Israel is one of several countries wary of entering into full diplomatic relations with Taiwan for fear of incurring the wrath of China. But Taiwan has proved to be a very loyal friend to Israel, even to the extent of making substantial fiscal donations to various Israeli causes.
It’s well past time for Israel to reconsider its relations with Taiwan and upgrade them to full diplomatic status.
For years now, Taiwan has been represented by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv, which has been frequently headed by Taiwanese diplomats who have represented Taiwan as ambassadors in other countries, which haven’t lost much by defying China.
The irony is that because Chinese and Taiwanese journalists have so much in common, more often than not, when working in Israel, they are good friends.
Taiwan’s representative in Israel is isolated from the rest of the diplomatic community, and while members of Knesset attend Taiwan’s national day receptions, members of the government do not.
On behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv last week donated significant funds to the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel to strengthen the resilience of cities and to ensure the safety and well-being of communities.
The donation is a clear expression of Taiwan’s solidarity with and support for Israel.
According to the Federation of Local Authorities, Taiwan’s donation will enable the establishment of a satellite communication system that includes devices and a unified emergency room, in order to strengthen municipal security and defense needs in the local authorities.
The federation stated in a press release that this is an expression of solidarity with the State of Israel and its citizens, and is a testament to the strong ties between the two peoples.
Haim Bibas, chairman of the federation, said at the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony: “The contribution of the Taipei Ministry of Economy and Culture in Tel Aviv is an expression of solidarity and friendship between us. The donation will enable local authorities to strengthen and expand residents’ sense of personal security. We express our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the Taiwanese people for their steadfast support of us.”
Abby Yapping Lee, who heads the Taiwan mission, reaffirmed her country’s support and solidarity by saying that “Taiwan is praised as a reliable partner and force for good in the world. Taiwan will be your reliable partner in the journey of rebuilding home and hope.”
Tel Aviv University Professor wins prestigious award
■ ISRAEL MAY be regressing in the sphere of public opinion, but Israelis are doing well in fields of academic and scientific excellence. Prof. Hagit Messer-Yaron from Tel Aviv University’s Fleischman Faculty of Engineering is the recipient of the 2024 IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies, recognizing her outstanding “contributions to sensing of the environment using wireless communication networks.”
Established in 1884, IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, is the world’s largest international professional association, with approximately 450,000 members worldwide. IEEE strives to advance technological innovation and entrepreneurship for the benefit of humanity, and the IEEE Medal is regarded by electrical engineering researchers as the “Nobel Prize” in their field.
Messer-Yaron’s research addresses two of today’s greatest scientific and technological challenges: climate change and its implications for life on earth, and processing big data in AI systems.
The first challenge, she says, necessitates close monitoring of precipitation and other climatic phenomena in any place inhabited by humans. Today, she adds, the presence of people is highly correlated with the existence of wireless communication networks.
“The technology we developed enables processing and analyzing the big data collected by these existing communication networks for other purposes,” she explains. “Specifically, it uses changes in signal intensity to monitor meteorological phenomena in general and precipitation in particular. This is a breakthrough in monitoring climate change and the ways to address it.”
Current challenges have generated considerable interest worldwide in sustainable technology, including the establishment of a cohort of more than 100 researchers working to implement it with European Union funding, notes Messer-Yaron.
Another Israeli professor receives award for breakthrough in perinatal medicine
■ YET ANOTHER source of pride for Israel is Dr. Arthur I Eidelman, who is the recipient of the 2023 SONPM Pioneer award honoring pioneers in neonatology. Awarded by the American Academy of Pediatrics Section of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine, it honors pioneers in neonatology who through their lifelong accomplishments have championed the health and well-being of newborns. Their research and its utilization span the globe.
It had been intended to present Eidelman with the award at the Annual International Meeting of the Academy of Breast-feeding Medicine, which was held last November, but due to his volunteering for much-needed clinical service in Israel during Operation Swords of Iron, he was unable to attend.
Eidelman, who began his medical career in New York, where he was one of the organizers of the first statewide Perinatal Society, serving as its president from 1977-79, worked tirelessly and effectively in developing modern programs for the care of newborn infants. Many of his programs have been adopted across America and beyond.
After spending a sabbatical year in Israel, Eidelman decided to make his permanent home in Jerusalem, where he established a department of neonatology, was elected as the first president of the Israel Neonatal Society, and ultimately became chairman of the department of pediatrics at Shaare Zedek Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Hebrew University School of Medicine.
