Released Hostages Endure Degrading Ceremony in Gaza
A chief topic of concern for the Jews of Eretz Yisroel—and the rest of the world as well—this past weekend was, of course, the release of another three hostages from Gaza. Once again, the hostages were released on Shabbos. Even when the accursed terrorists agree to do something positive, it is done in the most painful way; of all days to release their prisoners, they chose Shabbos. For those of us who observe Shabbos, it was only on motzoei Shabbos that we were exposed to the names and pictures of the freed hostages. This time, the pictures were especially significant. Unlike the hostages who were previously released, these three men were held under conditions of intense starvation and prolonged torture and were not even able to breathe fresh air. They spent nearly a year and a half in suffocating tunnels, suffering from psychological torment.
The three hostages released this past week were Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben-Ami. The media published pictures of the three men reuniting with their families, and the images were heartbreaking. Or Levy was not aware until his release that his wife, Einat, had been murdered on Simchas Torah. He was reunited with his three-year-old son, Almog, who has been cared for by his family during this time, and the family had no choice but to reveal that his wife was dead. Eli Sharabi, for his part, had been told by his captors that his brother, who was likewise abducted, had been murdered in captivity. He waited longingly to be reunited with his wife and daughters, unaware that all three had been murdered on that awful day; the fate of his family was made clear to him only upon his release. Both these stories are utterly tragic.
Hamas published a video of the “liberation ceremony” that they staged on Shabbos in the Gazan city of Deir al Balah. It was a cruel, repugnant, and demeaning display. The three hostages were forced to stand on a stage, which took major effort on their part due to their weakened condition. The stage was set up in a public square, and they were surrounded by hundreds of Arabs, most of them armed and masked. The men were forced to recite statements that had been dictated to them and then were escorted to the waiting Red Cross vehicles in an utterly demeaning fashion. The message was clear: The Hamas terrorists were portraying themselves as the victors in this conflict.
Equally shocking was the radical change in the three men’s appearance during their time in captivity. The pictures taken before their abductions show three normal-looking human beings, and they have since been changed almost beyond recognition. They are now emaciated, pale, and feeble to the point that they can barely stand on their feet. Their physical state was eerily reminiscent of the appearances of Auschwitz survivors after the war, although many people have called for the avoidance of Holocaust comparisons. In any event, the abusive treatment endured by these three men has made it very clear that we are dealing with beasts in the guise of human beings, the modern-day version of Nazis.
Sharon Sharabi Embraced His Brother and Whispered “Shema Yisroel”
We are living in an era of visual images, when a photograph or brief video often becomes the most enduring representation of an event. The image of Or Levy embracing his three-year-old son Almog has become another iconic symbol of the current situation in Israel. When they were reunited, Almog was heard saying to his father, “Abba, it took you a long time to come back to me.”
Or Levy hasn’t had much time to describe his experiences in captivity, and the professionals have advised anyone dealing with returning hostages to refrain from pressing them for information and to allow them to speak at their own pace. But even the snippets of information he has shared have painted a horrifying picture of his ordeal. He was barefoot for most of the time, and he was never even able to tell if it was winter or summer. As I mentioned, he was also unaware that his wife had been murdered. He spent much of the time together with Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben-Ami, who were released with him.
There was also a picture of Eli Sharabi that sent waves of powerful emotion through the nation. The image showed Eli’s reunion with his brother, Sharon Sharabi, who spent months leaving no stone unturned in his struggle to free his two captive brothers, Eli and Yossi. The family was already aware that Yossi had been killed (some say by an Israeli airstrike, unfortunately), and the news had reached Eli in captivity as well. However, upon his release, the family had to convey more tragic news to him: Eli’s wife, Lianne, and his daughters, 16-year-old Noya and 13-year-old Yahel, had been murdered. When Sharon was reunited with Eli, he embraced his brother and wept bitterly. He was wrapped in a tallis, and as they embraced, he whispered through his tears, “Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad.” Eli was soon reunited with his mother and sister as well.
Ohad Ben-Ami, who is 55 years old, was fortunate enough to be reunited with his wife and daughters, and their reunion was incredibly emotional. His daughters related that he had become so gaunt and frail that they were unable to recognize him. Ohad quipped to them, “I was a size extra large when I left, and I am returning as a medium.” His hands, like those of his fellow hostages, had become frighteningly thin and sickly, and his legs barely managed to hold him up. The three released hostages were airlifted to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv by a military helicopter, accompanied by a medical team and a small group of the family members who had joined them at the meeting point in Reim.
