By GREER FAY CASHMAN
IN KEEPING with numerous 60th anniversary celebrations of the state, the Ayelet and Dvorah Masovetsky Jerusalem branch of Amit decided to honor four of its veteran members who came from America to Israel between 1947 and 1949.
Polish-born Chaya Solomon went to America with her family in 1939 and came as a young bride to Eretz Israel in 1947. She and her husband David enrolled at the Hebrew University and also worked for the Hagana. Later, she worked as a kindergarten teacher for 40 years.
Hannah Cherlow also came as a young bride in 1949. She and her husband Robbie lived in Ya'arot Hacarmel, Jerusalem, Ramat Gan, Herzliya Pituah and are now back in Jerusalem. A woman of many talents, she spent most of her life as a teacher.
Ada Hausman, an accomplished singer and a music and English teacher, came to Jerusalem for a summer, and when it was time to go home, she had fallen so much in love with the city that she decided not to return to New York. When she went to buy a pair of winter shoes, the man who sold them to her was amazed that she had such small feet. That was the beginning of a romance that led to her marriage in 1950 to Benno Hausman who died 17 years ago. They were married in New York, and returned with a lift full of electrical appliances.
Sara Roth, who came from the States as a new bride with her husband Arty, who died not long after their 50th wedding anniversary, had her first culture shock when the ship docked and the Roths were asked to pay exorbitant taxes for the few meager possessions that they had brought with them. Unlike other new immigrants who lived in tiny little apartments that they had to share with one or two other families, the Roths were fortunate to be able to move into a large house in which she still lives in the German Colony.
The reminiscences of Hausman, Roth and Solomon were shared at the Amit spring luncheon at the Prima Kings Hotel, where Hausman led community singing of songs that are part of Israel's folk nostalgia.
THE QUEEN'S birthday brings with it many honors for individuals of note. One person who received an MBE from Her Majesty in the New Year's Honors is still glowing half a year later. Yinnon Ezra, director of recreation and heritage with the Hampshire County Council, has received several awards during his career, but nothing quite equals an award from the monarch. A fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Institute of Leisure Managers, he has many relatives and friends in Israel whom he knew in his boyhood, and they too are basking in the honor bestowed on him by Her Majesty.
OPENINGS OF new restaurants usually encompass trays of finger food that quickly run out, and glasses of wine and soft drinks, but no hard liquor. This was not the case when veteran restaurateurs Aviva and Yossi Neeman together with their partner and general manager Itzik Danieli opened their new glatt kosher restaurant on Rehov Shlomzion Hamalka. They decided to open such an establishment in what is rapidly becoming the Soho of Jerusalem to address an increasing need to provide for clientele whose observance of the dietary laws is very strict.
The restaurant is called after the Neeman's granddaughter Noya, whose parents are Rachela and Ofer Neeman. The kashrut standards were set by Rabbi Daniel Biton, who gave a lesson in religious texts to all the well-wishers before putting up the mezuza. Chef Genadi Nazia, who has worked in some of the capital's finest restaurants, was very pleased to see how eagerly the food was wolfed down. Waiters and waitresses at the horseshoe-shaped bar were generous in serving requests for every kind of drink on the premises.
Among the guests were lawyer Ovadia Gabbay, Aron Cohen, a branch manager for Bank Discount and his wife Lily who is a retired bank manager; Mimi and Dotan Sheikh, Miriam Ben-Hamo, Ravit and Meir Doga, Kuti Fondaminski, Fanny and Buki Neeman, Shimon Hai, Chaim and Becky Ohev Zion, Rikki and Rafi Basscon, Kobi and Yehuda Neeman and Meir Rosenthal who is an aide to Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger.
AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR James Larsen was in Jerusalem on Sunday to attend the opening at the Cinematheque of the Fifth Australian Film Festival. Prior to the screening of Unfinished Sky, which was very well received by the audience, Larsen said that films provided a means of looking into other people's culture and hearts. He added that the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv would continue to support cultural exchanges between Australia and Israel.
From Jerusalem, the Australian Film Festival is proceeding to cinematheques in Sderot, Haifa, Rosh Pina and Tel Aviv. Larsen intends to be present at the opening of the film festival in Sderot on June 22. Meanwhile on Wednesday of this week, he was at Hayarkon Park to attend a practice session in which the AFL Peace Team, initiated by the Peres Center for Peace and Al-Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue, kicked the ball around in advance of their upcoming trip to Australia to compete in the AFL International Cup. The team was assembled by the Peres Center and Al-Quds Association, who are seasoned in the art of using sport to bridge gaps and encourage interaction between Israelis and Palestinians. The players are scheduled to travel to Melbourne in August.
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