Arrivederci Roma
After more than 30 years in office as mayor of Ma’aleh Adumim, Benny Kashriel was psyching himself up to move to Rome as Israel’s next ambassador to Italy.
In recent years, Kashriel had been offered several opportunities to get out of local politics and into the Knesset. But he wasn’t interested. Ma’aleh Adumim was the love of his life, and he was happy to stay there and devote all his energies to its development.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former foreign minister Eli Cohen had other plans for him, and persuaded him to enter the diplomatic corps. As a loyal Likudnik, Kashriel could refuse for only so long.
But there’s one major obstacle by way of geography. Ma’aleh Adumim is located in the West Bank. That hasn’t deterred some leftists from living there, but it is a red rag to Italy, which declines to accept a West Bank “settler” as an ambassador in Rome.
Even though he was not due to take up the appointment till well into the summer, at this stage of the game Kashriel cannot go back to being mayor, even though there are plenty of residents of Ma’aleh Adumim who would like to see him in that position.
Hungary was mentioned as a possible alternative, but the next ambassador to Hungary has been approved both by Jerusalem and Budapest.
The ideal situation would be for Israel to establish diplomatic relations with another country, and to accord Kashriel the honor of being Israel’s first ambassador there. But given Israel’s loss of popularity over events in Gaza, it’s unlikely for a new diplomatic relationship to materialize in the foreseeable future.
■ ONE OF the sad things about public figures is that once they resign or retire, they are quickly forgotten.
A case in point is Moshe Mizrahi, who in the course of a long career served as director-general of both the offices of the president and the prime minister, and met scores of local and foreign dignitaries while safeguarding the interests of five prime ministers and two presidents. Mizrahi’s successors began to capture the interest of the media, and Mizrahi was all but forgotten, except by veteran journalists and by leading figures of his generation.
Like many people who have led exciting and meaningful lives, and who have made significant contributions to the histories of their respective nations, Mizrahi decided to write a memoir, which he launched at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, where speakers included retired Supreme Court justice Elyakim Rubinstein, MK Avigdor Liberman, who has known Mizrahi for some 30 years, Matan Vilna’i, a former deputy chief of staff of the IDF, politician, and diplomat, and Efrat Duvdevani, the director-general of the Peres Center.
All four spoke of Mizrahi’s strong sense of patriotism, his dedication, and his important contribution to the nation and its security.
Mizrahi also took a copy of his book to the President’s Residence and personally presented to President Isaac Herzog, who, as the son and nephew of several of the nation’s dignitaries, was familiar with episodes and people mentioned in the book, and enjoyed reading about them as he skimmed through it.
■ THE JAN Karski Educational Foundation has named abducted Holocaust historian Alex Dancyg as the honoree of the Jan Karski Eagle Award for 2024.
In May 2000, only two months before his death, Karski established the award to be presented to people who have distinguished themselves by defending human rights, speaking out against aggression and on behalf of the integrity of ethnic and religious groups and sovereign nations.
A Polish soldier, member of the Resistance during the Second World War, diplomat, academic, and author, Karski was captured by the Gestapo and tortured. He was smuggled out of prison, and, in an attempt to stop the Holocaust, traveled to Britain and the United States, to tell Allied leaders of what the Nazis had done to Poland and how they were exterminating the Jews of Europe.
He migrated to the US after the war, but his heart remained in Poland, where he was always held in high esteem, as he was in Israel, where he was named Righteous Among the Nations and was awarded honorary citizenship.
Warsaw-born Dancyg, who was associated with Yad Vashem, and who led many groups to Poland and facilitated dialogue between Polish and Israeli youth, was abducted by Hamas from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz and taken to Gaza. Both Poland and Israel mounted campaigns for his return.
Dancyg was mentioned by President Andrzej Duda at the traditional Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.
Speaking in the presence of Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and Israeli Ambassador Yacov Livne, Duda noted that the Hanukkah candle-lighting tradition had been inaugurated by president Lech Kaczynski on December 18, 2006, and had taken place annually ever since.