Herzog: “This Is a Crime Against Humanity”
The outrage over the hostages’ condition and the behavior of the Hamas terrorists drew fierce reactions from many directions, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Yitzchok Herzog, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Netanyahu, who was still in Washington at the time, released the following statement: “Or, Eli, and Ohad returned home today. Sara and I embrace them and their precious families. Once again, we have seen the nature of the Hamas beasts. These are the same monsters who slaughtered our civilians and abused our hostages. And I will say it again: Their blood is on their own heads. We will do everything to bring all of our hostages home,” Netanyahu added. “We will ensure their safety. I have instructed our team to tell this to the mediators and to demand it. But beyond that, President Trump agreed with me completely: We will do everything to bring the hostages back, but Hamas will not exist. We will destroy Hamas, and we will bring our hostages home. This is our directive, and that is what we will do. ‘Save me from my enemies and pursuers,’” Netanyahu concluded, quoting a posuk.
President Herzog wrote emphatically, “This is what a crime against humanity looks like! The world should look at Ohad, Or, and Eli, who returned from a Gehinnom of 491 days in captivity in pain, weakened, and wounded, and were exploited in a cynical, wicked ceremony staged by accursed murderers. We take comfort in the fact that they are returning alive to the arms of their loved ones.” Herzog went on to mention the personal tragedies suffered by each of the returning hostages and then added, “Completing the hostage deal is a humane, moral, and Jewish act. It is vital for us to bring our sisters and brothers home from the Gehinnom of captivity in Gaza, down to the last one!”
Gideon Saar wrote, “In light of the horrific images of our hostages who returned from Hamas captivity today, I have sent a clear and sharp message to my counterparts in foreign ministries elsewhere in the world: Look at these pictures. You have often spoken about starvation in the Gaza Strip. Who in these pictures was starved? Who looks malnourished? The terrorists? The residents of Gaza? Or our hostages? They are the only ones; they look like Holocaust survivors. The Nazi-like evil of Hamas must be crushed.”
BBC and CNN Equate Hostages with Murderers
On that note, I must tell you about President Herzog’s public confrontation with the British Broadcasting Corporation during an interview at the beginning of the week. Herzog was outraged that the BBC drew an infuriating comparison between Palestinian prisoners who had been freed from Israeli jails and Israeli hostages returning home. “This is an outrageous and fundamentally false equation,” Herzog said. “I call on all of you to stop this approach.” The BBC is known for its blatantly skewed coverage, including presenters who refuse to use the word “terrorist” in reference to Hamas.
The interviewer, Laura Kuenssberg, began her conversation with Herzog by claiming that there is strong evidence that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are held under horrendous conditions and suffer from violence and degradation at the hands of their jailers. “How can you justify that?” she asked.
President Herzog is generally courteous and diplomatic. His family is originally from Ireland, where his grandfather served as the chief rabbi before relocating to Eretz Yisroel and occupying the same position there, and the president himself displays typical British manners. But that did not stop him from responding forcefully to his interviewer.
“I absolutely reject that,” Herzog replied vehemently. “I think that the equivalence that the BBC is constantly trying to make is outrageous, preposterous, and absolutely not true. We are a democracy and abide by the rule of law. All prisoners in Israel get whatever is due to them under the law and are under the supervision of the courts and the justices of the Supreme Court, who are not part of the prison system.”
Herzog revealed to the interviewer that there are some Palestinian prisoners who preferred to remain behind bars in Israel rather than return to Gaza. “Remember that the horrific assault on October was the beginning of an attack on the entire free world,” he said. “What we are doing is preventing them from engaging in other acts of terror against humanity.”
Standing her ground, the interviewer asked Herzog if he agreed that Isarel has committed war crimes in Gaza. Herzog flatly denied that claim. “We were attacked by barbarians on October 7,” he said. “We went into Gaza to defend ourselves, and we found a massive empire of terror there. Everything there is booby-trapped. We have the right to defend ourselves, just as any state would do.”