He also continued to serve as visiting professor of pediatrics at Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He has served in top executive positions in medical organizations in the US and Israel.
London Eurovision screening event gets canceled
■ ISRAEL HAS long asserted that adjudication in the Eurovision Song Contest is politically biased. The European Broadcasting Union has categorically denied that there are political considerations in the judging, but anyone who has closely observed who votes for whom and when, must at least suspect that politics influence decisions on whether to award points, and how many, if any.
The EBU will probably keep on denying the connection between politics and the end results, but if that’s the case why did it open up the voting to television viewers worldwide? Was it in the hope that voting would be more objective and that the average viewer (if there is such a thing) would be voting on the basis of the appeal of the song or the performance by the singer, rather than the country that the singer and the song represent?
The decision by the management of London’s Rio Cinema to refrain from screening the grand finale of the Eurovision contest if Israel remains in the competition is most definitely a politically motivated move.
The annual screening is one of the biggest social events in London, which apparently is not going to happen this year unless the Rio Cinema management has a change of heart and mind.
Only the most naive of optimists would expect Israel’s entry to win, even after it was changed because the EBU deemed the original to cross political boundaries. Funny how that aspect has been ignored in relation to other countries embroiled in hostilities.
When Israel’s replacement song was given the green light by the EBU, neither KAN, under whose auspices Israel is competing, nor singer Eden Golan nursed any false hopes that Israel might win. It’s enough of a triumph to be able to compete, after the obstacles threatening to prevent Israel’s participation were removed.
Bike lanes are ruining Israeli traffic
■ BE CAREFUL what you wish for. If you thought that there were too many cars on the road, the current situation is a lot worse. As a keen cyclist himself, it was understandable that Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai wanted to see more bikes in his city in order to relieve the pressure of heavy traffic that often caused long delays in getting from point A to point B.
Traffic congestion in Jerusalem is just as bad, and Mayor Moshe Lion is no less enthusiastic than his Tel Aviv counterpart to see more people riding bikes and less people driving cars.
That would be all well and good if bicycle riders did not violate most traffic regulations. Israel is not the only place where that happens. A report by journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet in the British daily The Telegraph is headlined: “Cyclists have turned Paris into hell on earth.”
She comments that “the city is being ruined by bicycle lanes, e-bikes, and the nastiest cycling culture in the world.”
Just as in Paris, pavements in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and elsewhere in the country are being overrun by motorcyclists and bicycle riders who have little or no consideration for pedestrians. In Israel there are also electric scooters, which have been banned in Paris.
Pavements for pedestrians have been narrowed by the construction of parking bays for rental bicycles and scooters. Motorcyclists park their vehicles wherever they find space; and where there are no parking bays for scooters, they are left helter-skelter on the pavement, blocking the path of pedestrians.
Even when using cycling lanes, they ride in the opposite direction to motorized traffic, causing serious accidents resulting in fatalities at worst.
Just as they didn’t pay attention to the dangers of Hamas and Hezbollah, or the perils of overcrowding Meron, the authorities are not paying attention to the dangers posed by bike riders under the status quo. Surely more attention should have been given to ensure the safety of pedestrians.
It’s still not too late to instill better safety measures.
Former Kiryat Shoma mayor joins evacuees
■ FORMER MAYOR of Kiryat Shmona Prosper Azran believes that the evacuation of residents of his city is a cover-up for the negligence of the past four governments which chose to cast an almost blind eye on mounting acts of conflict emanating from Lebanon. Azran, who is by no means a leftist, notes that consecutive governments have not taken the security situation seriously. Now the government is worried about possible civilian casualties.
Azran refused to join the evacuees, and has remained in Kiryat Shmona.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
■ GERMAN CHANCELLOR Olaf Scholz was again in Israel this week, for the second time since the Hamas assault on Israel’s southern communities. The chancellor also has serious worries at home, with Weimar increasingly preserving its Nazi legacy.
Here in Israel, German Ambassador Steffen Seibert has been involved with families of the hostages since October, and spoke at a demonstration in Tel Aviv last Saturday night, where he noted how sad it was that after so much time, there was still a need to gather every week to demand the immediate return of the hostages.
81st anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is coming up
■ TIME MOVES faster than we realize. In approximately a month’s time, Jews around the world will be marking the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. But the fact is that there are Holocaust-related anniversaries all year round – the establishment of the first ghetto in cities, towns, and villages throughout Europe and North Africa; the first labor camp; the first deportation to a death camp; and the day of liberation.
