■ KOSHER DINERS from New York, with few exceptions, have heard of Levana Kirschenbaum, the celebrity kosher cook, who taught the Jewish denizens of the Big Apple that the Eastern European kitchen does not have a monopoly over kosher cuisine and that gourmet dishes made with fresh, nutritious, healthy ingredients can enhance a kosher menu.
The restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, of which she was co-owner, closed after 32 years, but Kirschenbaum continued to give cooking demonstrations in private homes, to write cookbooks, to give lectures, and to invite relatives and friends to her home to sample her culinary creations made from pure, natural foods.
When in Israel, she likes to dine at The Eucalyptus Restaurant in Jerusalem’s Mitchell Gardens, which is owned by Chef Moshe Basson, with whom she has a long association, and who shares her belief that food should be fresh and nutritious. His simple but very tasty recipes are based on biblically inspired cuisine.
Like so many Jews living in the Diaspora, Kirschenbaum was wondering what she could do to contribute to Israel, which is still in a state of turmoil.
But once here, she decided to act in accordance with her motto: do what you do best.
What Kirschenbaum does best is bring people together and feed them.
So she contacted a handful of her close friends in Israel and asked them to invite volunteers to an eighth night of Hanukkah dinner that she was hosting at The Eucalyptus.
Once a restaurateur, always a restaurateur, even if you no longer own or run a restaurant.
In the private dining room upstairs, Kirschenbaum, between giving guests warm hugs upon arrival, whether she knew them or not, ordered the rearranging of tables to ensure that they could all see each other.
In the end, there were some 50 people, which was more than she had anticipated, but she took it in her stride, as did Basson, who shared some of his story as a chef who was raised on traditional Iraqi cuisine – which is probably as close to biblical as one can get.
The four-course meal began with a piquant lentil soup, followed by dips, salads, and freshly baked bread. The roasted cauliflower in spiced tahini was delicious.
The slow-cooked beef short ribs were soft, juicy, and tasty, as were the chicken thighs cooked with rice and vegetables. The chicken meat was so tender that it literally fell off the bone.
Dessert was a creamy custard with rose water and hibiscus flower syrup accompanied by semolina cake and dark chocolate truffles.
Some of the guests shared their projects or war efforts.
These included: catering for soldiers, making private kitchens available to evacuees, who were mostly of North African background and wanted to eat their ethnic delicacies because they didn’t like hotel food; a second-hand store that helps people suffering from trauma to regain their self-confidence while working in the store; and an organization that points potential volunteers in the right direction.
Many people want to do something to help but don’t know where to start, explained the founder, who has compiled a list of various opportunities for volunteers.
Kirschenbaum said that many of her friends in New York wish they could do something, to which she responds that a ticket to Israel is not all that expensive. All one has to do is get on a plane and see what’s needed.
She herself has visited various organizations such as Shekel, a community service for the social inclusion of people with special needs, and Colel Chabad, which provides food, medical care, and other support services to those in need, with particular emphasis on widows and orphans.
It’s not enough to read about such places, she said. “You have to see the wonderful work they do so that you can decide to which you will give of yourself.”
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The ceremony marking the opening of trade on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) will take place on Thursday, January 9, in the form of a salute to Israeli Industry and will be followed by a conference titled “From War to Growth.” Participants will be advised on the best means of recruiting capital in the TASE.
Among those present will be Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, TASE CEO Ittai Ben-Zeev, Tal Kaufman, chairwoman of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, and other well-known stock exchange officials and industrial figures.
■ THESE DAYS, when there is talk in Israel of humanitarian aid, the reference is usually to Gaza. But there are other areas in which Israel provides a helping hand.
Regardless of any crisis situation confronting Israel, IsraAID, one of the country’s leading humanitarian NGOs, remains constantly at the service of other countries in distress, including those that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Among the most recent crises to which it responded was Cyclone Chido, which caused a landfall in Mozambique last month, leaving some 190,000 people in need of urgent aid.
