An illustration from Yerus Goes to Jerusalem. (photo from Sid Tafler)
The Ethiopian aliyah to Israel inspired people around the world when it was first revealed in the 1980s. Today, there are 125,000 first-, second- and third-generation Israelis from Ethiopia.
The story of the courage and determination of the community to return to Eretz Yisrael after 2,000 years of isolation from the rest of the Jewish world is told in the beautiful children’s book Yerus Goes to Jerusalem. About a young girl’s experience making the difficult journey from her village in Ethiopia, the award-winning book, written in Hebrew and illustrated by Ethiopian artist Moran Yogev, is well known to thousands of Israeli students and their parents. A new crowdfunding campaign will translate it into English, to make it accessible to Jewish schoolchildren everywhere, so they can share in the triumph of the Ethiopian community in achieving their dream.
Everyone is invited to join this venture with a donation of any amount, large or small. Only $20 will reserve one of the first copies of Yerus Goes to Jerusalem published in English for your children, grandchildren or your synagogue or Hebrew school.
This campaign is led by Dror Yisrael, a service organization in Israel, and a committee of organizers, mostly in Israel and the United States, including Sid Tafler of Victoria, the only Canadian on the committee.
On Canadian Friends of Hebrew University trips to the Israel National Trail, travelers will take their time and enjoy the landscape. (photo from Ami Dotan)
The Vancouver chapter of Canadian Friends of Hebrew University has plans to walk the Israel National Trail (Shvil Yisrael).
As it would take too long to walk the entire 1,000-kilometre trail, CFHU Vancouver will only walk its highlights, dividing them into five separate trips. The week-long excursions will be led by Ami Dotan, CFHU scholar-in-residence and a professional tour guide. The walks will take place each spring, beginning with a trip March 5-11, 2018.
“Generally, the main core of tour guiding in Israel involves going to Jerusalem and some of the holy sites and history and so on, which I totally love,” said Dotan. “But, whenever I get the chance to do some trekking, then I gravitate to it…. It’s my favourite thing. And, doing it on the INT – which was defined by National Geographic as one of the top 20 holy grails of treks in the world – it’s amazing.”
Dotan decided to kick the walks off by exploring Israel’s desert, as it provides such a contrast to the lush forests and lakes that most Canadians are used to at home.
“There’s something special about the desert,” he told the Independent. “There is no makeup of rivers and vegetation, just the essence, the core of things, the rocks and the ground…. Since I was a child, I loved the desert. Alone sometimes, with no cellphones, it touches your heart I think.
“If you ask yourself, ‘Why go to the desert?’ just think, the three major Western religions were conceived in deserts: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”
Growing up in Jerusalem, Dotan recalls having stepped out of his home as a child and walking to the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem, making his way to the Dead Sea. Eventually, his father would come with their old car to bring him back home after dark. “That’s when I began developing a love for the desert,” said Dotan. “And, then, of course, during military service, walking in the desert.”
The trip Dotan will be leading in March will begin with an overnight in Mitzpe Ramon, going down into the crater and walking across it to the other side. This is a 12- to 13-kilometre stretch of serious desert.
The group will then bus to the Arava for a night. Dotan described this area as being “in between Israel and Jordan, but very safe. The next day, we’ll go do a trek called Maale Palmach (Palmach Ascent). This is an ascent nobody knew was possible to do … and the Bedouin who met them at the other side said it couldn’t be done…. Therefore,” he said, “it was named ‘the Ascent of the Jews’ by the Arabs. We’ll do part of the trek, including climbing up a ladder, to be able to [get up] this cliff that they walked up.”
The third day will have participants heading into sand dunes, to Kibbutz Ktura for the night. And, on the fourth day, they will go to the colourful sand rocks near Eilat and spend the night in Eilat.
“Lastly, on Saturday, for people who want to walk on Saturday, we’ll go up the mountain and then down through the INT,” said Dotan. “Then, for those who want to go on to Petra, we’ll spend three more days and continue to Petra.
“The trip will involve special activities around the walks, to better understand the culture and the character of the people who live there, and things we do in the desert. And, we have a Bedouin evening with local people – an amazing way to get to know the desert geographically, but also the people who’ve lived there for so long and how their life changes in a modern country, which is fascinating subject on its own.
“Next year [2019], we will do less desert, instead going to the north, which is also beautiful. I think, what you get in the north is more the human diversity. You have the Jews – Orthodox, secular and Modern Orthodox – and Arabs, Christians and Druze. In the desert, you have a Jewish population and Bedouin.”
Dotan chose to have the trips in March for two reasons. One is because they will take place before Passover, so participants will have time to return home for holiday preparation. The other reason is that, in March, the desert may have some flowers blooming, as well as some vegetation and grass.