Duda said he is glad that after the Holocaust and other tragedies, citizens of Poland had over the past 30 years experienced the restoration of Jewish traditions and Jewish culture.
Dancyg is not the first member of the Jewish faith to be considered deserving of the Jan Karski award. Others have included anti-Communist dissident Adam Michnik, former director of the Anti-Defamation League Abe Foxman, former president and prime minister Shimon Peres, and author, philosopher and Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel.
■ IT’S AMAZING the extent to which Education Minister Yoav Kisch manages to get himself into hot water. Up until now he has managed to extricate himself, but it will take a lot more effort this time, with his decision to cancel the Israel Prize awards in a year in which Israel most definitely needs a morale booster.
But worse than the cancellation itself is the reason for it – the fact that the Science Prize was to be awarded to Eyal Waldman, one of the most outspoken critics of Netanyahu and the planned judicial reform.
Initially, Kisch wanted to simply cancel the category. But then he declared that because Israel is at war, it would be inappropriate to hold the Israel Prize awards ceremony this year.
Why? So many other events that are traditionally held on Independence Day will be held as usual. Look how many events are being held around the country for International Women’s Day.
Aside from that, if Kisch wanted to cancel or postpone the Israel Prize awards ceremony, why did he not do so months ago? Why wait till the adjudicating committee’s choice of Waldman was made public? Why humiliate a bereaved father whose daughter Danielle and her boyfriend were murdered by Hamas?
■ SOMETHING AS honorable as the Israel Prize should not be marred by scandal. Unfortunately, the current episode is not the first or even the second.
In 1992, Emile Habibi, an Arab politician who was also a gifted writer, was awarded the Israel Prize for Arabic literature.
Arab nationalists pressured him not to accept it, but Habibi, who two years earlier had been awarded the Al Quds Prize for literature, argued that his being awarded the Israel Prize signified official recognition of a national culture, adding that a dialogue over prizes was preferable to arguing over stones and bullets.
There were many Jews who also objected to Habibi receiving the Israel Prize, so much so that right-wing die-hard Yuval Neeman, who had received the Israel Prize for physics in 1969, returned it in 1992 to emphasize his displeasure.
There was also a scandal the following year, in 1993, when Yeshayahu Leibowitz, a controversial, outspoken Orthodox philosopher and scientist, was selected to receive the Israel Prize. Leibowitz had urged Israeli soldiers to refuse orders that would in any way be harmful to peaceful Palestinians. Yitzhak Rabin, who was then prime minister, declared that he would not attend the ceremony if Leibowitz was to receive the prize.
Unwilling to fan the flames of controversy on the most important national day of the year, Leibowitz declined to accept the prize.
The year 2021 was an uncomfortable one for Yoav Gallant, who was then education minister, with two Israel Prize scandals on his hands.
One of the people selected for the prize was Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, a haredi and former anti-Zionist activist who founded ZAKA and changed his attitude to the extent of sending his sons to the army.
But after it was announced that Gallant had informed him of his selection for the Israel Prize, stories began to surface about years of sexual abuse that Meshi-Zahav had inflicted on both religious and secular women.
As police began their investigations, Meshi-Zahav decided to forgo the prize and also resigned from ZAKA. He subsequently tried to commit suicide, but was rescued by one of his sons. However, he remained in a coma for more than a year before he died.
In 2021, Prof. Oded Goldreich of the Weizmann Institute of Science was also selected to be awarded the Israel Prize. His category was mathematics. But Gallant refused to accept the recommendation of the jury, alleging that Goldreich supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Goldreich denied the allegation, stating that all he had done was to add his signature to those on a petition calling on the EU to halt its funding to Ariel University, which is located in the West Bank.
The jury petitioned the High Court of Justice on Goldreich’s behalf, and fellow Prof. David Harel, who was among the Israel Prize winners in 2004, offered to share his prize with Goldreich.
Yifat Shasha-Biton, who had succeeded Gallant as education minister, agreed with his decision on Goldreich. But a month later, Avichai Mandelblit, who was then the
attorney-general, told the High Court that in his opinion the prize should be awarded to Goldreich.
