The wisdom of age
The fact that some senior citizens slow down in their movements as they grow older does not mean their brains are not as sharp as they used to be. It’s true some have found difficulty in mastering new technologies, but since the outbreak of COVID- 19, the need to communicate with family via social media platforms has prompted many seniors to make an extra effort and to learn to deal with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Zoom and other communication platforms. They’re also discovered that it’s a lot of fun sharing what they’ve found on the Internet.
One person who loves sharing – especially jokes, inspiring concerts and breathtaking dance performances, is retired quasi- diplomat Adina Gottesman of Herzliya Pituah, whose friends simply love her choices.
Recently Gottesman found a gem on the Internet designed to preserve the dignity of those of her friends who have not become technology savvy but who are far from their dotage.
This is the item as it appeared, verbatim: “An old lady went to a bank intending to withdraw money… The old lady handed her bank card to a bank teller and said, ‘ I would like to withdraw $ 500.’ The female teller told her, ‘ For withdrawals less than $ 5,000, please use the ATM.’ The old lady then asked, ‘ Why?’
The teller irritably told her, ‘ These are rules. Please leave if there is no other matter. There is a queue behind you.’ She then returned the card to the old lady. The old lady remained silent. But she returned the card to the teller and said, ‘ Please help me withdraw all the money I have.’
The teller was astonished when she checked the account balance. She nodded her head, leaned down and said to the old lady, ‘ My apologies Granny, you have $ 3.5 million in your account and our bank does not have so much cash currently. Could you make an appointment and come again tomorrow?’
The old lady then asked, ‘ How much am I able to withdraw now?’ The teller told her, ‘ Any amount up to $ 300,000.’
The old lady then told the teller that she wanted to withdraw $ 300,000 from her account. The teller did so quickly and handed it to the old lady respectfully.
The old lady kept $ 500 in her bag and asked the teller to deposit the balance of $ 299,500 back into her account.”
The moral of the story is that one should never judge a book by its cover.
Although the plot of the above tale is completely different from that of the movie Pretty Woman, which starred Julia Roberts as a prostitute who was given carte blanche to shop in some of the fanciest stores in Los Angeles, the underlying message is the same. Some of the snooty sales staff in various stores refused to serve the customer who looked as if she could not afford any of their merchandise.
Later, loaded down with bags and boxes bearing the signature logos of top international designers, the rebuffed customer returned to some of the places that had declined to serve her, to show them what they’d missed by way of sales.
THE ANNUAL flagship event of the Israel, Britain and the Commonwealth Association is the Balfour Dinner marking the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration that helped to spur the creation of the sovereign State of Israel. Cognizant that coronavirus restrictions in relation to social gatherings might prevent the holding of this year’s dinner, the organization nonetheless continued to make plans in the hope that by November the extremely limited numbers would no longer be in force, and that an event of this kind could be attended by up to 250 people.
Newly installed IBCA chair Brenda Katten informed members that even though it was not certain that the Balfour Dinner would be held on or near the actual anniversary, it would not be canceled, and will be held as soon as possible. Former Labour MP Sir John Mann has agreed to be the British speaker. Katten noted that Mann had spoken out vociferously against antisemitism within his party when antisemitic sentiment was spearheaded by its then- leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Katten is also hoping to reinstate two other annual events at the residences of the British and Australian ambassadors. Both are traditionally held in the summer months and this year were postponed indefinitely until such time that social gatherings that are not limited to 20 people or less become passé.
One already positive development as far as Katten is concerned is that her predecessor in office, Prof. Alex Deutsch, has agreed to continue to be active on the IBCA committee. Katten is hopeful that the IBCA’s annual December brunch can be held as usual this year.
Insofar as the Balfour Dinner is concerned, one of the obstacles is airline travel. The UK has not listed Israel as one of the countries from which it will accept visitors, and the UK is not on the list of countries from which Israel is prepared to accept visitors. That does not preclude all travel between the two countries, but bureaucratic conditions involved are somewhat of a deterrent.
ON THE subject of travel and the possibility of open skies in the near future, some of the people who booked with Virgin Atlantic are unlikely to get on board or to have their money refunded, even though the company has announced that flights to Tel Aviv will resume on September 6. Sir Richard Branson, the eccentric daredevil British entrepreneur who founded Virgin and who launched the London- Tel Aviv route last year in a glitzy much- publicized series of events, had hoped that the company could remain airborne after COVID- 19, but his efforts to rescue it financially came to naught, and he has filed for bankruptcy. Nonetheless, in a show of optimism, Virgin Atlantic has not closed down its operations and is still flying on some of its routes.
ALTHOUGH AIRLINES are in trouble all over the world, tourism ministries and tourist organizations are working hard to foster greater travel awareness and desire, by featuring videos of cultural activities, nature spots and the most popular tourist sites in their respective countries.. Over the weekend, the Embassy of Colombia screened a special broad- ranging video to promote tourism, and in addition to the films streamed by the Italian Embassy, Italy’s national agency for tourism ENIT has commissioned Ran Rahav, one of Israel’s most widely known public relations executives, to run its We Miss You campaign in Israel, aimed at letting Israeli tourists know how welcome they will be in Italy once tourism gets back into vogue.
IT’S DOUBTFUL that many millennials are familiar with Mike Brant, a wonderful singer, who was among the first Israelis to acquire international stardom. Brant was born in Cyprus to Polish Holocaust survivors who had been denied entry to Israel by British Mandate authorities. They later settled in Haifa’s Kiryat Eliezer. Brant’s talent was obvious even as a teenager, but his ambitions went way beyond his brother’s band, and he went to France to try his luck. He became an extremely popular singer there.
Yet for all his success, Brant was a troubled young man, who in April 1975 took his own life by jumping out of a window in Paris. His body was brought back to Haifa for burial. His signature song “Laisse- moi t’aimer” (“Let Me Love You”) is often played on nostalgic music programs on radio.
Although Haifa has always acknowledged him as one of its s own, no monument was s ever erected in his memory until this week, when Mayor and members of Brant’s family participated in a street- naming ceremony not far from the house Brant called home. Now, finally, after 45 years, there is a street that bears his name.
KEREN HAYESOD, the United Israel Appeal, is losing yet another of its veteran key personnel. Several months ago, Greg Maisel, the long- time CEO of Keren Hayesod Hayesod, announced his resignation. It took a while to find a suitable replacement, and the person chosen was social activist Polly Bronstein, whose appointment took many people by surprise because Bronstein is an outspoken critic of the present government.
If there was any euphoria it was short lived. Bronstein was fired on the day she was supposed to start work, and it was announced that Keren Hayesod world chairman Sam Grundwerg, would also double as CEO.
Last week Grundwerg sent out a letter to the Keren Hayesod leadership informing them that Mike Bailey, the organization’s director of development is retiring after 22 years of working in different capacities for Keren Hayesod, starting out as an emissary and working his way up through the ranks. Most recently, he was responsible for the development of digital marketing tools.
As is often the case when high- powered executives leave a company, particularly after a long run, the question remains: did he jump or was he pushed?