The BBC doesn’t have an exclusive claim to anti-Israel bias; the American network CNN is equally prejudiced. They, too, made an outrageous comparison between the Israeli hostages and Arab terrorists, running a headline that noted that while Israel was appalled by the sight of the three emaciated, weakened hostages released from Hamas captivity, some Palestinian prisoners in Israel were frail and gaunt as well. The attempt to create symmetry between innocent civilians snatched from their homes and terrorists with blood on their hands evoked widespread outrage.
Trump Meeting Frustrates Netanyahu Critics
Prime Minister Netanyahu can never do anything right. At least, that is what his many detractors and enemies seem to feel. No one denies that his trip to Washington has been important, effective, practical, and possibly even historic. Netanyahu decided to remain in Washington through motzoei Shabbos to make time for a series of meetings; one can assume that he was kept quite busy during his time there. But the prime minister’s enemies in Israel lambasted him for remaining in Washington while the three hostages who had been reduced to human skeletons returned from captivity on Shabbos.
The mere fact that Netanyahu met with Trump seems to be driving Netanyahu’s enemies out of their minds. They knew that Trump would likely be friendly and warm to the Israeli premier, but he was exceeded their expectations. When Trump declared that it is necessary to bring faith in the Creator back into our lives, they could no longer bear to listen to him. And then Trump declared his intent to evacuate the population of Gaza. It is unclear if this is a realistic prospect, but it is certainly driving the Israeli left insane. Trump is truly humbling them.
Regular Israelis enjoyed watching as Trump walked down the corridors from his office to the entrance to the White House and were impressed by the precision of his arrival, which was timed exactly three seconds before Netanyahu’s car pulled up. And then there was Trump’s gesture of pulling up the chair where Netanyahu sat to write a message in the White House visitors’ book. I understood the gesture to be a response to Netanyahu’s health condition; it is not easy for him to sit or walk. It appears that Trump is a mensch, in addition to everything else—although he also knows how to be ruthless when necessary.
Trump seems to be planning to radically alter the world order. He must be feeling like the king of the world at this time, in a position to impact the entire globe. Perhaps the world needs a policeman who will keep order everywhere—in China, in Colombia, in Ukraine, in South Africa, even in the Panama Canal … and in Gaza! There is a running joke in Isarel that this country might soon become the next state in the United States. Of course, that reminds me of a much older joke: Israel was once in dire straits, and someone advised the prime minister to declare war on America. “What could we possibly gain from that?” the prime minister asked.
“It’s simple,” the advisor replied. “America will win the war and will conquer us, and then we’ll become part of their territory and under their care. That will solve all of our problems!”
The prime minister thought about it for a while, and then a look of dread crossed his face as another thought occurred to him. “No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s too great a risk. What will happen if we win?”
Sara Netanyahu Returns to Face a Police Investigation
Binyomin Netanyahu was joined in Washington by his wife, Sara, who returned with him to Israel after a lengthy stay in Miami, where their son Yair has been staying. Mrs. Netanyahu’s time abroad has given rise to plenty of speculation and gossip, mostly having to do with the ongoing persecution of her husband. Sara and Yair Netanyahu traveled to Washington together, and Mrs. Netanyahu returned to Israel on motzoei Shabbos with her husband on Wing of Zion, the official aircraft for Israel’s head of state.
When Sara Netanyahu arrived in Israel, she found herself facing a criminal investigation. This investigation was opened by the attorney general in response to a journalist’s report—which has infuriated many people in this country. The media has carried countless investigative reports, and the attorney general is never in a rush to act on their revelations. In this case, however, she leapt into action at lightning speed to launch a police investigation.
This stands in sharp contrast, for instance, to a scandal that came to light over a year ago, when the media reported that a Reform clergyman who is a member of the Knesset had photocopied sensitive materials from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and leaked them to the press. The news report led to an official complaint that was filed against him, signed by several officials including the Knesset speaker. And what was the response to that complaint? Absolutely nothing. The wheels of justice—if it can indeed be called justice—grind very slowly. But in this case, the attorney general took action very quickly. One must wonder if the reason is that the suspect in question is named Sara Netanyahu.
The article that triggered this investigation claimed that Sara Netanyahu had enlisted a former (now deceased) aide to Prime Minister Netanyahu to organize protests and exert pressure on various elements in the law enforcement system and on her husband’s political rivals. These actions allegedly fall under the rubric of tampering with an investigation; the news report claimed that, among other things, Sara Netanyahu had tried to use the aide to intimidate potential witnesses who had been summoned by the police for questioning about the criminal cases against her husband. This narrative is based on information recovered from the deceased aide’s cell phone.
