Grapevine: Hope from Hadassah

There was also a heart-rending interview with Danielle Aloni, a single mother, who, with her five-and-a-half-year-old daughter Emilia, had been taken hostage and released after 49 terrifying days. During that time, not knowing whether they would survive, she had done everything in her power to prevent her child from being afraid, spinning stories to calm the little girl’s fears. “I gave her hope,” she said in retrospect. She also emphasized the importance of released hostages accepting invitations to speak about what they had undergone, and said that she accepts every invitation that comes her way.

Another interviewee was Dr. Esi Sharon Sagi, an oral rehabilitation specialist at Hadassah, who was able to identify victims of Hamas by their teeth. She and her team had very little sleep while engaged in this important work, she said, but they all supported each other, “because we are like family.”

Some of the women interviewed had difficult childhoods, but all said that even in the case of parents who had not completed high school, they were encouraged to continue their education, which had led them to their respective careers.

Itzik, who was one of eight siblings in an economically deprived family, was born at Hadassah, as were her children. Working initially as a school teacher, she never imagined that she would become a politician and eventually the first woman to head the Hadassah Board. But she has other firsts in her CV. Just as Nancy Pelosi was the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives in the US, Itzik was the first and so far only woman speaker of the Knesset. Before that, she was the first woman to head the Industry Ministry, and later the first and only woman to be the acting president of the state.

Both Itzik and Schwartz paid tribute to former national president of Hadassah Nancy Falchuk for her dedication, her compassion, and her philanthropy. Itzik said she was proud to call Falchuk her friend, and Schwartz hailed Falchuk as an inspiration whom she had tried to emulate.

But the most important source of inspiration for all of them was Henrietta Szold, who, during a trip to pre-state Israel in 1909, was horrified by both the lack of sanitation and the lack of education. She decided to do something about both, and in 1912 held the founding meeting of Hadassah, which has consistently kept growing, and has produced many leaders, both professional and volunteers, who worked according to Szold’s motto of “the highest form of leadership is service to others.”

She scorned the many accolades that came her way, saying, “I don’t want to be great; I want to be useful.”

THE ISRAEL Association for European Integration, together with the European Forum at the Hebrew University, will host a Make it or Break it conference at the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, on Wednesday, January 14, to discuss “The EU at Multiple, Domestic, Regional and Global Crossroads.”

Numerous topics will be discussed by a series of panels at the day-long event. Panelists will include academics, high-ranking officials serving in European and Israeli organizations, and diplomats. Among the latter will be ambassadors Michael Mann of the European Union, Maciej Hunia of Poland, Steffen Seibert of Germany, J.P. Singh of India, and Ohad Nakash Kaynar, Israel’s ambassador-designate to Albania.

Topics include economics, “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – Past and Present,” “The Implications of the Gaza War on Israel-Europe Relations,” defense, the “Industrial Transformation of the EU,” “Organized Crime, Corruption and Informal Protection at the Israel-EU Governance Frontier,” and “The Wave of Authoritarian Governments and the Pressure on Liberal Democracy.” The latter address will be delivered by Robert Habeck, former vice chancellor of Germany.

SOMETHING THAT many Israelis have in common with Australian Jews is the demand for the establishment of a special commission to investigate flaws in security and intelligence that endanger the whole population.

In Israel, despite attempts to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cleared of all the charges for which he is standing trial, and to ensure that he does not have to accept responsibility for the Hamas invasion and its ensuing atrocities, nor for the deaths of hostages who were murdered or died in captivity, there are still many voices demanding a state commission of inquiry, which must be totally devoid of politicians.

In Australia, the organizations calling for a commonwealth commission include the Australia-Israel, Jewish Affairs Council, the Zionist Federation of Australia, Zionism Victoria, the Zionist Council of New South Wales, the State Zionist Council of Queensland, the State Zionist Council of West Australia, the State Zionist Council of South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory Zionist Council, the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, Women’s Zionist Organization of Australia, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Rabbinical Council of Australia, the Rabbinical Council of New South Wales, the Rabbinical Council of Victoria, the Australasian Zionist Youth Council, and the Union for Progressive Judaism, which last week issued a letter with a unified call for the establishment of a commonwealth royal commission into antisemitism.

The letter acknowledges recent actions taken by federal and state governments, but notes that such actions have been taken against the backdrop of an unprecedented surge of antisemitism across Australia. The letter also contains a reminder that for over two years, the signatories to the letter have warned against the escalating incitement and the repercussions of violent antisemitism.

However, Albanese said at a press conference last week that the heads of Australian national security agencies – including Dennis Richardson, the former head of ASIO – had advised the government not to hold a royal commission. But Richardson is heading a federal inquiry that is examining the national security and intelligence framework.

While agreeing that Richardson has impeccable credentials, the letter states that actions now being taken to investigate and combat antisemitism are insufficient. In this regard, it underscores that antisemitism in Australia is no longer sporadic or peripheral. It is systematic and entrenched and demands a national response commensurate with the threat it poses to public safety and social cohesion.

An important question asked in the letter is, “Don’t Australians deserve to know what happened [in Bondi], but why it happened?

“Without knowing the truth behind this massacre, how can Australians truly feel safe, and how can we make sure that it doesn’t happen again?”

Jews have been living in Australia since 1788. Many prospered and have given back through large-scale philanthropy, contributions in their respective fields by prominent figures in law, medicine, education, politics, business, and the arts. Two governors-general of Australia, Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir Zelman Cowen, were Jewish.

There was always some kind of antisemitism in Australia, but nothing as massive as since October 7, 2023.

Although Jews made significant contributions to Australia’s economy, it was not until 1960 that Herbert Hojel, a chartered accountant, became the first Jewish member of the Melbourne Stock Exchange.

Jews are annually included in Australia’s New Year’s Honors list, and several have also been knighted.