President Reuven Rivlin visits army bases all year round. He has a very soft spot in his heart for the young men and women who are giving two and more years of their lives in service to the security of the nation, and comes into greater contact with them during the period from Holocaust Remembrance Day to the end of the Independence Day celebrations.
Last year, for the first time in living memory, there was no Independence Day parade of 120 outstanding soldiers at the President’s Residence, although they were recognized afterward by the defense establishment.
This year, in a hybrid Independence Day program, there was a live parade, and each soldier was honored, as in past years. And, as happened in the past, the soldiers rehearsed at the President’s Residence several hours ahead of Remembrance Day, and the president made a point of going out to thank them for their service and to be photographed with them. As usual, they were put through their paces by Lt.-Col. Oded Nahari, IDF chief of protocol and ceremonies, with one essential difference. The soldiers were all masked.
Rivlin was again in the presence of soldiers at the Western Wall on Tuesday night, where he told them and members of bereaved families that he had worked in Israel and around the world to defend Israeli soldiers and Israel’s inalienable right to defense and security. “I hope I did right, but I surely did not do enough,” said Rivlin, who pledged that even after he leaves office he would continue to work on behalf of Israel’s soldiers.
Although he did not say so, it was easy to guess that he was implying that he would continue to speak out against the International Criminal Court, which intends to investigate war crimes charges against Israel, while ignoring mass tortures and killings elsewhere in the world.
■ LAST WEEK, disturbed by violence and murder in Arab towns and villages. Rivlin also visited Rahat, where three teenagers – two brothers and a cousin from the Abu Shivan family – had been shot and were in moderate to critical condition.
“The dreadful sights of young people shot on the streets of Rahat, which we see often, too often, in the towns of the Arab population, keep me awake at night,” said Rivlin. The situation in Tira is much worse, and residents interviewed on radio and television say that they are afraid to walk in the street.
Over the past year or two, much greater attention is being paid to Arab communities, and greater efforts are being made to integrate them into mainstream Israel. Arab religious and lay leaders have been complaining for years about crime and violence, and while a serious effort was made to recruit more Arabs to the police force, this measure has not really been effective.
Commenting on the sharp decline in how Arab citizens feel about their personal safety, Rivlin said: “We have crossed the red line. This is, undoubtedly, not the future that young men and women from the Arab and Bedouin population deserve. We have no choice. We must find the way to reduce violence that claims such a heavy price.”
Even now, during the Ramadan period, which is essentially one of goodwill, spiritual reflection and self-improvement, the violence continues and people are killed.
Rahat is the largest, most progressive Bedouin city, with a population well in excess of 70,000. Rivlin visited not only to lament over the violence and to offer his good wishes of Ramadan kareem, but also to see the city’s development.
He was greeted by Mayor Faiz Abu Sahiban and Yair Maayan, the head of the Authority for Development and Settlement of the Bedouin in the Negev, who briefed him on what is happening in terms of violence and, on a happier note, about Rahat’s construction boom, and future plans for the city.
Rivlin, who had countless meetings with representatives of Bedouin and Arab community representatives both as president and before that as speaker of the Knesset, said that despite all the progress it has made, “Bedouin society faces serious difficulties in education, employment, access to health services, infrastructure, housing and deadly violence.”
Rivlin credited the corona crisis with “making it clearer to us that our destinies are intertwined.” He truly believes this, and has been talking about it throughout his presidency, not only with regard to the Bedouin and the Arab-Israeli population, but also with regard to the Palestinians, saying again and again: “We are not doomed to live together. We are destined to live together.”
If he can influence more people to adopt this belief, perhaps he may be able to persuade the Israeli authorities to finally recognize unrecognized Bedouin villages and to ensure that they have proper water and sewage facilities, are connected to electricity and have paved roads.
■ AN ANNOUNCEMENT last week by the Religious Zionists of America of plans for a leadership delegation to visit Israel in late May is a sign of a ray of hope for Israel’s hotel industry, which has suffered greatly during the past year, and which has problems in getting staff to return to work, due to bureaucratic strictures that could have a negative economic impact on hotel workers.
Aware of the economic downturn in Israel’s hospitality industry in general, the RZA plans to be the first organized Jewish communal leadership delegation to visit Israel since the pandemic brought air travel and tourism to a halt.
“As more Americans are getting vaccinated and contemplating travel, we wanted to send a strong message to the Jewish community that instead of visiting Dubai, the Caribbean or some other exotic place, your priority should be to get back to Israel,” said RZA executive vice president Rabbi Ari Rockoff. “The Start-Up Nation has now also become the Vaccination Nation! As Israel relaxes its travel restrictions, we wanted to be the first organized trip back home.”
Aware that while the crisis has abated to a large extent, it has not yet become history, the RZA is limiting the delegation, which it has called “A Journey Home,” to 50 people. As has been the case with pre-coronavirus delegations and missions from the US and other parts of the Diaspora, participants will be briefed by Israel’s political and military leadership, as well as by some of the noted Israeli physicians who have been and are still fighting the battle against coronavirus. Because of the nature of this delegation, participants will also meet with prominent rabbinical figures.
The RZA is the American branch of the World Mizrachi movement, which is headquartered in Jerusalem.
■ IF HERZLIYA can’t come to Jerusalem, then Jerusalem must come to Herzliya. One of Jerusalem’s best-known chefs, Michelin star holder Assaf Granit, together with members of his staff from the famed Machneyuda restaurant, will be the guest chef at the Dan Accadia Hotel, Herzliya, for the weekend of April 29-May 1, in a continuation of a cuisine and culture project that proved to be so popular and successful last summer, that the Dan Hotel Corporation decided to do it again with a different celebrity chef and different musical performers.
Working together with the hotel’s chef Golan Israeli, Granit promises to cook up some culinary surprises. Hadag Nahash, one of Israel’s leading hip-hop bands, will provide the musical entertainment. Health Ministry and Green Pass regulations will be observed.
■ ON SUNDAY, April 18, the Netanya branch of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel will feature a Zoom program with Israeli journalist Hen Mazzig, who is also a columnist for the Jewish Journal and a public speaker who has inspired thousands around the world with his story.
He is an energetic activist and an advocate for his people. As the son of Mizrahi Jewish refugees from Iraq and North Africa (Berber Jews from Tunisia), Mazzig has a unique and important voice in discussions about the past, present and future of Jewish communities around the world, sharing his family’s story as part of the 850,000 Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.
Mazzig served in the IDF for almost five years as an openly gay commander. During his service as a lieutenant in the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories unit, he worked as an intermediary between the IDF, the Palestinian Authority, the UN, and many nongovernmental organizations that operate in the West Bank. His unit oversaw the construction of medical facilities, schools, environmental projects, roads, water-related infrastructure, and undertook security coordination with the Palestinian security forces.
He has a proven track record of creating dialogue where it seems impossible, building relationships and friendships, and changing hearts and minds not only by sharing information about Israel and the history of the region, but by being a voice for justice and peace for diverse groups and peoples.
His talk will not be recorded. It is by Zoom only, and preregistration is essential .The cost for members is NIS 60 for an individual and NIS 50 for a household. For nonmembers, the cost is NIS 60. For further information, phone: (09) 833-0950; fax: (09) 862-9183. info@netanyaaaci.org.il