Grapevine October 26, 2025: Battling for and against Bibi

The birthday gift Netanyahu received from Likud ministers was a letter initiated by Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, echoing President Donald Trump’s suggestion to President Isaac Herzog that he pardon the prime minister and let him get on with his job.

But Herzog, with all the best intentions in the world, cannot pardon Netanyahu unless the latter asks to be pardoned, and that’s something that Bibi will not do because to ask for a pardon is tantamount to an admission of guilt. So the letter that was signed by Likud ministers was carefully worded and requested that Herzog use his authority to stop the legal proceedings against the prime minister.

But well before that, Eran Etzion, a former deputy head of the National Security Council, circulated a petition on another pardon issue addressed to Herzog, which members of the public were asked to sign. The petition urges the president not to yield to the pressures of the extreme Right, which is seeking pardons for Jewish terrorists.

Terrorism is terrorism is terrorism regardless of the nationality, ethnicity, or faith of the perpetrators. There have been numerous media reports of Jewish terrorists physically attacking Palestinians, burning their vehicles, and uprooting their olive trees.

Such people pose a threat not only to the Palestinian population but also to the Jewish population, as their violence against the innocent, illegal in its own right, invites retaliation. Such retaliation is not always against the actual attackers but against the nation from whose womb they emerged. In other words, terrorism breeds terrorism.

■ POLAND AND Israel have had their differences over a number of issues but have also been confronted by similar problems, which will be discussed at the Institute for National Security Studies at 2 p.m. on Thursday, October 30. The discussion is titled “Responding to Geo-Political Shifts and Emerging Threats: The experiences of Poland and Israel.”

Opening remarks will be made by Polish Ambassador Maciej Hunia, a former head of Poland’s military intelligence and foreign intelligence, and Maj.-Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, executive director of the INSS, after which there will be two panel discussions – one dealing with emerging threats and the other with navigating a changing world. Both panels will include Israeli and Polish participants.

■ “THE CONTAINER Revolution,” a new exhibition at The National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Haifa, opened last week with the support of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. It joins the permanent exhibition of “The Story of Israeli Shipping” and includes a model of a new, ultra-modern container ship donated by ZIM and named for shipping tycoon and mega-philanthropist Sammy Ofer, who, as a young child, came with his family from Romania to Haifa, where he grew up and contributed to various projects.

Ofer, who died in 2011 at the age of 89, served in the British Navy during the Second World War and joined the nascent Israeli Navy during the War of Independence. Sammy and his brother, Yuli, were eager to get into the shipping business and acquired their first small ship in the 1950s. The Ofer brothers were successful and merged their liner operations with ZIM.

Sammy later relocated to Europe, while Yuli remained in Israel. Sammy started another global shipping company and kept expanding his group and diversifying into different categories of shipping, including cruise lines. He later added banking and real estate to his many business investments, but he never forgot his loyalty to Israel, where he invested heavily and donated generously to numerous projects.

Among these is the Sammy Ofer wing of the NMM. The actual ship of the model donated by ZIM is fueled by liquefied natural gas. Eli Glickman, president and CEO of ZIM, cut the ribbon that signified the opening of the exhibition and said that ZIM was pleased to donate the model of the Sammy Ofer ship to the Maritime Museum and was also happy to help update the museum’s permanent collection.

Adi Shelah, curator of the NMM, noted that the container transportation revolution changed the world’s economy, while Yotam Yakir, CEO of Haifa Museums, emphasized the importance of the relationship between ZIM and the NMM.

■ ALTHOUGH SEVERAL countries were ruled by queens as far back as the Middle Ages and beyond, it took centuries before a woman became the first president or prime minister of a country. The first, in 1960, was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. The second, in 1969, was our own Golda Meir.

Now, Japan, which is amongst the oldest of the world’s civilized countries, finally has a woman prime minister in the person of Sanae Takaichi, who happens to be pro-Israel and is very interested in exploring Israeli technology. More women have served as presidents of countries than as prime ministers. While in many countries the president is the head in the full sense of the word, in other countries, the president is little more than a ceremonial figure.

■ THE EUROPEAN Jewish Association (EJA) has announced the appointment of David Lega, a former member of the European Parliament, as its new secretary-general.

Lega represented Sweden in the European Parliament from 2019 to 2024, one of the few Jewish parliamentarians in the house. He sat on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on Human Rights and was a board member of the European Parliament Working Group on Antisemitism. He also founded the Abraham Accords Network in the European Parliament, creating a cross-party platform for dialogue, cooperation, and peace between Europe and the Middle East.

Throughout his mandate, he was known for his strong and unstinting advocacy for Israel, his defense of human rights, and his commitment to the fight against antisemitism across Europe and his native Sweden.

Over the past year, Lega has served as a senior adviser on advocacy to the EJA, bringing his wealth of political, diplomatic, and leadership experience to the role. His appointment significantly strengthens and underpins the organization’s mission to represent and defend Jewish life, values, and interests across Europe.

“David Lega has already proven his deep commitment to the Jewish people and to our shared values,” said EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin.

“His leadership, integrity, and international experience make him the right person to help steer our organization into the future. In this role, David will be responsible for managing EJA and EIPA [Europe Israel Press Association] operations and implementing the organization’s strategy, led by Tal Rabina, together with myself and our vice chairman, Alex Benjamin. Under Lega’s leadership, the EJA will continue to strengthen its advocacy in European and national institutions, promote education and remembrance, and stand firmly against antisemitism in all its forms.

■  EVERY YEAR, members of the Ambassadors’ Club of Israel get together for an award ceremony that honors the Ambassador of the Year, the Honorary Consul of the Year, the International Jewish Businessman of the Year, and the International Businessman of the Year, who does not necessarily have to be Jewish.

This year’s recipients, respectively, will be Ly Duc Trung, the ambassador of Vietnam; Nir Gess, the honorary consul of Malawi; Alen Mamrout, the founder and CEO of the American Exchange Group; and Adi Azoulay, chairman of PassportNews.

In addition, the gathering at the TEO Center (a Hebrew acronym for art, culture, and content) in Herzliya this coming Tuesday will honor Dani Miran, the man with the famous white beard, on behalf of the families and hostages who participated in the global diplomacy campaign to garner support for the release and repatriation of all the hostages.

Miran’s son, Omri, was among the last of the live hostages returned from Gaza. Miran, 80, stopped shaving when his son was abducted, and his white beard became a hostage families’ symbol no less than the yellow ribbon pin.

Following the release of their loved ones, hostage families were united in praising Miran for being the first to show up at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv each day and the last to leave. He also cooked for the families, participated in rallies, and gave countless interviews to ensure that the hostage issue remained in the consciousness of the public.

■ IT’S SOMEWHAT like closing the door after the horse has bolted. Much is now being made of the female surveillance unit in the IDF, whose warnings about suspicious Hamas activity went unheeded. Suddenly, all those young women – whether alive or dead – are now being hailed as heroines.

Had that quality been recognized before October 7, 2023, a lot of needless deaths could have been avoided. But they’re not the only heroines in the country. There are hundreds of women battling cancer, not just for their own sakes, but because they don’t want to leave their children without a mother.

Part of the battle for those who are strong enough are runs around various cities. This year, there will be a Hanukkah run in Yokne’am. This will be the first time that it will be held in Yokne’am. The initiator of the Run for Cancer Heroines is Galit Tamir, 53, from Nahalal.

When she was diagnosed with cancer, she said, knowing that people were running on her behalf gave her hope and strength. The run is not just sports, she explained; it’s hope, support, mutual responsibility, and a sense of community.