Grapevine: May it be

As for the service at France Square, hundreds of people representing much of Jerusalem’s demographic diversity came to support the families of hostages and to pray for their speedy return, including the body of Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old officer in the Givati Brigade who was killed in Gaza in August 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, and all the soldiers fighting in Gaza and in the North.

The organization of the event was extremely professional. Families of the hostages sat on yellow chairs inside a special enclosure surrounded by rows of plastic white chairs, which proved to be inadequate for the large crowd who attended, though many sat on the ground for religious reasons.

The text of the Book of Lamentations was shown in large letters on a giant screen, and each of the five chapters was read in just the right emotional tone by five different readers. The first and last chapters were read by men, and the three others by women. All were excellent, each with his or her unique style. Moshe Shapira, with a rifle slung over his shoulder, read the fifth chapter and was also among the speakers who delivered elegies (Kinot).

Shapira is the father of Aner Shapira, an unarmed off-duty soldier who was slain at the Supernova music festival. Aner took cover in a roadside shelter and threw back seven explosive grenades that had been thrown at the shelter by Hamas terrorists. In so doing he saved the lives of at least seven people but ultimately lost his own.

He wasn’t born to be a hero, said his father – but he was born to help others.

Shapira and other speakers stressed the importance of maintaining a moral code that included providing humane treatment to the enemy, which is intrinsic to Jewish law. Several speakers condemned the starving of the Gazan population and said that Israel could not remain indifferent to such a situation.

Much as organizers tried to keep the event free of politics with the foci on bringing home all the hostages and the restoration of Israel’s moral integrity, there were a few hecklers in the crowd, who briefly disrupted proceedings.

Some supporters occasionally shouted in Hebrew, “Shame,” “Bring them all home NOW!” and “You are not alone.”

However, for the most part, the event continued as planned and was extremely moving.

Prior to the actual start of the event, a current-day analogy to the first line in the Book of Lamentations was featured on screen, reading, “How alone sat our brothers and sisters...”

Among the speakers were members of Kfar Aza and Kibbutz Be’eri, each of which suffered horrendous losses in human life and damage to property.

While not attacking any member of the government per se, speakers did emphasize that Israel had been established as a light unto the nations, that the present leadership lacks compassion and has abandoned its own people as well as others in need, and that the redemption of hostages is paramount in Jewish law and tradition.

Speakers cited the Druze community in Syria, the starving multitudes in Gaza, and the reservists who are sent to battle again and again, including Roi Wasserstein, the 24-year-old reservist from Netanya who was denied an army funeral after serving more than 300 days as an army medic in Gaza.

Because he was not on duty when he took his life, the IDF refused to recognize that his death was linked to what he had experienced in Gaza.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir is now ready to reconsider how the military categorizes such deaths. Surely any reservist, whether still in uniform or not, who has risked his or her life by serving in combat, is entitled to a military funeral. That’s the very least that the army can do for the deceased and his or her family.

Prior to the conclusion of the evening with the singing of “Hatikva,” the names of all the hostages still in captivity were read out, and their faces were individually shown on the screen. The event also featured Naomi Shemer’s wistful composition “Lu Yehi” – May It Be – to the backdrop of video footage of released hostages in emotional embraces with close family members. May it be that such scenes are quickly repeated with hostages still living.

At a bus stop, just a few meters away, posters of the hostages are regularly defaced or destroyed and often removed. It’s not the only bus stop where this happens. Similar disgusting scenes repeat themselves all over Jerusalem. What sick mind is responsible for such an act?

■ LAST WEEK the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design held its Yakir Bezalel ceremony, in which the honorees received the equivalent of an honorary doctorate. One of the honorees was Batia Ofer, a noted patron of the arts in Britain, where she lives, and in Israel, which she visits frequently.

Concurrent with the Yakir Bezalel awards was the inauguration of the Idan and Batia Ofer Arts wing at the academy, which has five floors and a transparent glass facade to facilitate constant eye contact between students and the world outside. Other recipients of the award included choreographer and contemporary dancer Ohad Naharin, American artist, illustrator, writer, and designer Meira Kalman, and founder of a gallery to promote the works of Arab artists Said Abu Shakra.

The Ofers are extremely generous philanthropists who have given to cultural, sporting, and medical causes throughout the country. In Jerusalem, the Ofers have also supported the National Library by donating a $15 million park that includes a 200-seat amphitheater and interesting flora and fauna.