“I hope we’ll even get to have an appointment with some mountain goats that have their babies that time of year – amazing to see,” said Dotan. “Hopefully, we’ll find natural water pools in the valleys filled with water. Not Canadian-scale quantities of water, but, after you’ve walked all day and have been sweating and warm, you’ll get to jump into this cold, fresh natural water … before it disappears in a few months.
“Also, of course, March is the time that birds migrate from Africa back to Europe. Twice a year, we have half a billion birds flying all over Israel, and many of them fly over the Syrian-African rift (which is the border between Israel and Jordan … just over our heads). So, you’ll be able to see swarms of all sorts of birds – birds of prey, storks and pelicans, whatever you want.”
According to Dotan, the trip is designed for people who have good mobility, but it won’t be extreme. There will be walks of roughly 12 kilometres a day, but, as Dotan said he has learned from experience, “It’s not a question so much how many kilometres you walk, it’s about what type of kilometres you walk. Yes, we are going to go down sometimes very steep rocks, but, obviously, it’s doable. It’s part of the excitement of walking in the desert. If you’re reasonably fit, you can do it…. I’ve had people 80 years old doing this trek. It’s not a matter of age. It’s a matter of if you’re enjoying the walk. We’re not going to rush. On the contrary, we have a lot of time to do it calmly and enjoy the landscape, nature, and excellent logistics.”
The tour group will get to stay in unique hotels at the end of each day, with a bus taking them to the beginning of the trails and picking them up at the end. “Every night, you will get to enjoy a hot shower, a good dinner, and so on and so forth,” said Dotan.
“This experience isn’t for those who rush. Rushing in the desert isn’t a good idea. I’ve done most of these treks with my 10-year-old son, and he’s not Superboy. It’s for anybody who loves nature and is reasonably fit for walking in the mountains, not just in a park. Even if you need to not participate for a day because you need the rest, then that’s possible and no problem.”
For more information about the CFHU Shvil tours, contact Dina Wachtel, Western Region executive director at 604-257-5133 or [email protected].
Chabad Richmond is leading a trip to Israel called The Land & the Spirit Israel Experience. People from across the Lower Mainland are invited to participate in this educational journey to Israel and Judaism’s most holy and historical sites.
March 4-13, 2018, participants will be taken on a five-star experience that feeds their heart, mind and soul, creating lifelong and life-changing memories. “This is an opportunity to see Israel as never before. This trip includes many unique features you will not find on any other trip of its kind,” said Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman, director of Chabad Richmond.
Sponsored by the Jewish Learning Institute, the trip includes:
Journey of learning: Explore Israel’s soul. The Jewish Learning Institute will bring Judaism’s rich history to life as travelers discover the origins of our nation and the spiritual secrets of Israel’s holy sites.
Israel today: Hear from chief rabbis, military brass and top political leaders. The group will be addressed by Israel’s leaders and gain an insider’s view of modern-day Israel’s challenges and triumphs.
Mission of solidarity: Head to the frontlines of Israel’s fight for survival. The trip is highlighted by a visit to the beleaguered community of Hebron, and an intimate barbecue with Israel Defence Forces soldiers and officers, where participants will be able to express their support to our brothers and sisters.
Travel in luxury: There will be concierge service from the moment you arrive, first-class hotel accommodations, five-star gourmet meals, and the very best Israel has to offer in education and entertainment.
Registration for the 2018 trip is well ahead of the pace of recent trips, so interested community members are encouraged to register soon. “This is not a fundraising trip,” emphasized Baitelman, “and no solicitation will be done on this trip.”
For more information and to view the itinerary online, visit landandspirit.org. For more information, contact Baitelman at [email protected] or 604-277-6427.
Beit Halochem Canada, Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel, held its 10th annual Courage in Motion Oct. 22-26. (photo from Beit Halochem Canada)
In this year’s Courage in Motion, 75 Canadians, including nine from Western Canada, cycled alongside 85 Beit Halochem members with disabilities on a five-day ride through northern Israel, concluding in Tel Aviv. Group activities followed each day’s ride, including a visit to an army base, a night walking tour of Tiberias, wine-tasting and an evening with Israeli veterans, who shared their personal stories.
This year, more than $500,000 was raised to purchase much-needed equipment for Israel’s five Beit Halochem centres, and support their ongoing cycling programs. For more information and photos, visit courageinmotion.ca.
You don’t have to go to Israel to savour the perfect Israeli sufganiyot. (photo from IMP)
Here is a favourite Israeli Chanukah recipe courtesy of Tnuva, an Israeli company that makes kosher cheese and dairy products.
