Last week, Goldberg was again a victim while driving out of Jerusalem on Highway One very early in the morning. A car with an Arab driver and Arab passengers swerved around him and the occupants threw rocks at his car. Fortunately, while the car suffered mild damage, Goldberg was unhurt, and his assailants sped away without attempting to attack him personally. Any of the rocks thrown could have hit Goldberg in the head. Happily, they didn’t, and aside from being slightly shaken by his ordeal, he has lived to tell the tale.
■ FOR ETHIOPIAN Jewry, the ultimate goal in life is to reach Jerusalem. Many of those who set out on the long trek in the years before Israeli emissaries put them on a plane did not make it, but died in the desert. Every year, Israel’s Ethiopian community congregates in Jerusalem for a state ceremony honoring those who died on the way to Jerusalem. Despite political tensions and Palestinian-Israeli hostilities, the memorial ceremony, though low-key, went ahead as planned with the participation of President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Rivlin did not forget to remind the government that Avera Mengistu, a member of the Ethiopian community who it is believed to have wandered across the border into Gaza in September 2014, is still missing and as far as is known, is being held by Hamas.
■ WITH REPORTS of no ceasefire in the immediate future, and horrible scenes on television of the destruction wrought by rockets, and by attacks by Arabs on Jews and Jews on Arabs, coupled with acts of vandalism of property and holy places, it’s no wonder that some people are making gloom-and-doom predictions of a civil war. As panic began to build up by the middle of last week, Jewish groups abroad as well as some in Israel mounted emergency-fund campaigns, while rabbis from Israel and beyond urged the general public to recite Psalms.
It took a few days before the penny dropped and rabbis realized that what they should be asking the public to do was to open their homes to people living in danger zones that have already been struck by rockets. They can all recite Psalms together. To do so may indeed be helpful, but not nearly as helpful in the first instance as offering a haven to someone who has just lost their home, or who cannot remain in it in its present state.
In Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Ote of the Hazvi Yisrael congregation has asked congregants to both pray and open their homes. Presumably other rabbis have done the same, and Jerusalem’s Ginot Ha’Ir Community Council has asked residents of apartment complexes to knock on the doors of all their neighbors in case some are undergoing trauma, or may have specific needs such as the purchase of medication. This follows an earlier “Know your Neighbor” initiative by another Jerusalem enterprise, in which several hundred residents of apartment complexes signed up to start knocking on doors and meeting neighbors in the lobbies of their buildings.
When everyone was poor, people knew each other and enjoyed each other’s company. The more affluent they became, the more isolated they became from their neighbors – often to the extent of not greeting each other on the stairs or in the elevator. Perhaps even more important than knowing one’s neighbors at this time is knowing where to find the nearest bomb shelter. Lists of public bomb shelters in Israel can be found on municipal websites and are available in English. It’s advisable to check them out before you need them, so that you will know where to go should the need arise.
One other thing in relation to the current situation: There have been radio announcements calling for people living in apartment complexes with entry facilitated by an intercom system to leave the doors open in case someone has to run inside to take shelter in a stairwell, or in case people need to run out. Elderly residents with mobility problems or parents with babies in their arms don’t have time to fumble for keys. Admittedly, leaving the doors open allows undesirables to enter the building and also poses a security threat, but it is the lesser of two evils.
■ ALTHOUGH IT appears that most countries are inclined to cast blame on Gaza rather than Israel for the escalation of hostilities that has also affected relations between Jews and Arabs in cities across Israel, Israel’s leaders have been busy explaining Israel’s position to their counterparts abroad, and to the foreign diplomatic corps stationed in Israel. President Rivlin has been telephoning presidents; Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, who expected to be out of politics by now, has spent considerable time talking to foreign ministers throughout Europe, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, who rumor has it never needed much sleep, is working almost around the clock fitting in phone calls between meetings and visits to scenes of violence and rocket attacks. He even found time to visit an injured little girl in hospital, to bring her some cuddly toys.