After a complaint was filed with the police following the release of the news report, the state prosecutor’s office informed the complainant (a woman who is a member of the Knesset) that an investigation had been opened. Nevertheless, the response to the complainant did not include Sara Netanyahu’s name. On December 26, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Prosecutor Amit Aisman announced that a criminal investigation would be opened against Sara Netanyahu on the charges of harassing a witness and obstruction of justice. This reeks of a blatant double standard.
Knesset Speaker to Boycott Ceremony at President’s Residence
The Knesset speaker, Amir Ochana, has been taking a firm stand against the attacks on the power and honor of Israel’s parliament. I have written in the past about the feud between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Justice Yitzchok Amit, who was long intended to become the next chief justice of the Supreme Court based on the traditional seniority system for selecting the court’s leaders. The most recent chapter in this story saw the two government ministers on the Judicial Selection Committee, as well as one member of the Knesset, boycotting the committee’s session when the judges of the Supreme Court ordered it to convene. At that session, Yitzchok Amit was officially appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court, but Yariv Levin, who chairs the committee and is supposed to be the one determining when the committee meets, announced that he refused to recognize the appointment. This brought the conflict between the government, the Knesset, and the court to a new level.
Following the committee’s dubious appointment of Amit, a ceremony was scheduled to be held in the official president’s residence. This is the standard procedure when a new chief justified is appointed; however, Justice Minister Levin and Minister Orit Strook announced that they planned to boycott the ceremony, a move that was been echoed by Knesset speaker Ochana, who wrote a public letter expressing his opposition.
“On January 1, 2024,” Ochana wrote, “the Supreme Court overstepped the bounds of its authority to an unprecedented degree by disqualifying a Basic Law that had been passed by the Knesset.” Ochana stressed that the court lacked any legal authority for this move and that it was effectively stealing powers that do not belong to it. He referred to the court’s move as a brutal violation with no precedent in the history of this state and an offense to the legislative branch, the democratically elected portion of the government. He described the judiciary as “the least democratic part of the government and the only branch in which unelected officials hold positions.” In addition to criticizing the court for striking down the law, Ochana denounced the method by which the new chief justice was selected. He described it as a “fundamentally flawed process” and accused the judicial system of applying an egregious double standard, holding itself and its own officials to a much lower standard of integrity than the behavior required of others.
Terrorist Murders Two Soldiers
Last week, there was a tragedy in the Jordan Valley, when a terrorist shot eight people at the Tayasir checkpoint before being eliminated by security forces. Two IDF soldiers were killed in the incident, and several others were wounded. Two of them were listed as severely injured, which means that they have years of suffering ahead of them.
It is not pleasant to have to say this, but the incident appears to have been a failure on the part of the IDF. An initial probe suggests that the terrorist infiltrated the military post at the checkpoint and shot two soldiers while they slept in their beds. Several long minutes passed before the terrorist was finally killed by a soldier. The IDF has been examining the conduct of the soldiers and their commanding officers at the site. The army revealed that they are examining the possibility that the terrorist might have fired into the soldiers’ living quarters without actually entering the compound, which consists of a watchtower and several structures housing the soldiers. But one thing is almost certain: Regardless of whether he was in the building or outside it, the terrorist managed to sneak onto the premises early in the morning and wait there unseen until he opened fire.
One of the questions that was raised in the army’s probe is whether the soldiers at the outpost performed the standard early morning procedure, which calls for the soldiers to get up early and increase the presence at their stations until after dawn. Why the soldiers on patrol didn’t detect the terrorist and liquidate him immediately is an open question. The army is also examining why the alarm that connects to the air force in the area wasn’t activated.
The soldiers who were attacked were reservists who had been stationed at the checkpoint a short time before. The commander of the battalion was severely wounded and another soldier was killed just ten days earlier. The army released a statement declaring, “The results of this incident are not acceptable to the IDF. Something went wrong here, and we are investigating it. The security services are examining whether the terrorist emerged from the nearby village or from the village of Tubas. The incident took place during IDF operations. Medical teams who rushed to the site evacuated the wounded to the hospital to continue receiving medical treatment.”