ISRAELI MINI SUFGANIYOT (12 servings)
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/4 cup of 1% milk, lukewarm
2 tbsp butter
1 egg, at room temperature
oil for frying
8 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
In a small bowl, mix together yeast, milk and eggs.
In a separate bowl, mix half a cup of flour with the sugar. Then add in the yeast mixture and blend together. Add in the remaining flour and continue stirring until the dough is elastic.
Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in volume.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about half an inch thick. Make circles using a medium-sized cookie cutter.
Place the dough patties onto a well-floured baking tray and let them rise again until they have doubled in volume (about an hour).
Heat oil in a medium saucepan and fry the dough patties until they are golden on both sides.
Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon and coat the sufganiyot with the mixture.
The foreign students dorm at Naale Elite Academy. (photo from IMP Media Ltd.)
While Israel draws substantial numbers of tourists due to its rich history, diverse culture and range of naturally beautiful locations, the country also plays host to thousands of high school and college students from North America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, South Africa and Russia because of its innovative educational programs.
Two of the world’s Top 100 universities, Hebrew University and Technion, are located in Israel, as are respected secondary school programs, highlighted by Naale Elite Academy’s free (i.e. scholarship) Jewish high school program, which provides students with a unique opportunity to actually “touch” the Technion during their teen years.
In order to make the best physical and fiscal transition to Israeli society, here are some steps you can take so that your day-to-day experience will be as pleasant and fruitful as it can be.
Step 1: The right visa
To visit Israel, whether it is for a short- or long-term stay, you must have an entry visa. For a tourist planning a long-term stay in Israel, there are different types of visas available. An extended visa allows for more benefits; for example, working, voting, health insurance.
“If you are coming on an educational program, the school will likely set up a visa for you to pick up from Misrad Hapnim, Israel’s Ministry of Interior, within the first few weeks of your arrival,” said Michele, a mother with children studying in Israel and a student there herself.
If not, tourists can obtain an entry visa – usually for up to three months – which can then be extended for an extra two years. Temporary residents and students can apply for a further extension for up to five years.
Step 2: Health insurance
Bituach Leumi, the National Insurance Institute of Israel, provides basic medical coverage to all Israeli residents. For non-residents such as students, diplomats, et al, there is legislation allowing them to register for the same coverage as Israeli citizens.
After being in Israel for six consecutive months, you can go to the regional Bituach Leumi office with documentation of your temporary status in order to enrol in your choice of kupat cholim (health maintenance organization, HMO). Students can apply for subsidized enrolment with a stamped letter from their accredited educational institution. Alternatively, or additionally, there are private healthcare options available to tourists, students and temporary residents.
Step 3: Banking
Banking in Israel is very different than banking in most countries. From cheques, to credit cards, fees and transfers, even Israelis find the system challenging.
The two major issues that non-residents face with banking in Israel are opening an account and/or transferring money from their country of origin.
Dr. Robert Lubin, managing director at Technion’s Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, has been working with students on long-term programs in Israel for many years. He explained how what was once a sore point for students managing their finances in Israel has changed for the better. “A service called OlehPay has been a game-changer for most of our students,” he said. “Between them and the cooperation of our local bank discount branch, transferring money from the U.S.A. is easy and practically seamless – that was not the case just a few years ago.”
Step 4: Transportation
Israel’s public transportation is the preferred method of transportation in the country. According to Sammy Schwartz, a student from abroad studying at Naale Elite Academy’s Aniere program, “Getting around Israel is really easy even if you’re struggling with the language.”
Almost every Naale and Technion student who frequents the public transportation system in Israel uses the Rav Kav “smart card” that can be loaded with a variety of travel fare options. There are many benefits to getting a personalized card, such as being able to access the money on it if it gets lost or stolen, as well as the discounts that apply to students and senior citizens. The card is free and can be obtained at any Rav Kav station with a passport.
Schwartz also recommended downloading the Moovit app. “Moovit tells you how to get exactly where you need to go in real time, with bus, cab and train options. That, combined with Rav Kav, makes traveling around Israel really simple,” he said.
For tourists or temporary residents who will be driving, whether via a rented or purchased car, they can use a valid foreign driver’s licence for up to one year following their entry date.
Step 5: Phone plans
Having a smartphone is a must. Aside from allowing you to stay in touch with family and friends, smartphones are necessary for navigating your way through an unfamiliar area, for accessing your email, social media and numerous messaging platforms, and for keeping abreast of the latest news and alerts. All you need to sign up for one of the many phone plan options in Israel is your passport and a credit card.
Catherine Greenis a freelance reporter and PR expert.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a cause for commemoration and even celebration on the part of Jewish activists worldwide.