In March 2022, the court ruled that the prize should be awarded to Goldreich, who eventually received the prize in a private ceremony at the Education Ministry, and announced that he would donate the prize money of NIS 75,000 to five human rights organizations, including Breaking the Silence.
Netanyahu would earn brownie points if he made a public statement to the effect that the Israel Prize is awarded on merit in a certain field, and that it should in no way be influenced by political considerations.
He should add that even though he and Waldman are at complete odds politically, he recognizes Waldman’s contribution to technology, and will be pleased to congratulate him on that issue at the Israel Prize ceremony.
■ AS PRIZES go, the media are, of course, focused on the Israel Prize, and in paying so much attention, some media outlets may overlook the fact that an Israeli has been awarded the world’s most prestigious prize for brain research.
Prof. Haim Sompolinsky, a physicist and neuroscience researcher at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Neuroscience at the Hebrew University and professor at the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University, is the first Israeli scientist to receive The Brain Prize, which is awarded by the Lundbeck Foundation to pioneers in the field of neuroscience. He shares the €1.3 million prize with Prof. Larry Abbott of Columbia University and Prof. Terrence Sejnowski of the Salk Institute.
Sompolinsky is widely acclaimed for his groundbreaking work in theoretical and computational neuroscience, particularly in the study of neural circuit dynamics in the brain. His research has significantly contributed to the understanding of how neural circuits process and encode information, map the external world, and participate in learning and memory. Through a combination of theoretical and computational approaches, his work has elucidated key computational principles underlying brain function.
The Brain Prize, initiated in 2011 and awarded annually by the Lundbeck Foundation, is considered the most prestigious award in neuroscience. It recognizes researchers whose work has advanced the field, from fundamental research to clinical applications. Sompolinsky’s research not only deepens the knowledge of the brain’s inner workings but also holds promise for applications in brain-inspired artificial intelligence.
In congratulating Sompolinsky, Hebrew University President Prof. Asher Cohen stated: “Prof. Sompolinsky’s Brain Prize triumph is a testament to his pioneering contributions in computational neuroscience, unraveling neural circuit dynamics and laying the foundation for insights into information processing. His groundbreaking work inspires artificial intelligence, blending experimentation and theory to illuminate fundamental computational principles in brain function.
“This recognition not only honors his exceptional achievements but serves as a beacon guiding us toward further revelations at the intersection of neuroscience and computation.”
Sompolinsky and his two colleagues will receive the 2024 Brain Prize at a ceremony in Copenhagen in June.
Brain Prize recipients were previously presented with their awards by the crown prince of Denmark, who is now king. It is not yet known whether he will
continue to do so in his role as monarch.
Sompolinsky is the son of the late Prof. David Sompolinsky, who was born in Denmark, and whose personal history was one that pointed not only to academic success but also to heroism. Together with friends from the Danish underground, he saved hundreds of Danish Jews from Nazi persecution in October 1943 by smuggling them on fishing boats to a safe haven in Sweden.
■ FORMER EDUCATION minister Shai Piron, who is religious and studied in several yeshivot before, during, and after his service in the IDF, has lost friends, colleagues, and students in the war against Hamas. He has called on haredim to enlist “because we need you.”
Haredim have been extremely active in numerous civilian operations on behalf of soldiers and evacuees. If they could take time out from Torah studies, simply to do good, why not to defend?
Then again, some haredi men who have enlisted, because they understood the meaning of mutual responsibility, have been disappointed by not being called to fight after a year’s intensive training. One of them, in conversation on KAN Reshet Bet with Liat Regev, told her that he had not been called up, and did not know why, and he knew of other haredi young men who had voluntarily enlisted, spent a year in training, and were still sitting at home, waiting for a call-up.
What is the point of this if the defense establishment doesn’t want to have haredim on the battlefield? If it does want them, why not call them up when they’re willing to fight and put their lives on the line?
