It may have been nostalgia for melodies of yesteryear, or it may have been a leadup to the 84th birthday this week of timeless singer, actor, radio and television host, and author Yehoram Gaon, but it seemed that his voice was heard more on radio than that of any other singer – and he’s still going strong in live performances.
A painful birthday event for Edan Alexander, a hostage musician
■ A NOT-so-happy birthday is being marked today in Tel Aviv by the family of Edan Alexander, who is among the remaining hostages in Gaza and one of seven Americans still being held by Hamas. Edan is a talented guitarist. In honor of his 20th birthday, some of the top guitarists in Israel will come together at 12.30 p.m. local time to draw attention to the urgency of securing the immediate release of all hostages.
Anyone who plays a guitar or who likes to listen to guitar music is invited to attend. The event will be held at The Hostages’ Plaza in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 25 Shaul HaMelech Street. Artists from other genres will also participate.
Edan was raised in New Jersey and was defending Israel in his capacity as an IDF soldier when Hamas terrorists kidnapped him on October 7. His family, and those of the other hostages have agonized for almost three months, not knowing if their loved ones are alive or dead, whether they’re gravely sick or wounded, or whether they’ve received any medical attention whatsoever.
In order to keep the spotlight on the hostages still held captive by Hamas in Gaza, Edan’s family is marking his birthday publicly in his absence. His mother, Yael Alexander will deliver a speech on the need to bring him home as soon as possible.
Among the featured performers will be Girafot, Hanan Yovel, and Arkadi Duchin, as well as master mentalist Lior Suchard.
Balfour Day Dinner in Herzliya
■ AFTER HAVING forfeited its annual Balfour Day Dinner, first to COVID and then to the war against Hamas, the executive committee of the Israel Britain and the Commonwealth Association has decided that it will not go for another year without adhering to tradition.
Although Balfour Day is in November and marks the letter sent in 1917 by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour – known ever since as the Balfour Declaration – to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, attesting to British support for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People, February is no less important a month in Jewish history. The United Nations vote on the Partition of Palestine in November 1947; and Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, who lobbied for and influenced the Balfour Declaration, was born and died in November.
However, it was in February 1896, that Theodor Herzl published his book The Jewish State, which provided impetus for the Zionist movement.
Coincidentally, February and November also figure in the history of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Yasser Arafat became the third chairman of the PLO in February 1969 and died on November 11, 2004. November 11 was an auspicious date for the death of a co-founder of the Fatah paramilitary organizatiolegaln, as it was the date on which an armistice was declared in World War I.
Subsequently commemorated as Armistice Day, it is now known as Remembrance Day. In Israel, it is commemorated at ceremonies in Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries in various locations in the country. There is also a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Gaza, in which more than 3,200 British and Commonwealth servicemen are buried. At this stage, it is unknown whether the cemetery in Gaza City might be accessible next November.
Meanwhile, in Israel, the Balfour Day Dinner is scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at the Daniel Hotel, Herzliya. Traditionally, there are two keynote speakers, one from the UK and the other from Israel.
The British speaker is Col. Richard Kemp, CBE, a long-time friend and supporter of Israel; and the Israeli speaker is Dan Gillerman, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN.
Bereaved significant others
■ ONE OF the injustices related to young men who pay the supreme sacrifice in defense of their country is that minimal attention is paid to their girlfriends, or in the case of gay couples, to their significant others. They often mourn alone, sometimes comforted by their own families and close friends, but are not always welcome at the official shiva, nor treated as if they had been widowed. More often than not, their names do not even appear in the death notice (in contrast with cases of deaths of older people dependent on caregivers, in which the name of the caregiver is often included with that of the mourners in the death notice.)
The emotional trauma of an unmarried significant other was actually recognized years ago but is not generally known. Thanks to attorney and social activist Terri Granot, a not-for-profit organization for the girlfriends of fallen soldiers was established several years ago by Phyllis Heimowitz and jewelry designer Rina Kahan.
New York-born Heimowitz realized the need for such an organization in 1997, when her daughter Michal lost her fiancé Lt. Col. Avi Book, who fell four months before he and Michal were to be married. Enveloped in the tragedy that had turned her future on its head, Michal sat on the couch in her parents’ home and whispered “Save me. I can’t save myself.”
The whisper pierced Heimowitz’s heart and the following day, together with another daughter Tamar, she went to the Defense Ministry to talk about establishing support groups for young unmarried women whose boyfriends had been killed in action. And so, the organization for the Emotional Support for the Fiancees of Fallen Soldiers came into being.
A young widow shows heroic resilience
■ EVERYTHING ABOUT the war in which Israel is embroiled is painful, even for people who do not have relatives in the IDF and do not themselves work in any of Israel’s security or social welfare institutions. But it is most painful for young women who have changed their status from married to widowed. There are far too many such women, some of whom recently became mothers, and others who will soon be mothers.
They are the prime examples of Israeli resilience. They are interviewed by newspaper, magazine, radio and television reporters, and with few exceptions display amazing stoicism. These women are self-controlled and articulate and absolutely refuse to feel sorry for themselves. They are not angry with the army and are fiercely patriotic. Those who have infant children understand that any grief that they feel must not impact their little ones and that they must put on a happy face.
One such person is Yuval Nassie, 27, one of Israel’s leading yoga exponents, who lost her husband, Maj. Ariel Ben-Moshe, who fell in battle at Kibbutz Re’im near Gaza on October 7, while defending Israel against the Hamas onslaught. Nassie is in a better position than several other war widows in that she has been chosen as the presenter for the stress reduction dietary supplement Calm It in a multi-media and direct sales marketing campaign due to begin in January. Part of the revenue from sales is earmarked for the IDF Widows and Orphans Association.
Calm It is produced by the A Brand which specializes in beauty and wellness vitamin supplements. Nassie, who teaches Yoga in the North, was photographed and videoed for the campaign this week. After arriving on the set, she said it was the first time she had ever been asked to be a product presenter. “For me, it’s a great privilege to be asked to do this only two months after the loss of my Ariel,” she said. “It puts a stamp on my decision to choose a life free of sadness and suffering.”
Abramovich sues the bank for blocking his donation to ZAKA
■ SEVERAL WEEKS ago, it was suggested in this column that British banks in which international businessman and philanthropist Roman Abramovich had accounts ought to relax the sanctions against him and honor charitable donations he wishes to make to Israeli organizations and institutions engaged in the war effort. Abramovich has been sanctioned because of his alleged friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While it might be anticipated that a foreign bank would deny such a request, conceivably an Israeli Bank might be able to concede, particularly since Abramovich wishes to donate NIS 8 million to ZAKA, the invaluable and dedicated search and rescue organization that arrives at disaster scenes to search for and then match up body parts in order to provide adequate burial for each of the victims. Mizrachi Tefahot has refused such a transfer request and is subsequently being sued by both Abramovich and ZAKA. Whether or not the bank wins the case, it will nevertheless receive a lot of negative publicity.
Along with several other Russian oligarchs, he has been subjected to sanctions by the European Union. But Israel is not a member state of the EU, and its institutions do not have to kowtow on every issue.
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