■ ISRAEL’S FIFTH president, Yitzhak Navon (1978-83), was known as the People’s President. A multi generation Jerusalemite with a great love for humanity and a gift for speaking to people of every status at eye level, Navon was also a teacher, diplomat, author, playwright, politician and social activist.
Following his death in November 2015, the government, his family and his many friends introduced the Navon Prize for Culture and the Arts, which is presented annually to both established and promising cultural figures and artists.
The adjudicating of the prize is administered by the Culture and Sport Ministry, which is entirely fitting, as Navon declined the opportunity to serve a second term as president and returned to the Knesset, after which he was appointed minister of Education and Culture.
The prize is awarded at a ceremony at the President’s Residence with the participation of members of the Navon family. Yitzhak Navon was the only president whose children Erez and Naama lived in the residence, and who often delighted visitors with their antics. It was a little difficult to reconcile the impish Erez with the tall, smiling man with the grey hair and beard, who inherited his father’s smile and twinkle in the eye.
In his multifaceted career, Navon spent eleven years as the personal assistant to Israel’s founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion, to whom he taught Spanish, because Ben-Gurion wanted to read Don Quixote in its original language. As president, Navon played a crucial role in cementing the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, when on a state visit to Cairo, he addressed the Egyptian Parliament in perfect Arabic, an important gesture that endeared him greatly to the Egyptians. On the home front, Navon worked strenuously to give the Arab sector equal rights to those of Jews and to create harmony and cooperation between them.
At the awards ceremony, President Isaac He
Culture and Sport Ministry Director-General Kfir Cohen took the issue of social rifts a step further to include the Right and Left within the nation. At the conclusion of his address, he recited the Oseh Shalom (Creator of Peace) prayer, but changed the wording slightly from ““He who brings peace upon us” to “He who makes peace between us.”
Erez Navon, after watching a video about his father which he has seen many times, said that what always moves him most is to see his father among ordinary people and relating to them as one of their own. He also referenced his father’s famous musical play In a Spanish Orchard (Bustan Sefaradi), which is about a small neighborhood in Jerusalem where Sephardi and Ashkenazi, religious and secular, and Right and Left live together in harmony. The play, with its poignant message, continues to be staged.
Prize winners were Zohar Sharon and Oshi Masala (Music), David Ofek and Uriya Hertz (Cinema), and Michal Shachnai and Ruth de Vries (Art).
A Life Achievement award was given to author and former director-general of the Jewish Agency’s Youth Aliya Department Eli Amir. Born in Baghdad, Amir came to Israel without family, and got a job as a messenger boy in the Prime Minister’s Office – riding his bicycle all over Jerusalem, which was much smaller at the time.
He got to know Navon in the office cafeteria, where his meager salary allowed him to purchase a sandwich and a beverage every day. Navon came to the cafeteria, sat down at the same table and started a conversation. He knew immediately from the way Amir pronounced his gutturals in Hebrew that he came from somewhere else in the Middle East, and wanted to know all about his life in Iraq. When Amir told Ben-Gurion’s assistant that he was going to night school in Jerusalem, Navon encouraged him to continue and to proceed to university.
That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, which has extended to Erez Navon and his family. Every time Amir’s name was mentioned during the ceremony, there was resounding applause, and when he concluded his address on behalf of all the prize winners, he received a standing ovation. For him, Israel has not only been the Promised Land, but the Land of Promise.
Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue to enact security checks
■ VISITORS TO Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue on Saturday morning will have to undergo a security check, which means that a very important person with an official title will be joining the congregants. The Synagogue Board is keeping information classified as to the identity of the special guest, but it would be safe to narrow it down to one of two specific residents of the capital.
On the subject of security, at the Tower of David Museum last Sunday, US ambassador Mike Huckabee and former Israel ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan were present for the dedication at the Tower of David Museum of a new armored ambulance that had been donated by Evangelicals to Magen David Adom.
The ambulance was parked in an exposed area and the two men, along with many other people, stood there for quite some time. There were a couple of US security personnel present, but they did not shadow Huckabee’s every move, unlike the situation with previous US ambassadors. Admittedly, the two dignitaries were surrounded by friends, but any passersby who wanted to join the event could have done so without any trouble. So could a terrorist. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
■ IT WAS particularly appropriate for Education Minister Yoav Kisch to represent the government at the reception hosted at the British Residence in Ramat Gan by British ambassador Simon Walters in honor of the birthday of King Charles III. British monarchs have an official birthday and a private birthday; the king’s actual birthday is in November.
Kisch’s grandfather Brigadier Frederick Kisch was the highest ranking Jew ever to serve in the British Army. Highly decorated, he fought in both world wars and was a member of the British delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 during the interwar period.
Yoav Kisch himself was a dual-national until 2015, when he had to renounce his British citizenship after being elected to the Knesset. Most of the guests at the reception had a British connection by birth, citizenship, or business, academic or diplomatic relations with the UK.
The reception was somewhat smaller than in previous years, given the fact that the hostages kidnapped by Hamas are still in captivity. Hostage families with personal British connections were among the guests.
Also in attendance were members of Knesset, government officials, and senior figures from Israeli trade, economy, diplomacy, media, and civil society, along with the Embassy’s friends and contacts.
There was no reception last year; this was the first King’s Birthday reception since Charles ascended the throne.
The theme of the event was “Four Nations, One Crown” – celebrating the unique spirit of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – the four countries that make up the United Kingdom.
The theme was emphasized by a variety of traditional foods and treats from each nation, along with photo installations highlighting some of the most breathtaking landscapes from across the UK.
While the event was held to mark the king’s birthday, the ambassador and embassy staff felt it was equally important to honor the memories of lives lost in the horrific events of October 7 and to show unwavering support for the families of those still held in captivity.
A Reflection Tree was dedicated in memory of those murdered on that tragic day and during captivity, serving also as a symbol of hope for the hostages still held in Gaza.
diplomacy, media, and civil society, along with the Embassy’s friends and contacts.
In his address to his guests, Ambassador Walters said: “This is an event to recognize and mark the strong relationship between Israel and the UK. But we hold this event in the shadow of continued suffering of the hostages and their families, of the whole Israeli people in the continuing trauma of the 7th October, and of the Gazan people. The position of the British government is that this war needs to end.
“But even in these difficult times, there is much to celebrate,” he said. “The relationship between our two countries operates at many different levels: political relationships, but also historical, cultural, academic, commercial and scientific.
“Britain’s support, especially in the role of the creation of the State of Israel, is deeply embedded in the historical fabric of both nations,” Minister Kisch said. “Over time, this relationship has matured into a strategic and enduring partnership, anchored in a commitment of democratic principles and international cooperation. Though differences may rise between our nations, they are far outweighed by the strong foundation of mutual respect and shared purpose.”
■ ANTISEMITISM IN all of its ugly guises is haunting the Jewish world today. Jewish communities around the globe are coming together to devise new ways to fight it, with the support of local and federal governments in their home countries.
On this coming Sunday evening, June 8, CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) will hold a panel discussion at Jerusalem’s Begin Center on hatred and antisemitism as taught in classrooms. Moderated by Aviva Rosenschein, the committee’s director of external affairs, the panel will include CAMERA’s Senior Media Analyst Ricki Hollander, Tel Aviv University international lecturer Dr. Emmanuel Navon, Ph.D., and Impact Director of Global Strategy Dan Kosky.
greerfc@gmail.com