If you thought that Israel’s biggest battle was bringing home the hostages, you are only partially correct. At this moment, it is the most important mission of the government and the nation, but it is not the biggest battle. That is the fight for truth.
The people of Israel have been subjected to so many lies from mendacious officialdom that the truth is almost impossible to discern. Qatargate is just one example.
Promises of compensation to reservists who have lost considerable income because they have spent a hundred days and more in combat have not been honored. Instead, the public is required to pay more taxes while pensions and grants have been cut.
Then there’s the story of the extraordinary amount of money paid to protect Yair Netanyahu during his exile in Miami. Yair is a podcaster and political activist who hasn’t served in the reserves during this war and has often been more harmful than helpful to his father, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There are conflicting stories as to whether he was banished or left voluntarily, but the big question is why should the Israeli public have to shell out in the range of NIS 1 million per year to protect a 33-year-old man whose service to the state is negligible, while other men and women in his age group are risking life and limb in defense of the country and are losing income in the process?
Most of these people don’t earn anywhere near NIS 1 million in a year. Yair could have shaved his head, grown a beard, and could have been provided with false documents to safeguard his identity, and all that money could have been used toward the rehabilitation of northern or southern communities.
Like the proverbial cat, Yair’s father has nine lives. Almost every time that it looks as if his government is about to fall, it bounces back at the last minute.
While it is presently in a reform mood, perhaps a bill could be enacted whereby a prime minister cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.
The period of service of a president of the state was changed after certain fiscal improprieties were discovered about Ezer Weizman when he was president, and the opportunity to serve two five-year periods was reduced to one seven-year period, which was the amount of time that Weizman had been in office at the time he was removed.
Why is there no similar law regarding the period of service of the prime minister? Because Netanyahu wants us to believe that no one else is competent or capable. So many people have been brainwashed into this belief that half the nation is living a lie.
Never forget
■ ON THE day prior to his hosting the opening session of the International Conference on Antisemitism that took place in Jerusalem this week, an announcement was released that President Isaac Herzog, his wife, Michal, and Polish President Andrzej Duda will on April 24 lead this year’s March of the Living to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the liberation of all camps which had not yet been liberated by the allied forces.
Among the participants will be 80 Holocaust survivors – 40 of them from Israel – who will be accompanied by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in a demonstration of Jewish resilience, survival, and triumph over those who seek to destroy us.
Among the Israeli Holocaust survivors is Aliza Vitis-Shomron, 97, believed to be the last survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
As a young girl in the Warsaw Ghetto, she acted as a courier and was eventually arrested and sent to Bergen-Belsen. Her personal mission in life is to tell the stories of the heroes whom she knew in the Warsaw Ghetto. This is her way of preserving their memory.
For Duda, who is the son-in-law of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, this will be his last appearance as president in March of the Living or other Holocaust-related anniversaries. Presidential elections take place in May, and Duda is ineligible to run for another five-year term.
Herzog has visited Poland on several occasions, most recently in 2023 for the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
While chairman of the Jewish Agency, he led the March of the Living in 2019.
He did not go to Poland this year for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the notorious Auschwitz death camp, because Poland had announced it would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to Poland in line with the ruling of the International Criminal Court.
Child Holocaust survivor and former Israeli chief rabbi Israel Meir Lau is an annual participant in March of the Living.
Differing ideologies
■ JOURNALISTS WERE invited to an interfaith conference that was hosted by the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council on the day prior to the opening of the conference on antisemitism but were not uninvited to the conference opening, something that affects them personally as Jews.
It was important for them to have instant access to Jewish leaders from around the world because antisemitism is a global scourge, and readers of newspapers and magazines are entitled to know what is being done in an effort to overcome it. Press releases sent out afterward are usually watered down, and important statements are left unpublished.
It’s doubtful that anyone really expected the conference to objectively deal with the subject, given the fact that it was organized by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who is definitely on the Right of the political aisle, but somehow, few people expected it to be so richly laced with right-wing ideology.
More than a handful of these ideologues, who were non-Jewish right-wing and far-right leaders from abroad, are descended from rabid antisemites and, in some cases, had indulged in Jew-baiting themselves.
There’s nothing wrong with right-wing politics, providing they’re clean and free of racial, religious, national, or gender prejudice. Some prominent Jews, presumably believing that a leopard can’t change its spots, backed out of the conference.
People can and do change, but when someone is antisemitic and has a distaste for minorities, in general, in their genes, their motives are always suspect. Herzog himself would not have banned journalists but was asked to host a press-free event.
Scholarship awards
■ IN PRESERVING the memories of alumni and faculty members who have fallen in battle, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has established a series of scholarships in their names. Memorial scholarships were awarded in two ceremonies this week.
“These ceremonies are a powerful reminder that behind every name is a life of purpose, courage, and commitment. By awarding these scholarships, we are not only honoring their memory; we are entrusting their legacy to a new generation of students who will carry their values forward into the future,” said Hebrew University President Prof. Asher Cohen.
The scholarships, valued at $2,000 each, were made possible through the Rothberg Family Fund and were awarded in the presence of the families of the fallen soldiers as well as Heidi Rothberg (USA), Jacob Rimer, and Cohen.
The recipients – all reservists and outstanding scholars – received the scholarships in memory of Capt. Shlomit Yair, Maj. Bar Falah, Sgt. Guy Bazak, Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Michael Gal, Sgt. Eran Aloni, and Sgt. (res.) Ran Yavetz.
In a separate ceremony, the Hebrew University’s School of Public Policy commemorated Maj. Sagi Golan z”l – an alumnus and a team commander in the elite LOTAR counterterrorism unit – who was killed while heroically rescuing dozens of families during the defense of Kibbutz Be’eri.
The school has established an annual merit-based scholarship in his memory to be awarded to top-performing students after their first year of study.
During the ceremony, the university presented Sagi Golan’s family with a special commemorative booklet featuring heartfelt messages and biographical sketches of the scholarship recipients.
In memorial
■ HOTELIERS TEND to have a broader circle of friends and acquaintances than most other people, and the late Moshe Bublil, founder and owner of the Club Hotel group, was no exception. Bublil died just over a year ago, and his wife, Bat Sheva, a well-known socialite, hosted a tribute event in his memory at the Smolarz Auditorium on the campus of Tel Aviv University.
Well over 800 people were in attendance: members of the hotel and tourist industries, business people, public figures, diplomats, retired IDF officers, entertainers, and more. The entertainers represented almost every musical genre: the Raanana Symphonette, the Israeli Opera, Idan Reichel, Shlomi Shabat, Subliminal, Hayevania (The Greek), and others.
Bat Sheva Bublil and her four children named the event Life Looks Different. Anyone who has lost a spouse or a beloved parent could identify with the title.
The master of ceremonies for the evening was television personality Danny Kushmaro.
Four short videos depicting different aspects of Moshe Bublil’s life and character were screened. One was about Bublil, the philanthropic community activist. Another was about Bublil, the family man. A third was about Bublil, the businessman, and the fourth was Bublil, the man with many friends.
In thanking all those who came to honor her husband’s memory, Bat Sheva Bublil said their presence was a testimony to his popularity and the affection and esteem in which he was held.
Seen among the guests were well-known figures such as Yair Hamburger, Avigdor Kahalani, Eli Papouchado, Eliezer Shkedi, Kobi Rogovin, Eli Azur, Barak Rosen, Yona Bartal, Amnon Dick, Rami Shavit, Dan Raviv, Naphtali Bensimon, Eli Yatzpan, Danny Yatom, Yom-Tov Samia, and many others. It was more or less a who’s who in Israel.
