While the heads of the parties involved in the change government were struggling at Kfar Maccabiah on Wednesday night to reach agreement before the midnight deadline for forming a government, President Reuven Rivlin was at Bloomfield Stadium doing what he loves best – watching a soccer match. It was there that he received the call from Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, informing him of his success. Earlier, Rivlin had tweeted, “Delighted to be watching the Israel Cup Final this evening with #UAE Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja. Rivlin subsequently awarded the cup to Maccabi Tel Aviv, which triumphed over Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Based on what she has read in Western media, Lanska was under the impression that women in the Middle East were denied rights and opportunities. She found it difficult to believe that this was entirely true in the 21st century, and decided to investigate. The documentary, which is made up of conversations, deals with both aspects of change in the region and attempts to dispel stereotyped images and myths and replace them with facts and reality.
Conversations are held with people from different walks of life, different nationalities and different religions. Among them are the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates and Chief Rabbi of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities Dr. Elie Abadie; Dr. Eng. Suaad Alshamsi, senior manager and technical advisor for one of the largest aviation projects in UAE; Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein; Dr. Jennifer Camulli; Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem for Foreign Relations Economic Development and Tourism Fleur Hassan-Nahoum; Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem; H.E. Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, founder of the Strategists Center, Al Mansoori Consultancy and Crossroads of Civilizations Museums; Israel’s first Head of Mission, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Ambassador Eitan Na’eh; Emirati businesswoman Sara Al Nuaimi; Humanitarian Rania Abu Shabaan; and Israeli diplomat and politician Ruth Wasserman Lande.
“Women are natural bridge-builders and peace-makers. The Abraham Accords are the most significant peace-building initiative that has happened for decades in our region, and it’s through the leadership of women as mothers and professionals and our ability to create the deep bonds of sisterhood that will ensure that this peace is a warm and sustainable one,” declares Hassan-Nahoum. Others speak of the horizons opened by the Abraham Accords.
The 25-minute production was shot in Israel and the United Arab Emirates in April, and will be submitted to festivals worldwide late this year. The film’s co-producers are Yves Friedman and Oren Rosenfeld.
■ SOME FUTURE historian, looking back on Israel’s former presidents, will be forgiven for thinking that there was nepotism in the presidency. Chaim Weizmann was the first president of Israel, and his nephew Ezer Weizmann was the seventh. Yosef Yoel Rivlin, the father of the outgoing incumbent Reuven Rivlin, was nominated in 1957, but withdrew rather than stand against a sitting president, who at that time was Yitzhak Ben Zvi; and, as has been stated many times, Israel’s 11th president is the son of Israel’s sixth president.
Chaim Herzog was the last president to serve more than one term. At that time, the law allowed for two five-year terms, but was changed to one seven-year term, after Ezer Weizman was forced to step down in the second year of his second term due to fiscal improprieties. It remains to be seen whether any of the three sons of incoming president Isaac Herzog will follow in the footsteps of their father and grandfather.
Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin told Herzog when announcing the result of the vote, “You walked in the path of your father, but you were elected on your own merits.”
The new president’s mother, Aura Herzog, also has many achievements to her credit. She was the founder of the Council for a Beautiful Israel, the initiator of the annual Bible Quiz held on Israel’s Independence Day, and a keen supporter of Schneider’s Children’s Hospital.
Michal Herzog, like her husband, is a qualified lawyer, specializing in criminal law. But she too comes from family to whom community service is very important. For many years, she worked for the Rich Foundation before switching to the Wohl Foundation, where she serves as Israel director, in which capacity she is also a member of the Jewish Funders’ Network. Presumably, she will have to give up these and other roles when she walks in the footsteps of her mother-in-law and becomes Israel’s first lady. Isaac Herzog credits her with having the gift for separating their private and public lives.
■ QUICK AMONG the photographers taking photos at the Knesset following the announcement of Herzog’s victory was Yosef Avi Yair Engel, popularly known as Joocha, who instantly posted the photos of the Herzog family on Facebook. Joocha was the in-house photographer during the tenure of Shimon Peres, and frequently photographs at Peres Center events. It will not be surprising to see him return to the President’s Residence.
■ IT SEEMED as if the electronic media was making a last-minute effort on Herzog’s behalf by having in-depth interviews with Ayelet Frisch, who was the spokeswoman and strategist for Shimon Peres, and Efrat Duvdevani, who was his bureau chief and is currently the director of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. Praising both presidential candidates, but favoring Herzog, they spoke of the important work that the president does, citing how Peres persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin that Iran was exacerbating the situation in Syria, and how he and Pope Francis persuaded Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to join them at the Vatican in a prayer for peace.
The ecumenical meeting, with its strong message, was covered by numerous international media outlets. This was just one instance of what a president of Israel can do. Neither Frisch nor Duvdevani mentioned that Peres also made a point of attending the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was feted by world leaders, and where he was able to meet with them privately in addition to dialoguing on stage. Duvdevani did mention, however, that even though there was very little on which Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw eye to eye, their common concern was Israel’s security, a subject they discussed endlessly in their weekly meetings.
■ AS TELEVISION cameras on Wednesday focused on Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and Labor leader Merav Michaeli in animated conversation in the Knesset with both smiling a lot, the two suddenly put on their white Knesset masks. “It’s not because of corona,” remarked KAN 11’s political reporter Michael Shemesh. “It’s to prevent us from reading their lips.”
■ FREQUENT FLYERS, who have been waiting in suspended animation for more than a year in order to board an outward-bound flight, will be delighted to know that Ben-Gurion Airport is gradually returning to life, and in the very near future will function more or less as it did before so many planes were grounded by COVID. On their way to their departure lounge, most passengers will notice that the large, life-size photographs on the walls have been changed and have been replaced by an interesting variety of photographs depicting the vibrancy and diversity of the Israeli mosaic. The photographs by Eldad Rafaeli, Pini Siluk, Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, Yoav Alon, Amit Sha’al, Oded Karni and Alex Kolomoisky are part of an exhibition that will be officially inaugurated by President Rivlin on Sunday, June 6. The exhibition, in the spirit of Rivlin’s Israel Hope project, is a collaborative initiative between the President’s Office and Vibe Israel under the title of Hamsa Aleinu.
Vibe Israel is a not-for-profit company founded by Joanna Landau that uses social media and country branding strategies to reach the hearts and minds of ever-widening audiences to get them to think positively about Israel.
Hamsa Aleinu tells the vibrant story of the many facets of life in Israel with its diverse society which is divided into four tribes – secular, national religious, ultra-Orthodox and Arab – in addition to Jewish communities abroad that individually and collectively contribute to Israel’s success story. The exhibition features some familiar faces as well as projects and activities geared to breaking down the barriers of prejudice.
The exhibition has been called Hamsa Aleinu in recognition of the fact that the hamsa, a palm-shaped amulet, including the outline of fingers held close together, is a Middle Eastern symbol common to Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druze, and as such is one of the symbols of Israel. Some people wear it as a pendant, or hang it in a prominent place in their home, or dangle it from the rear-view mirror of their car. Most people regard it as a good luck charm, and when wanting to avert bad luck, chant “Hamsa, Hamsa, Hamsa.”