
Students can usually reach Seidel in advance at his Israel office: 02-628-2634; 052-286-7795 (cell); or WhatsApp: +972-52-286-779
During this current Sabbath, he will not be available in his usual haunts as Jeff Seidel’s Jewish Students Information Center has received special permission to host a Shabbat on an Army base near the Gaza border. He is taking his staff, and extra shabbat food, because he will be hosting a melaveh malka on Saturday night for a few hundred soldiers.
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