Grapevine: Cultural understading
By Greer Fay Cashman
ISRAEL’S ITALIAN community — both Jewish and gentile — turned out in force for the official opening at the Israel Museum of the "Rome to Jerusalem‘ exhibition of four illuminated Jewish masterpieces from the Vatican Library. Needless to say, curators and librarians from the Vatican were also present as was Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio in Israel. Also attending the impressive event were Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger who less than two weeks earlier had met with Pope Benedict XVI. Jews, unfortunately, can at times be less respectful than necessary. Those who gather for events at Beit Hanassi are invariably reminded by the master of ceremonies to rise when President Moshe Katsav enters the room. Chief Rabbis are entitled to the same respect by virtue of their office, but since it is rare outside of Orthodox
circles for that type of attention to be paid to them, only two people rose when Amar and Metzger walked into the plaza of the Israel Museum where the opening ceremony was held. Acknowledging that it was not easy to have the Vatican part with any of its Jewish treasures, Sambi paid tribute to the persuasive powers of museum director James Snyder. The 13th century Hebrew Bible, as well as a Book of Psalms, and the 15th century Jacob Asher Arba’ah Turim and Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah were of great importance not only because of their content said Sambi, but because of their exceptional beauty. Cultural collaboration between Israel and the Vatican exists on many levels he said, adding that Katsav, on one of his visits to the Vatican, had asked the pope for a list of all the 803 Judaica items in the Vatican’s possession. Together with Shuka
Dorfman of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Vatican is currently in the process of cataloguing all its Jewish items, said Sambi. What the Vatican will never be able to do, he said — ’And I hear it from Dan to Beersheba‘ — is to produce the sacred menora looted by Titus when he destroyed the Temple. Christianity was a persecuted religion until the early fourth century Sambi reminded his audience, so it was unlikely that the Christians would have received the golden objects of the Temple. The loan from the Vatican to Jerusalem, he said, was a gesture of friendship and mutual respect. ’There is a lot to be gained in being friends," he said. Noting that he was not in a position to comment on the whereabouts of the ancient menora from Jerusalem, Snyder made the point that ongoing cooperation
with the Vatican was an important diplomatic enterprise in the world of cultural exchange and understanding.
Amar, who felt the need to deliver a religious message, observed that although man aspires to creative heights, he cannot, as a mere mortal, equal the creativity of the divine creator. Describing Sambi as "a good friend of Israel’s,‘ Metzger said that historically there had been great enmity between Rome and Jerusalem, cities whose ideas and cultures were in opposition to each other. ’After 2000 years, we have closed an historic and exciting circle. There is no more animosity, no more hatred."
Metzger, who together with Amar and Sambi had viewed the exhibition before coming out to the plaza, admitted that he would have liked to have kissed the holy books, "but the glass stopped me.‘ Reviewing events of the past year, Metzger said: ’We had a year of disengagement. Let this be a year of engagement."
THE CASHIER at the check-out counter of the supermarket was processing a purchase that included a daily newspaper when her eye caught a headline at the bottom of the front page of the tabloid: "Congratulations, Pnina’s Pregnant!" The Pnina in question is cosmetics queen Pnina Rosenblum who turns 51 in December. The cashier stopped doing her job to marvel at the information. She was joined by a cashier from the next counter. Customers, who had been standing patiently in line, all joined in the conversation. No one appeared to mind that service had temporarily been suspended. Everyone wanted to talk about Pnina, the girl who had been born on the wrong side of the tracks, who had made her fortune with a combination of good looks, grit, hutzpa and unswerving determination. Married for the best part of a decade to Moshe Haim, Rosenblum,
unable conceive, adopted two children whom she adores. Twice divorced from Moshe Haim, who very quickly found a new love and sired a child, Rosenblum married Roni Simanovich last January, a divorced father of three. Obviously there was more than chemistry between them, because if the tabloid is to be believed, Rosenblum, despite her age, is pregnant — albeit only five weeks, thanks to fertility treatments administered by celebrity gynecologist, Dr. Jackie Ashkenazi. Instead of simply being happy for her, the women kept muttering about her age, till one of the customers remarked that Sarah the Matriarch had been considerably older when she bore Isaac. After that it was business as usual. Since making her condition public, Rosenblum has asked relatives and friends to pray for her that the pregnancy runs to term and that she delivers a healthy baby. For her own emotional well being, she would
have done better to wait until she was showing, before revealing her secret.
THE SOUND system remained intact last week when the higher echelons of the Defense Ministry bade farewell to outgoing director-general Amos Yaron. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who two nights earlier had been prevented by a sabotaged sound system from addressing the Likud Central Committee, delivered an emotional oration in which he heaped praise on Yaron. The latter became a sacrificial lamb in the relationship between Israel and the US Pentagon. "I came to greet a friend and to take leave of a friend — something more important than anything else, so forgive me if I don’t speak about other issues,‘ said Sharon, inferring that he would pass up the opportunity to say at the Defense Ministry what he had been unable to say at the Likud Central Committee meeting. Speaking directly to Yaron, Sharon said: ’I saw
you in the most uneasy situations and you always faced them with self-confidence and in the same quiet manner. Even when we confronted the most severe difficulties, I always had the feeling that you, Amos, would solve them,‘ said Sharon, alluding to the crisis between Israel and the Pentagon following Israel’s sale of controversial weapons to China, a factor that eventually resulted in Yaron’s resignation. Nothing less would appease the Americans, and there was nothing that Sharon could do to save Yaron’s skin. Indicating that he would not leave a wounded soldier in the field, Sharon said, ’I relied on you completely and I will have need for you in the future." Sharon made no secret of the fact that he intended to call on Yaron. Does this mean some secret mission or that Yaron is going into politics? Time will tell.