Terrorists Keep Trying to Murder Israelis
Though Israel reached an agreement with Hamas, terrorists are continuing their efforts to murder Jews! Last week, a suicide bomber was arrested by the Central Command while on his way to carry out a massive terror attack in the center of the country. The would-be bomber was already wearing an explosives belt and was preparing to detonate himself and sow mayhem when he was apprehended.
The Shin Bet announced that a terror cell was arrested several months ago after leaving Ramallah with the goal of bombing a bus in Yerushalayim. An investigation revealed that the cell had planned to remotely detonate explosives that they would smuggle into Israeli territory. Some of the members of the terror cell had also carried out a shooting attack against IDF forces during the previous year; that incident ended without injuries. According to the investigation, one of the detained terrorists created a homemade explosive and planned to carry out a suicide bombing on a bus in Yerushalayim. During the investigation, the cell surrendered an explosive device they had manufactured and planned to use for a test of the remote detonator. A Carlo machine gun was also confiscated.
The members of this cell were recently indicted on charges of gathering and conspiring for illegal purposes, shooting firearms at human beings, planning to cause deliberate death, possessing weapons, and attempting to manufacture weapons. The Shin Bet related, “In collaboration with the IDF, we will continue working to thwart any attempt to advance terror activities against the citizens of residents of the State of Israel and to bring anyone involved in such activities to justice.” It is unfortunate that they did not add the words “with Hashem’s help.”
Another Tragedy That Appears to Be an IDF Failure
Unfortunately, the IDF’s woes do not end there. On Thursday, two soldiers were killed in Gaza, when a crane used by the army collapsed due to the story weather. The accident led to the deaths of two soldiers from the Golani brigade and injured eight additional soldiers, one of whom is in critical condition. In response to the tragedy, the IDF stopped the operations of all other cranes in the Gaza envelope and the military outposts in the Gaza Strip pending the conclusion of an inquiry into the situation and an improvement in the weather conditions. At this point, the army believes that the crane collapse was caused by a sudden and unusually fierce wind. The crane contained an elevated platform of the type that the IDF has been using extensively throughout the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war to lift surveillance equipment and communications antennas.
The tragedy occurred shortly before midnight, when the harsh weather conditions and powerful winds caused the crane to collapse onto a tent beneath it, where several soldiers were sleeping. In retrospect, of course, everyone has demanded to know how the army could have placed the crane in an unstable position in the first place. It was revealed that one of the soldiers reported several hours earlier that the crane seemed to be wobbling. In short, it seems that the IDF is failing to properly monitor its equipment. Internal reports within the IDF reveal that there have been about 1200 operational accidents since the beginning of the war, 72 soldiers have been killed in accidents in Gaza, and about 1300 soldiers have been injured in accidents. I do not wish to invite the ayin hara or speak ill of anyone, but I should point out that an operational accident is usually something that could have been prevented with a bit more caution and attention.
Yeshiva Bochur Arrested at the Airport
I cannot possibly end this column without addressing the issue of the draft law. I will not get into the details of the law taking shape in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee at this time, for the simple reason that no one knows the details. Even the minister of defense is not aware of what the law states. For the time being, the committee is debating the law at great length while the chareidi community waits to see what sort of cholent is being concocted there. Some of the committee members have no interest at all in advancing the chareidi cause, which makes everyone a bit leery of what they are doing.
This week, however, brought a different development: A yeshiva bochur who attempted to leave the country (to travel to Uman) was arrested at the airport. As it turned out, this bochur was one of the few thousand young men who received draft orders, ignored them, and then become subject to arrest warrants. An arrest warrant cannot harm a bochur who is sitting in yeshiva, but a young man who is caught committing a violation while driving a car, or who tries to leave the country, is in serious danger of being taken into custody. If a bochur knows that an arrest warrant has been issued against him, it is advisable for him to remain in the bais medrash. (Then again, that is sound advice for anyone.)
The chareidi politicians didn’t know how to deal with this incident. They had no legal argument to make that would justify releasing the bochur. Nevertheless, the Vaad HaYeshivos and other organizations decided to solicit the involvement of a lawyer (and it seems that they all contacted the same lawyer). Demonstrations were also held on the bochur’s behalf. Rav Moshe Tzadkah, the rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef, was especially invested in the case; he considers himself responsible for the entire community of Sephardic bnei Torah, and he worked tirelessly to ensure the bochur’s freedom. The young man was eventually released, and the attorney representing him, Menachem Stauber, said, “During the disciplinary process, the officer who was judging the case decided to order the bochur released after reviewing the circumstances.”