Haredim who sign up display special courage, because there is so much pressure on them from their families and their communities not to do so.
■ ON ANOTHER, more personal issue, Piron is as pleased as punch. His daughter Or Piron Zomer campaigned to head the Oranit Council – and triumphed. She is one of the very few female council heads in Israel.
■ MOST OF the many International Women’s Day events are simply a means of acknowledging the success of women achievers in a variety of professions and entrepreneurial activities – both social and business.
Factory 54, which specializes in high-class fashion and carries merchandise with the labels of the world’s best-known designers,
went one better on Tuesday, in that the event that it hosted at its store in the Ramat Aviv Mall was for the benefit of the next generation.
Held in conjunction with, and on behalf of, Babies for Life, an organization that rescues and adopts hungry infants during the first year of their lives, and helps single mothers and families suffering from economic distress, the event featured noted broadcaster Dana Weiss and veteran singer Rita talking about everything and anything. The two celebs represent women’s voices, and among the subjects they discussed was woman’s voice during the present war.
The occasion also gave people who like to mingle with celebs the opportunity to do so. There were quite a few celebs on hand, in addition to the two who were conducting the conversation.
■ ISRAEL’S IMMEDIATE past attorney-general, Mandelblit, is currently in New York with Amit Becher, the president of the Israel Bar Association, to join UJA lawyers in a panel discussion in which they will exchange views on implications of the genocide accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the future of judicial reform in Israel. The big question is whether the outcome in either case will affect Israel’s diplomatic status.
■ BEARING IN mind the security situation, some embassies have canceled their traditional Independence Day receptions, while others have thought up different ways in which to celebrate.
The Hungarian Embassy, for instance, will celebrate the anniversary of the 1848-49 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence with an online screening of Gabor Herendi’s blockbuster movie Kincsem (My Precious), which was the name of the famous Hungarian thoroughbred racehorse with the longest undefeated record in history, winning all of her 54 races. The movie is a period drama love story set in 19th-century Hungary.
The link to the film and the required password can be acquired from the Hungarian Embassy at the email address rsvp.tlv@mfa.gov.hu/. Registration by March 13 is essential. The link and password will be sent to the email address that would-be viewers have indicated, just before the start of the screening, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday, March
14. When registering please
state how many viewers there will be.
Following the screening the movie will be available for an additional 24 hours to people who had other commitments on the above mentioned date to see it.
■ IT WAS published recently in this column that the Estonian Embassy wanted to celebrate its Independence Day with both fun and good deeds. Estonian Ambassador Veikko Kala may have started a trend among some of his colleagues. The idea was that all the guests would congregate at the Cooking Studio in Tel Aviv, and under the supervision of professional chefs would prepare kosher meals for evacuees, thereby adding to Israel’s national resilience.
Many of the invitees loved the idea, and some 120 showed up – approximately half of them diplomats and half Israelis, as well as friends who were neither diplomats nor Israelis. Altogether, there were more than the embassy expected.
Each participant received the gift of an Estonian apron with the embassy logo and the slogan “Estonia cooks with you.”
During approximately one and a half hours, they prepared salmon, beef stew, roast chicken, beef patties, and tofu, served with rice, potatoes, and green beans. Anyone hoping for a taste of Estonian cuisine was disappointed, but it was such a fun evening that no one minded the Israeli fare that was served afterward with wine.
Guests who had minimal kitchen experience quickly learned to chop, slice, cook, and pack.
Generally, when one talks of stirring the pot, it means causing tension, but in this case Gil Haskel, chief of State Protocol, was literally stirring the pot as he shared a work counter with Croatian Ambassador Vesela Korac and the deputy heads of mission of Portugal and Italy.
Some 300 meals were prepared, and because the date coincided with the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, recipients included Israeli evacuees and Ukrainian refugees who are being sheltered in Israel for the duration of the war in their homeland.
An extra bonus for the guests was that many were working side by side with people they had not previously known, and were thus able to make new friends with ease.
After all their work, they were rewarded with a mouthwatering supper washed down with excellent wine.