HEBREW UNIVERSITY President Prof. Menahem Magidor, who is chairman of the Public Committee appointed by President Moshe Katsav to examine alternatives to Israel’s election system and structure of government, noted at the committee’s inaugural meeting at Beit Hanassi — where he and other speakers elaborated on Israel’s corruption and political instability — that there is still no Hebrew word for "accountability.‘ But there is hope that one day there will be. Magidor was reminded by Prof. David Menasheri, president of the Citizens Empowerment Center in Israel, that not so long ago there was no Hebrew word for ’integrity."
THERE ARE 13 new British citizens in Israel. Janet Rogan, the new deputy head of mission and consul general at the British Embassy, presided at a ceremony last week in which each of the 13 confirmed their allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her Heirs and Successors. They then pledged loyalty to the United Kingdom, promising to uphold its democratic values, observe its laws and fulfill the duties and obligations that go hand-in-hand with British citizenship. Rogan told the new Brits not to worry. "You don’t need to know the rules of cricket." This was the tenth citizenship ceremony held in Israel since last July. A total of 153 Israelis have taken on British citizenship under a change of British law that relates to people born to British mothers.
JEWISH MOTHERS are famous for making sacrifices for their children. One of the more public examples of such sacrifice was that of Dr. Liora Meridor who was touted by Vice Premier, Acting Treasurer, and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Ehud Olmert as the next director-general of the Antitrust Authority. Meridor has decided not to aim for the plum job that Dror Strum will vacate at the end of October. The reason: Meridor does not want to place herself or her son, lawyer Matan Meridor, in the awkward position of having a conflict of interests. Matan Meridor frequently makes representations on behalf of his clients to the Antitrust Authority. If his mother took the office of director-general, both their activities would be restricted and, in the final analysis, would lead to unnecessary tensions within the family. Liora Meridor is the wife of former
justice minister Dan Meridor. Olmert, who persuaded the cabinet to change the regulations to enable Meridor’s candidacy, has left the door open for other economists. His headhunters are now looking for suitable candidates.
YOU CAN’T win them all. Thus Daniel Libeskind, the internationally celebrated architect who attracted so much attention when he won the design competition for the Jewish Museum in Berlin, scored only an honorable mention when he competed in the design contest for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Also the recipient of an honorary mention was Israeli architect Zvi Hecker. The winners of the contest were Rainer Mahlamaki and Ilmari Lahdelma from Finland. Ironically, both Libeskin and Hecker are Polish-born Jews. Hecker was born in Krakow in 1931 and Libeskind in Lodz in 1946. Hecker, who spent part of his childhood and adolescence in Uzbekistan, has introduced that experience into his architectural style. He likes central courtyards, circular walls and startling contrasts. He came to Israel in 1950 and graduated from Haifa’s Technion
Israel Institute of Technology in 1954. He designed several controversial projects in Israel and his commissions abroad include museums and other large-scale public buildings. Although he has missed out on the Museum of Jewish History to be constructed in Warsaw, Libeskind has won the commission for another major project in the Polish capital — a 45-story glass residential tower. In America, where he has been a citizen since 1965, Libeskind won the competition for the master plan for New York’s Ground Zero. Architecture is his second career choice. His first love was music which he studied in Israel and New York, becoming a virtuoso performer. He subsequently opted for architecture and received his degree in 1970. He has designed museums, universities, convention centers and residential projects in many parts of the world. Both he and Hecker
are the recipients of numerous prizes.
ISRAEL CORPORATION chairman Idan Ofer together with the company’s CEO Yossi Rosen announced last week that they have set up a life-saving fund that will provide essential and expensive medicines that are not included in the health basket. The decision was sparked by the Talmudic lesson that he who saves a single life is as one who saved the whole world. The fund was launched with a NIS 35 million donation from Israel Corporation head Sammy Ofer in the name of the company. Like many other major business corporations, the Israel Corporation is involved in community outreach. Since, according to Jewish tradition, it is determined during the High Holy Day period who will live and who will die, the creation of such a vital fund could not have come at a more suitable time.
THERE’S AN old American saying that the family that prays together stays together. Gush Katif evacuees have been complaining that the government is trying to disperse them to different parts of the country. It is very important to many of them to be together for Rosh Hashana services. Mina Fenton, a National Religious Party representative on the Jerusalem City Council, took their wishes to heart and started chasing up proprietors of banquet halls to make their premises available. The owners of Heichalei HaSimcha have acceded to the request with the result that some 242 Gush Katif families, currently staying in Jerusalem hotels, will be able to pray together under one roof.
FEW THINGS come easy in Israel. When entertainer Dudu Topaz, amid much fanfare, laid the cornerstone for his shopping mall and amusement park in Dimona in June 2003, he was sure that the project would get off the ground fairly soon. He was mistaken. The amusement park was scheduled to open in October 2004 but, bureaucracy being what it is in Israel, construction only began in mid-September this year after a two-year delay. Topaz and his three sons were on hand to see the beginning of the realization of his dream, one which he is sure will bring large numbers of money-spending visitors to Dimona and give a much-needed economic boost to the ailing development town. "Duduland," as the project is called, finally got going on Dimona’s 50th anniversary. It is going up on the site of the former Kitan textile plant, once an important
source of employment and revenue for Dimona, that closed 15 years ago. If Topaz’s venture proves successful, it may inspire other big names in the entertainment industry to build other tourist attractions in economically depressed development towns.
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