At least 94 people were reported killed and over 300 injured in a region where over a million people are already displaced due to ongoing conflict. IsraAID has provided and will continue to provide urgent relief to communities in Cabo Delgado, building on the organization’s humanitarian mission, which has focused on the province since 2021.
Building on trusted relationships with communities, local authorities, and humanitarian partners that were built over the last five years, IsraAID will deliver urgent relief items, support water, sanitation, and hygiene needs, as well as rehabilitate damaged community centers.
Tropical Cyclone Chido brought heavy rains and winds of up to 260 kilometers per hour that severely impacted the northern province of Cabo Delgado. This region has been the center of an ongoing civil conflict that has seen over one million people displaced.
IsraAID distributed urgently needed relief items in the immediate aftermath of the storm, including hygiene kits, which are essential for maintaining basic sanitation in an emergency. The organization will support access to sanitation facilities by repairing or reconstructing damaged latrines.
Two IsraAID-founded community centers in Metuge and Cujupani were severely damaged in the storm, and the organization will work to rehabilitate them before handing them over to local partners.
IsraAID first arrived in Mozambique in 2019, following Cyclone Idai, and responded again to Cyclone Eloise in 2021. Since 2021, the organization has been working in Cabo Delgado province, supporting communities affected by ongoing civil conflict and displacement in the region.
IsraAID’s Senior Emergency Programs Officer Idan Markovich said: “Mozambique is particularly vulnerable to the accelerating pace of climate disasters. Cyclone Chido’s devastating effects in northern Mozambique only amplify existing challenges facing displaced communities in Cabo Delgado.
“Building on five years of trusted partnerships with communities, authorities, and humanitarian partners, as well as our experience in Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Eloise, IsraAID will work to support the most vulnerable communities as they rebuild and recover from this storm. We are proud to continue working side by side.”
IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer and other individuals are involved in this operation.
■ FOR THE past 25 years, Bank Hapoalim, in a tribute to Israeli art and artists, has hosted an annual art show and sale with proceeds earmarked for some charitable project or enterprise. This time, the show at the bank’s head office in Tel Aviv has been postponed from the end of 2024 to Friday, February 14, 2025, at 9 a.m.
This is one of the largest, if not THE largest exhibition of Israeli art and is also a gateway for some lesser-known artists to gain recognition and appreciation.
Proceeds from sales this year will go toward helping survivors of the October 7 massacre.
■ EVERYONE, EVEN the most modest of individuals, likes to be appreciated for their efforts. This is why there are so many global, national, and local prizes. But sometimes the whole prize business is overdone.
One of the more veteran prizes is the Presidential Award for Volunteerism, which was established in 1974 by president Ephraim Katzir in cooperation with the Israeli Volunteering Council.
This year, in addition to putting up a huge monument near the National Library to honor the memories of Jerusalemites who were Nova festival victims of Hamas and fallen soldiers who were residents of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion, the city’s mayor, has initiated the Mayor of Jerusalem’s Award for Volunteering.
This initiative was inspired and informed by the spontaneous mobilization of the capital’s residents to assist evacuees who were filling Jerusalem hotels, soldiers on the frontlines, and their families on the home front. This is not a one-time award.
It will be conferred annually on individuals, organizations, and institutions. Although an admirable idea, the city already has a Worthy of Jerusalem (Yakir Yerushalayim) Award, which more or less covers the same territory. Both the President’s Office and the Mayor’s Office advertised the awards last month and asked for nominations.
What this means is that some dozen people will be chosen, while scores, possibly hundreds of others, will be ignored. There is nothing wrong with an adjudicating committee selecting what it considers to be the best of the best, but why not publish a booklet with the names of all the nominees and a thumbnail biography of each, like the IDF does every Independence Day when it publishes a magazine with the portraits and thumbnail biographies of 120 outstanding soldiers? That way, the outstanding civilians who were nominated would at least get recognition if not the award itself.