It was a full house last Monday at the Jerusalem Cinematheque for the Israeli premiere of the much-acclaimed film version of the Broadway production of Golda’s Balcony. The audience included a large delegation from the Hamptons synagogue in New York, founded by Rabbi Marc Schneier. The delegation arrived in Israel on December 5, after spending five days in Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority country which has diplomatic relations with Israel and has lived in harmony with its Jewish minority for 2,000 years.
The stage production of Golda’s Balcony starring Tovah Feldshuh had been the longest-running one-woman show on Broadway. Feldshuh, who was part of Schneier’s delegation, was briefly detained by journalists before entering the auditorium, and Schneier filled in the time with a joke about Golda Meir and Henry Kissinger. The first time the two met in Israel, Meir had suggested that they go to the Western Wall so Kissinger could place a petition in the stones. He ended up placing not one but three.
When Meir queried what he had asked for, he replied that the first was that he should have a good marriage with his wife. The second was that he should succeed as secretary of state, and the last was that all the territories captured by Israel during the war of 1967 be returned. Regarding his third request, Meir responded, “You’re talking to the wall.”
Something along similar lines appeared in the script of the play, where Kissinger tells Meir that first he is an American, secondly he is the US secretary of state, and thirdly he is a Jew. To which she snaps, “In Israel, we read from right to left.” Another memorable line was: “Survival is a synonym for being Jewish.”
After the screening, Feldshuh sat on stage with Lior Raz of TV’s Fauda. One of her remarks in relation to her 50 years on Broadway was, “Acting is cheaper than therapy.”
What was quite amazing at the close of the film was the merging of the spontaneous standing ovation by members of the Broadway audience on screen and the one by the viewers at the Cinematheque. The simultaneous applause could be heard on both the sound system and live.
Even though Feldshuh supports organizations such as Peace Now, she said that she doesn’t believe in a two-state solution. “It’s very difficult to negotiate with people who want to kill you,” she stated.
Lior Raz's Oct. 7 story
These days, when Jews get together, Oct. 7 inevitably find its way into the conversation. Raz, a former commando in the IDF, recounted that he was in Romania when Hamas attacked. He received a call from his sister, who was hiding in a shelter in Kibbutz Erez, with only a knife with which to defend herself. She begged him to come and help her. But he was too far away. He was like a caged lion.
Contrary to what usually happens, he said, when there is a crisis of this kind in other countries, people run away. Israelis who are abroad always rush home to help. He couldn’t get a flight out of Romania in the morning, but he managed to get a seat on an El Al flight in the evening. During the flight, he kept track on his cellphone of what was happening in Israel.
When he landed in Israel, he was told that there were still terrorists in the area and that people from Sderot had to be evacuated. He took his jeep and his gun, and without telling his wife, he headed south. The first people he evacuated comprised a blind family who didn’t know what to do. He delivered them to a safe place, then turned back to pick up some more people.
He knocked on the door of a home, gun in hand, and spoke Hebrew. When the door opened, he was instantly recognized. He piled the occupants into the back of his jeep and drove away while bullets were flying in the air. But while he was driving, he kept feeling a tap on his shoulder. The reason: His passengers wanted a selfie with him.
Synagogue news
■ HAZVI YISRAEL congregation members last week bade farewell to Deena and Auri Spigelman, longtime synagogue stalwarts, who are moving to Bereshit in the Judean Hills. Synagogue chair Marsha Wachsman told them they would always be welcome at the synagogue.
That may be sooner than most people realize. Auri is a member of the Rinat Jerusalem Men’s Choir, which specializes in singing Jewish songs, both liturgical and secular, with particular emphasis on melodies composed by Shlomo Carlebach. The Rinat choir will give a Hanukkah concert at the Hazvi Yisrael synagogue on Hovevei Zion Street in Talbiyeh on Monday, December 15, at 7:30 p.m.
Alex Berlyne, a JPost star
■ THIS YEAR is the 25th anniversary of the passing of Alex Berlyne, a talented writer, artist, and editor, who worked for many years at The Jerusalem Post. As a section editor in the former building of the paper, Berlyne had his own cubicle, where he was frequently visited by other journalists who admired his wit and the many anecdotes with which he would regale them.
One of those frequent visitors was health, science, and technology reporter Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, who, in addition to being a prolific writer, is a prolific reader. Recently, she visited the covered open library in Beit Hakerem, where there are thousands of books in numerous languages. She bought some books, which, as a self-taught speed reader, she read, and then she returned to purchase some more.
She came across a book that she had not read in the past, but she knew “the wonderful author so well.” The book was With Prejudice, and the author was Alex Berlyne. She bought it, took it home, and immediately began reading it.
“He was so clever and sweet,” she recalls. Veteran Jerusalem Post readers may remember his column in the Post, which was also called “With Prejudice.” The book of the same title was one of a series, all of which can be found in the archives of the National Library.
When he wasn’t writing, drawing, or editing, Berlyne was a volunteer policeman and an avid collector of headgear – military caps, firemen’s helmets, and traditional head coverings of national and ethnic groups. It was an extremely interesting collection as visitors to the book-lined apartment on Aza Street that he shared with his wife, Edna, could vouch.
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