Curiously the telephone conversation that Netanyahu had with US President Joe Biden was reported in the briefest of terms by Israel’s Government Press Office, whereas The New York Times reported Biden as having told reporters that he had spoken “for a while” with Netanyahu and had asserted his “unwavering support” for “Israel’s right to defend itself.” His hope was “that we will see this coming to a conclusion sooner than later.”
It should be noted that earlier in the week, in a statement released by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki regarding the situation in Jerusalem and Gaza, it was stated that the president has been briefed daily on developments in Jerusalem and Gaza, and he has directed his team to engage intensively with senior Palestinian and Israeli officials as well as leaders throughout the Middle East.
“The President’s support for Israel’s security, for its legitimate right to defend itself and its people is fundamental and will never waver,” the statement continued. “We condemn ongoing rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including against Jerusalem. We also stand against extremism that has inflicted violence on both communities. Jerusalem, a city of such importance to people of faith around the world, must be a place of coexistence. It is up to the officials, residents and leaders to restore the city to a place of calm.” Similar sentiments were expressed by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Charge d’Affaires in Israel Jonathan Shrier.
■ NORWAY’S MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Soreide tweeted last week, “I condemn the launching of hundreds of rockets from Gaza against civilians in Israel. This must stop immediately. The death of civilians, including children in Gaza, is unacceptable. Civilians must be protected.” France has called on all sides to demonstrate self -control and to refrain from provocation of any kind in order to enable a return to calm as quickly as possible. Any act that could lead to an escalation of violence in the area must cease. Foreign ministers of other countries have issued statements in the same vein.
■ HOT ON the heels of the Israel Writers Festival in Jerusalem is the Israel Poets Festival that will be held in Metulla from May 16-18, with a special farewell tribute to Natan Zach, who died in November last year, just a month ahead of his 90th birthday. Among the participating poets in the festival which is under the auspices of Confederation House, are Erez Biton, Meir Wieseltier, Ariel Hirschfeld, Agi Mishol, Maya Weinberg, Alex Ben Ari and many others. People who can’t get to Metulla but are interested in Hebrew poetry can tune into Beit Haconfederatzia on Facebook or YouTube.
■ NEXT YEAR, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem will celebrate its centenary. Getting in a little early with the festivities was the Jerusalem International Convention Center, generally known by its Hebrew title of Binyanei HaUma, which decided to honor Shaare Zedek’s nursing staff on International Nurses Day, which falls on May 12, and commemorates the birth of the world’s most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale, who was known as “the lady with the lamp” in recognition of her round-the-clock devotion in field hospitals to soldiers wounded in battle.
Alex Alter, the acting CEO of JICC, together with marketing manager Rakefet Eliaz presented Shaare Zedek director Prof. Ofer Marin and head nurse Gali Weiss with a copy of the original scroll heralding the construction of Binyanei HaUma, which literally translates as the buildings of the nation. Indeed, the buildings have been used for numerous national and international events, and are now undergoing renovation and expansion. Even copies of the scroll signed in 1950 are valuable historical documents in that the signatories were the president of the state, the prime minister and members of the government, members of the executive of The Jewish Agency, members of Knesset and more. In other words, the signatories in their diversity represented the purpose of the building. It was not only because of its upcoming centenary that Shaare Zedek was chosen for recognition, but because its nursing staff – both male and female nurses – had worked far in excess of the call of duty in caring for COVID patients. The 1,000 nurses who took time off for this special event were treated to a performance by popular singer Yishai Ribo.
■ ISRAEL’S National Library has relationships with libraries and archives all over the world, and conducts a speakers’ series with some of them which can be seen and heard on social media platforms. Coming up on May 20 is Saving Books: Embracing Yiddish and Cultural Identity, featuring Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Yiddish Book Center, in conversation with Dr. Yoel Finkelman, curator of the Haim and Hana Salomon Judaica Collection at the National Library of Israel. The hour-long event begins at 8.30 p.m. Israel time. The two will share insights into the preservation of Yiddish literature and partnership between the libraries. Moderating the session will be Abby Joseph Cohen, advisory director and senior investment strategist at Goldman Sachs, and former board member of both NLI USA and the Yiddish Book Center.
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