In Thessaloniki this week, the Joint March of Remembrance commemorated the anniversary of the first deportation 81 years after the departure of the first train from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The march left Eleftherias Square and concluded at the train station. Participants included members of the German Marsch des Leben branch in Thessaloniki who are also members of the European March of the Living (EMOTL).
The march was organized by the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the Jewish community of Thessaloniki, the Aristotle University, the University of Macedonia, the International Hellenic University, and EMOTL.
Before the Holocaust, Thessaloniki was home to 50,000 Jews, 96% of whom were deported to Auschwitz and killed, said David Saltiel, the president of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki and of the Central Board of the Jewish Communities of Greece, and a member of EMOTL.
Holocaust survivor Dr. Benjamin Albalas, the chairman of the European March of the Living Network, who together with his family was saved by a Greek Righteous Among the Nations, underscored that there were 365 Greek Christians who were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for their courage in saving Jews from the Nazis. Albalas recalled that 81 years ago, when the first of 89 trains left Thessaloniki, none of the Jews on board knew if they would ever return.
This year’s commemoration is very different, he said, “as we have seen the atrocities of the 7th of October in Israel like the atrocities of the Holocaust. But this second experience of the Shoah has been forgotten very quickly by humanity; and worse, the antisemitism rose a lot, as well as the denial of what happened in Israel, like the denial of the Holocaust.
“We are fortunate that in Greece we don’t have severe antisemitic acts, and only some newspapers and some websites are full of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli hate speech.”
He invited all the marchers to join the International March of the Living between Auschwitz and Birkenau on May 6.
“At a time when the preaching of fanaticism and intolerance is once again finding fertile ground, the reminder of the martyrdom of more than 50,000 Greek Jewish fellow citizens acquires a dramatic topicality,” said Thessaloniki Mayor Setlios Angeloudis. “Our greatest enemy must be complacency. Silence, tolerance, and indifference give precious oxygen to the monster of hatred.”
Stressing the necessity “to reaffirm our commitment against antisemitism, racism, and other forms of hatred every day,” he added that “it is our minimum obligation, in memory of our fellow citizens, in memory of the six million Jewish victims of the ‘Final Solution,’ to hear their history, to learn from them, to remember.”
In Israel, the memory of the decimated Jewish community of Thessaloniki is maintained by international personalities who can trace their roots to this Greek port city. Among them is singer Yehuda Poliker, whose parents were Auschwitz survivors who were born in Thessaloniki, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who was born in Thessaloniki to parents who were Holocaust survivors.
Former chair of National Library of Israel passes away
■ SEVERAL HEBREW papers last Friday carried very large advertisements in which 70 rabbis, academics, and public figures paid tribute to David Blumberg, the former longtime chairman of the National Library of Israel, who spearheaded its renewal plans and presided over the impressive ceremony for the laying of its cornerstone.
Blumberg, a banker, who will celebrate his 80th birthday this year, served as chairman of the library from 2007 till January 2022, when he resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment. Broadcaster Ayala Hasson reported that he had harassed his personal assistant and had paid her hush money to the tune of NIS 240,000. Blumberg denied the allegation, which he attributed to a personal vendetta, but did not name the person whom he believed to be responsible. Knowing that if he allowed the case to drag on by fighting it, both his family and the National Library might suffer the consequences, he resigned, saying at the time he was too sick and too old to become involved in a battle.
The library had initially been due to open in 2022, but was well behind schedule. The official opening, which had been moved to the latter part of last year and which included the dedication of different sections in the names of various donors and honorees, did not take place, because of the October 7 rampage perpetrated by Hamas, but the library is operating and on Wednesday, March 20, is the venue for the World Zionist Organization’s Heschel Conference on Jewish Peoplehood.
But credit must be given where it’s due. Without Blumberg’s efforts and influence, the iconic building close to the Knesset and the Safra campus of the Hebrew University would not have seen the light of day.
The tribute advertisement, which is in the form of an open letter that begins “Dear David,” praises Blumberg for his vision, his determination, and his years of involvement in the library’s renewal, as well as its place in the National Complex in Jerusalem.
