ALTHOUGH THE Jaffa orange was for a long time considered to be an Israeli fruit, and the color of its peel was Israel’s national color after the blue and white of the flag, Jaffa oranges were in fact grown by Palestinian farmers, long before the establishment of the State of Israel. They were adopted or adapted by Israel in much the same way as pita, falafel, humus and knafeh, which are served in Israeli restaurants in various parts of the world.
But last Wednesday, the color orange which is definitely Israeli, was also taken up by people in other countries in sympathy, empathy and solidarity with Israel’s national day of mourning – declared not by the government or the Knesset, but by the public at large, who showed up along the route taken by the funeral cortège to the final resting place of hostage Shiri Bibas and her two little boys Ariel and Kfir.
Yellow, which had initially been the color symbolizing the hostages (based on the yellow ribbons tied around the old oak tree in the early ‘70s hit song) took second place to orange, the bright color of the hair of the two boys, whose mischievous faces had captured so many hearts, and whose images in different poses were spread across social media platforms.
Yarden Bibas, the bereft husband and father, wore an orange colored kippah. A multitude of orange colored balloons floated in the air. People lining the route chose several orange colored tributes – flowers, tee-shirts, jockey caps, flags, banners, ribbons, placards and more. The Histadrut (Federation of Labor), placed full page advertisements with an orange backdrop on the front pages of daily newspapers. The President’s Residence was suffused with orange light.
Worldwide, 14 of New York’s iconic landmarks were lit up in orange. In Paris, orange balloons were released in tribute to the members of the Bibas family. Buildings in many cities around the world were illuminated in orange as part of an initiative by Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry. There was also worldwide media coverage, including amongst many other outlets CBN, CNN, Reuters, AP, The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, NBC, The Australian, Times of India, Le Figaro, Le Soir, Corriere della Sera, Der Spiegel, Gazeta Wyborcza and more.
Israel mourns together with the Bibas family and other families whose loved ones were victims of Hamas. Yet, as Jews, even though we have a tradition of remembering what Amalek did to our forebears, we must also remember the directive in the Book of Proverbs to not rejoice and gloat over the misfortune of our enemies.
In Gaza, hundreds of parents are mourning the deaths of children killed in Israeli air strikes against Hamas. Even the most callous of people can love their children and mourn them when they die. Children, regardless of the evil communities in which they live, are innocents, and we must shed a tear for them when they become part of the collateral damage of war.
Zionist Shah's granddaughter
■ INTERNET SURFERS may come across an item stating that Princess Noor Pahlavi, the daughter of exiled crown prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi and granddaughter of the late Shah of Iran, the country’s last reigning monarch, is a public supporter of the return to Israel of the hostages in Gaza. She is photographed holding a placard with the words “Until the last hostage.”
Miriam Adelson and hostage families
■ EVEN BEFORE surfers come across the Persian princess, they’re likely to find physician, businesswoman, entrepreneur, newspaper publisher and philanthropist Miriam Adelson, who is the third largest mega donor to the Republican Party after Elon Musk and Timothy Mellon. The Israeli-born and raised Adelson, together with her late husband Sheldon Adelson presented Yad Vashem with the most generous donation it ever received. The Adelson Family Foundation, which she heads, supports several other causes in Israel, including United Hatzalah, whose founder and president Eli Beer has a very strong bond with her.
During the election campaign of President Donald Trump, Miriam Adelson took Beer to meet the candidate and tell him first-hand about the October 7 Hamas massacre. Beer, as well as his wife and daughters are all paramedics who saw the atrocities of Hamas with their own eyes. He credits Adelson with having enormous influence on Trump, and believes that the pressure that the president exerted on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in relation to bringing home hostages was due to Adelson’s insistence.
Trump has publicly declared that she is a wonderful woman, but journalist Michael Wolff tells a different story. In his newly published book All or Nothing, Wolff is most unflattering to Adelson, but negative claims that he makes about her friendship with Trump have been denied by people in the White House, who say that he has a penchant for fabrication.