This incident, along with two others that preceded it, somehow came to an end, but the government is clearly sending a message to bnei yeshivos: The sanctions against yeshiva bochurim who do not respond to draft notices can be expected to become more severe. The attorney general has been hounding the army to broaden its sanctions against any bochurim who received draft notices and did not appear at the draft office. In fact, she even went so far as to call for sanctions against bochurim who haven’t received draft notices at all. According to a document summarizing the committee session where those comments were made, “The IDF has recently decided to review the implications of arrests at the airport of candidates for security service who were subject to arrest warrants as draft evaders or deserters, both at the time of departure from the country and upon arrival.”
Army Reports on Draft Numbers
The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has received reports about what they consider an encouraging trend in the chareidi draft—in other words, rising enlistments in the chareidi community. The figures they received include bochurim who are not learning in yeshivos. The statistics presented to the committee reveal that 1222 chareidim (or young men designated as chareidim by law) were inducted into the IDF in the draft year 2019. The number was 1193 in the year 2020, 1185 in the year 2021, and 1266 in the year 2022. The draft year begins in July, and the draft year of 2024 is currently in full swing. About 1400 chareidim were conscripted during this year even before the enlistment for the Chashmonaim brigade, which began in January. To date, almost 70 chareidim joined that brigade.
At the same time, Brigadier General Shai Taib, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division, reported to the committee that out of the 3000 chareidim who received the draft orders sent in July, 461 of the candidates have reported to the draft offices. These figures, which were correct as of January 20, do not take into account the 7000 additional draft notices that were later issued. According to the figures presented by Taib, out of the 3000 orders issued at the time, 1242 of the recipients currently have the status of “tzav 12,” while another 1212 are subject to arrest warrants. Tzav 12 means that they were ordered to show up immediately for the draft; if the recipient of such an order does not appear at a draft office within a few days, then an official order is issued to prevent him from leaving the country, and he will be in danger of being taken to prison if he encounters a police officer at any time.
Religion in the Knesset Shul
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in the horseshoe-shaped lounge behind the Knesset’s main chamber, which is accessible only to a select group of individuals. While I was there, I overheard a Knesset member from the Likud party—whose identity is irrelevant—trying to convince MK Boaz Bismuth to go somewhere with him. Bismuth refused, and the other man was insistent. Finally, Bismuth said to him, “Listen, the only thing that interests me now is davening.” The other MK looked at him in surprise, and Bismuth said, “I am saying Kaddish for my mother.”
This may not sound like much of a story, but I consider it a snapshot of the state of Israeli society. Boaz Bismuth, an MK with the Likud party, is a native of Tel Aviv who attended a non-Jewish school and has previously served as an ambassador, a sports reporter, and the editor-in-chief of Yisroel HaYom. Yet when this man was in the middle of shloshim, he was interested only in reciting Kaddish for his mother. Because even Jews who are removed from religion, deep down, have a latent core of devotion to Yiddishkeit. In the weeks after his mother’s funeral, Bismuth was unshaven and wore a black yarmulke. In fact, he was at a committee session where a family member of a hostage screamed at him, “You can be calm because you don’t have a son in the army!” Bismuth explained later, “She was probably under the impression that I am chareidi, given my beard and yarmulke. In any event, my oldest child is only twelve years old.”
By now, Bismuth has completed the period of shloshim, but he still davens regularly in the Knesset shul and recites Kaddish. Two weeks ago, he invited the other mispallelim to a seudah marking the conclusion of shloshim at the shul in Tel Aviv where he davens. Bismuth revealed to me that the shul was previously located in a different area of the city, but the Balfour protestors forced it to relocate. “It is a shul with a distinguished history,” he added. “The Belzer Rebbe used to daven here, and there is still one Gerrer chossid in the congregation. It’s just unfortunate that there isn’t always a minyan during the week. On Shabbos, our gabbai, Dovid, ensures that we have a minyan.”
This week, Bismuth even led the davening. He asked Yinon Azulai to stand next to him in case he botched the words, but he took the plunge for the sake of honoring his mother’s memory. I consider this to be a noteworthy story.
But let me add one small comment: Other natives of Tel Aviv assure me that the shul has plenty of daily minyonim. Perhaps it is only at the times when Bismuth comes to shul that the minyonim do not materialize.