Among the signatories are rabbis Eli Ben-Dahan, Benny Lau, Michael Melchior, and Haim Sabato; academics Rachel Elior, a renowned professor of Jewish philosophy; Prof. Aharon Barak, who is also a former president of the Supreme Court; Prof. Elyakim Rubinstein, a former deputy president of the Supreme Court; Adina Bar Shalom, who has broadened the educational horizons of haredi girls; Prof. David Harel, president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities; Prof. Menachem Magidor, a former president of the Hebrew University; and public figures Ruth Cheshin, the former head of the Jerusalem Foundation; Lion; political party leader and former minister Avigdor Liberman; Natan Sharansky, former minister and former chairman of the Jewish Agency, and his wife, Avital; and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, whose late first wife, Adi Blumberg, an artist, was David Blumberg’s daughter. Blumberg established the Adi Foundation, which promotes and supports art projects, in her memory.
All the other signatories have also collectively left indelible imprints on Israeli politics, diplomacy, law, science, high finance, entertainment, and more.
Baghdadi-Jewish family continues its tradition of philanthropy
■ BEFORE INDIA and Israel formally established diplomatic relations in January 1992, there were Vinod and Reena Pushkarna, the most visible Indian faces in Israel, who arrived in the country with their two children in 1983.
Vinod was and is a background entrepreneur, quietly ensuring that everything runs smoothly, and Reena is not only the public face of the Indian community in Israel, but a kind of unofficial ambassador, who works hand in glove with every official Indian ambassador.
Descended from Baghdad Jews, she represents all Indians in Israel, but has the closest affinity with those whose ancestors came from Baghdad. She also stays in close contact with the various Jewish communities in India, but particularly those who can trace their lineage to Baghdad.
Last month she circulated a YouTube video featuring Rabbi Aharon Roni Tzarfati, who was asked by the congregants of Knesset Eliyahoo to come from Israel to Mumbai to be their spiritual leader.
A good narrator with a pleasing voice, Tzarfati is proud to serve in what he believes to be the only synagogue in India with a daily minyan (prayer quorum of at least 10 men) three times a day. This may also be the case with any of the several Chabad centers in India, but none of them have been around as long as Knesset Eliyahoo, which was built in 1884 by Jacob Elias Sassoon, the grandson of the famous businessman and philanthropist David Sasson, who moved from Baghdad to India in 1832. The builder of the synagogue called it after his own father, Eliyahoo Sassoon.
The Sassoon family has maintained a tradition of philanthropy in all the countries of its dispersion.
The famous Sassoon Codex, the earliest complete Hebrew Bible dating back more than a thousand years, was acquired last year by ANU – Museum of the Jewish People. The purchase price was $38.1 million.
Israeli business leaders head to prestigious meeting in Switzerland
■ MORE THAN 120 Israeli business leaders gathered at the monthly meeting of the Israel-Switzerland and Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce, led by Gideon Hamburger, president of the Harel Insurance and Finance Group. Part of the reason for the larger than usual attendance was the guest speaker, Ohad Hemo, the Channel 12 senior Arab affairs reporter, whose views they were eager to hear.
Hemo, made it clear that he was optimistic that a ceasefire agreement would be reached in the near future. He explained that after the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, Hamas realized that the Israeli army had woken up and is now determined to totally destroy Hamas. Hemo does not believe that this ambition can be realized, but Israel can certainly eliminate some leading Hamas figures – and has in fact already done so.
Among those present were Swiss Ambassador Urs Bucher, who is a regular attendee; Yair Hamburger, chairman of Harel; Shimshon Harel, from Canada-Israel Partners and chairman of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s board of trustees; Shalom Zeidler, the chairman and owner of Wissotzky Tea; Ben Hamburger, vice chairman of the Harel Group; Dr. Guy Rothkopf, chairman of Harel Insurance and former CEO of the Justice Ministry; Lezika and Ami Sagi; Yehuda Raveh; Eran Shapira , deputy chairman of Lapidot; Rina Baum, CEO of Uni-Bit; Natalie Mashan, CEO of Discount Investments; Roni Pivko, CEO of Israel Club Hotels; Nir Cohen, CEO of Harel Insurance Company; industrialist Doron Tamir; and Aliza Sharon.
Kan broadcaster receives award for environmental awareness
■ KAN 11 and Reshet Bet broadcaster Michal Wasserman received a special citation in recognition of her work in promoting environmental awareness. The citation was presented to her within the framework of the Green Economy and Quality of Life Conference, which was held at the Avenue Conference Center in Lod.
In her acceptance speech, an excited Wasserman said that she is proud to be employed by KAN 11, which provides her with a platform for both quality of the environment, and climate control.
Both are important not only to Israel, she emphasized, but to the whole of humanity. Climate control, she said, should be an integral part of political policy.
