This week, Israeli journalists were caught up in a web of outrage – firstly, the continuing anger that the government has not yet brought home all the hostages, and then the announcement by the International Criminal Court that arrest warrants may be issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Israelis then learned that the government has not honored its promises to compensate reservists and evacuees for loss of income and property damage, and that, in addition to price hikes on consumer goods, Arnona rates are due to rise by 7%.
Daily complaints on this score, coupled with a lack of sensitivity on the part of government ministers and MKs, were immediately followed by the news that Israel’s Communications Ministry is acting like that of Soviet Russia before the fall of the Iron Curtain.
At a time when Israel is increasingly coming under criticism, is in danger of widespread isolation, and is, to a large extent, relying on Qatar’s assistance in freeing the hostages, it closed down Al Jazeera, which is owned by Qatar.
As if that was not another act of folly on Israel’s part, the Communications Ministry subsequently confiscated broadcasting equipment used by AP, the largest news agency in the world, which is headquartered in the United States. Relations between Israel and the US are already problematic due to disagreements on certain issues related to the conduct of the war and humanitarian aid.
Now, thanks to radical elements within the government, Israel is jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
The action taken against AP should come as no surprise. For months, the Foreign Press Association in Israel has been protesting against the restrictions imposed on reporters and photojournalists.
All the efforts by the Government Press Office, the Public Diplomacy Authority, the Foreign Ministry, and any number of NGOs to tell Israel’s story to the world and generate awareness of the pervasive power of terrorist organizations will go down the drain if freedom of the press is curtailed.
The last thing that Israel needs is for the international media to turn en bloc against the Jewish state. But if Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi continues to have free rein, the prognosis for Israel will not be good.
It was only after the action against AP caused both national and international furor, including intervention by the White House, that Karhi gave instructions for the return of the equipment and the resumption of the AP news feed.
President Isaac Herzog and Netanyahu both rely heavily on foreign media outlets to present Israel’s position to the world. Netanyahu holds occasional press conferences, and here and there, he gives interviews to Israeli media. Herzog steers clear of press conferences and rarely agrees to interviews with Israeli media outlets, preferring to issue press releases of his speeches without having to answer awkward questions.
Ironically, Karhi’s cutbacks on freedom of the press come at a time when Israeli journalists are winning awards at home and abroad.
Veteran Yediot Aharonot journalist Shlomo Nakdimon was among this year’s Israel Prize laureates.The Israel Press Institute presented awards for excellence in journalism this week, in addition to the award-winning journalists mentioned in Grapevine last week and earlier this week.
One of the honorees was Ynet and Yediot Aharonot photographer Roy Edan, who was recognized posthumously for his outstanding and courageous journalism. Edan and his wife, Smadar, were murdered by Hamas terrorists at Kfar Aza on October 7.
Other honorees included Haaretz journalist Hagar Shezaf for her coverage of attacks against innocent Palestinians by Israeli hilltop youth and rebel soldiers; Yossi Eli of Channel 13, who covered the unwarranted killing of reservist Yuval Castleman by Israeli security after Castelman, who had just neutralized a terrorist, emerged from his car with his hands up; and Lee Naim of Channel 12 for her coverage of the appalling conditions under which female soldiers who were observers of activities beyond the Gaza border were forced to operate, and how their warnings about Hamas were ignored.
A NIS 50,000 prize was divided among the honorees, with Edan’s brother Amit accepting it on behalf of the Edan children.
The president's visit
■ IN JANUARY last year, President Herzog paid a visit to the Jerusalem apartment of journalist Walter Bingham to wish him well on his 100th birthday. This year – in, fact this week – the president hosted another hale and hearty centenarian: Rabbi Samuel Fox, who will celebrate his 100th birthday on May 28. Born in Locatz, Poland, Fox moved with his parents and two siblings to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when he was five years old.
A student at the Hebrew Theological College (Beis Medrash LaTorah), he was ordained as a rabbi in 1948 and simultaneously obtained a law degree from DePaul University.His first pulpit was in Little Rock, Arkansas, after which he and his wife, Miriam, to whom he has been married for 72 years, moved to Dayton, Ohio, in 1955, where he remained for the next half century, serving as the rabbi of Beth Jacob Synagogue.
Staunchly pro-Israel, Fox established several ORT chapters in Ohio and sat on the boards of various Zionist organizations.
Over the years, he met numerous leading American and Israeli figures, among them Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ariel Sharon, and Rabbis Shlomo Goren and Avraham Shapiro, but the most meaningful, given the occasion, was with Herzog’s grandfather, the late Chief Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog.
Among the leading American figures whom Fox met were Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton, William Fullbright, and Tip O’Neal. Fox also had the rare privilege of giving the invocation at both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Fox and his wife have created a tribe that comprises their five children, 28 grandchildren, and 57 great-grandchildren, with many serving in the IDF.
Though their actual place of residence is in the US, Fox and his wife spent a considerable part of this year in Israel, where 49 of their progeny reside. On the 87th anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah, Fox again read his Bible portion at a synagogue in Efrat and hosted a sumptuous kiddush at which the menu was identical to that at his Bar Mitzvah.
Fox brought members of his family to the President’s Residence, along with a book written by the president’s grandfather, which was now signed by the president who bears the same name as his grandfather.
Honoring the late Professor Reuven Feuerstein
■ A TRIBUTE gathering honoring the late Professor Reuven Feuerstein was held this week on the 10th anniversary of his passing.
Feuerstein was a clinical and cognitive psychologist whose groundbreaking theory on structural cognitive modifiability helped countless children with intellectual and psychological disabilities overcome their difficulties and join mainstream society.
He never gave up on any child. Among the many people who came to pay their respects, President Herzog described Feuerstein as one of the giants of his generation in the fields of psychology and education, recognized worldwide. “He was the kind of person for whom it was said that he was ahead of his time,” said Herzog.
Feuerstein left an indelible imprint on faith in the ability to enable children with intellectual problems to rise to a potential that neither they nor their families thought possible.
The Feuerstein Institute, which he founded, continues to build on his legacy. His son, Rabbi Dr. Refael Feuerstein, serves as president of the institute. He is also a co-chairman of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, which aims to bridge gaps between the Orthodox and secular sectors of Israeli society.
Parades in Jerusalem
■ JERUSALEM WILL be the scene of several parades next week. At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Rabbi Yisroel Goldberg, the director of Chabad of Rehavia and Nahlaot, will lead a Lag B’Omer Parade that will march from the Gerard Behar Center on 11 Bezalel Street to Independence Park, where there will be a carnival with a variety of attractions. The event will be dedicated to the hostages, the reservists, and the IDF soldiers currently serving.
On Thursday afternoon, May 30, the annual Pride and Tolerance March, organized by the Jerusalem Open House of the LGBTQ community, will take place in cooperation with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The slogan of the march is “Born to be Free.” The march, which always starts from the Liberty Bell Garden and ends at Independence Park, will include yellow flags this year.
A dedicated group from the Hostage Family Forum will call for the return of all the hostages, and a group of fans of the Hapoel Jerusalem soccer club will call for the release of their fellow fan, Hersh Golberg-Polin.
The Jerusalem Open House will distribute bracelets and call for the return of hostages, as well as for security, equality for all minority groups in Israel, and greater sensitivity towards the hostages and their families. Jonathan Valfer and Nilli Maderer, chairman and CEO, respectively, of the Jerusalem Open House, say that everyone has a moral obligation to stand with the families of the hostages.
Tom Barkai, who heads the Jerusalem branch of the Hostages Family Forum, said he was touched by the support demonstrated by members of the Jerusalem Open House.greerfc@gmail.com