During his previous term as president, Trump awarded Adelson the Medal of Freedom, which is America’s highest civilian honor.
A passionate Zionist, Adelson has met with hostage families and has hosted events in which the hostage issue is presented and discussed.
According to Beer, her children and grandchildren serve in the IDF. He and many of her other admirers believe that she should light a torch on Israel Independence Day, and that she should be awarded both the Israel Prize and the Nobel Prize.
Monica Lewinsky podcast
■ HOT NEWS stories are so numerous these days that only news junkies remember what made headlines as recently as a week ago, let alone a month ago. But there are stories that remain in the public consciousness for a whole generation, and longer. An example is the extra-marital affair between US President Bill Clinton and a young intern by the name of Monica Lewinsky. The affair was conducted between 1995 and 1997, and the story – which broke in 1998 and received global coverage – resurfaces every few years, most recently in an interview with American podcaster Alex Cooper, which was reported by InStyle News.
In the early years following the revelation, Lewinsky was treated badly by the media and was in dire need of therapy. She found a wonderful therapist, whom she refers to as Dr. Susan, who helped her to regain her self-confidence. Lewinsky is today a successful television personality, an anti-cyberbullying activist and a woman in control of her own destiny.
She thinks that Clinton, who was impeached by the US House of Representatives for lying under oath and obstruction of justice, could have handled the situation better.
“I think that the right way to handle a situation like that would have been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign, or to find a way of staying in office that was not lying and not throwing a young person who is just starting out in the world under the bus,” she told Cooper.
Unfortunately, powerful people in high office are still taking advantage of young innocents – not just in America and Europe, but also in Israel.
Israeli national trauma
■ THE ENORMITY of the national trauma haunting Israelis after October 7 has at least one positive aspect: the realization that increased services and facilities must be available to people with mental health problems.
This realization extends beyond Israel’s borders to organizations, foundations and individual philanthropists who are interested in the welfare of Israel’s citizens.
Prominent in this regard is the UJA Federation of New York, which in partnership with the Tribe of Nova Foundation, expects to open UJA New York Nova House before the end of this year.
The NIS 10 million ($2.8m.) complex, funded through private philanthropy, is located at Ir Ha’ilanot, east of Netanya. It will serve as a vibrant hub for survivors of the assault by Hamas on October 7, 2023, as well as for bereaved families.
Initiators of the project estimate that it will serve 10,000 people annually.
Nova House will offer a broad program that includes therapy, training workshops, and a large variety of cultural and sports events.
“It fills my heart to know that we, as a community of Nova survivors, will have a place to be anytime we are having a rough day or week, or want to volunteer and give back, and have consistency for a place of healing, learning, and gaining coping tools,” said Rita Wonder, a 35-year-old mother of a 4-year-old child from Haifa, who survived the Nova festival. “I am sure the location will be a place of strength, where we help each other through the worst and celebrate the best to come.”
Nova House has been made possible with a $2 million gift from the UJA Federation of New York and support from other donors, including the Cayton-Goldrich Family Foundation, Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) of Boston, The Greater Washington Jewish Federation, the Iranian American Jewish Federation of NY, and others.
The project is being developed in partnership with Alin Beit Noam, an organization with expertise in providing therapies and support for individuals with disabilities and special needs. They are establishing the Neighborhood of Unlimited Possibilities: A Utopia of Inclusivity for Humanity, a groundbreaking new center that unites individuals with and without disabilities, having various forms of trauma, to foster a comprehensive and inclusive society. The whole community is partnering with the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.
“The lack of a permanent location has limited our ability to expand our activities,” said UJA CEO Eric Goldsmith. “Since October 2023, we have operated in temporary spaces, but a permanent house is crucial for the long-term healing and recovery of our Nova survivors. This center will provide a safe, flexible space that will grow with the community and allow us to support each other through every stage of this process,” said Reef Perez, Chairman of the Tribe of Nova Organization.