The Balfour Declaration refers to a short letter from Lord (Arthur) Balfour, former U.K. prime minister and then-foreign secretary, to Lord (Lionel Walter) Rothschild. In it, Balfour declared that the British cabinet had approved a statement that the government favoured the establishment of a Jewish national home in what was soon to become the British Mandate of Palestine.
The implications of the declaration have been debated by pro- and anti-Israel activists for, well, an entire century. For many in the pro-Israel community, the declaration is akin to a Magna Carta for the Zionist movement: an affirmation – from the very authority that would oversee the territory – that Zionism was indeed a worthy enterprise.
Without diminishing this sentiment, I offer my interpretation of the Balfour Declaration and what it teaches us about pro-Israel advocacy today.
The Balfour Declaration was a strategically vital recognition of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination – and one that clearly affected the course of history. But Balfour did not establish our national rights, which pre-existed the declaration. These rights have always been rooted in the natural right of every nation to shape its own identity and achieve self-determination in its ancestral land.
This is not a minor distinction. We dare not confuse the validation of our rights with the source of our rights. Indeed, our detractors falsely do so. In their minds, if the Balfour Declaration can be dismissed as a “colonial” statement, the rights of the Jewish people to which it speaks can be similarly undermined.
It’s this sort of nonsense that suggests Jewish history in the land began in 1917. To believe it, one would have to ignore the mountains – and caverns – of archeological and historical evidence that confirm a Jewish presence in the land for millennia. In addition to various non-biblical documents confirming Jewish indigenous roots in Israel, the Bible itself is widely recognized – even by ardent atheists – as a historical chronicle of a particular people in a particular land.
As Shimon Koffler Fogel, chief executive office of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), recently observed, the Balfour Declaration was “one milestone among many that confirm the moral, historic and legal right of the Jewish people to self-determination in our ancestral land. Just as many states endorsed the Balfour Declaration at the time, the international community’s support for the national liberation of the Jewish people after centuries of exile has been expressed time and again.”
Fogel further noted that, in a similar vein, November also marks “the 70th anniversary of the UN partition resolution of 1947, which expressly called for the creation of a Jewish state.”
The Balfour Declaration matters today precisely because it is more important than ever that we show how our fundamental rights as a people are backed by international consensus. The declaration is not the linchpin of this recognition but rather a signpost on the road to achieving widespread affirmation of our rights.
Every year, CIJA brings approximately 200 Canadian leaders and future leaders (almost all of whom are non-Jewish) on fact-finding missions to Israel. As someone who heads an annual trip of post-grad students, I can tell you that most Canadians – including those sympathetic to Israel – are not particularly interested in what a British lord had to say about the region a century ago.
But what they do care about, and what makes them more receptive to understanding the strong legal and moral foundation for Israel’s existence, is that many global figures and organizations (including the United Nations) have echoed these rights. In this regard, Balfour is an important thread of the historic fabric.
The importance of non-Jewish validators applies to many pro-Israel advocacy issues, such as Israel’s right to define itself as a Jewish homeland, the dangers of BDS (the movement to boycott, divestment from and sanction Israel) or the threat posed by Israel’s neighbours. On these and other topics, our target audience is generally more receptive to our perspective when we can demonstrate that it is one shared by others, including governments and leaders around the world.
Balfour matters, but we should remember why. The declaration serves not as the basis for modern Israel’s existence but as a key witness to the abundant evidence – irrefutable, millennia-old proof – of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination.
Steve McDonaldis deputy director, communications and public affairs, at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/koshermcdonald.
Yael Deckelbaum is using her musical talents and connections to help Israelis and Palestinians press for peace. (photo from Yael Deckelbaum)
Yael Deckelbaum is using her musical talents and connections to help lead thousands of Israeli and Palestinian women to peacefully press for the end of the fighting between their two peoples via March for Hope.
Deckelbaum’s celebrity status in Israel and around the world – through performances with known local artists and bands such as Shlomo Artzi and Machinah, as well as her career with Habanot Nechama and solo albums – helps draw a crowd. Her involvement in the cause began when she joined forces with Daphni Leef, an Israeli activist for social justice.
“I’d sit with her and tell her she’s a better person than I am,” said Deckelbaum. “She was always talking about how we have to change things in Israel – going around in many places in Israel, meeting people, listening to them and trying to learn … what’s wrong and trying to fix things. I decided to take a caravan, go through Israel, sell CDs, maybe bring a sound system, perform … see people from a different angle. Daphni decided to join me. From this idea, it became 20 people, two caravans … a journey we did for 45 days in 40 different places across Israel.”
They met many Israelis from various cities and villages, and Deckelbaum gained a new perspective. Everywhere they went, she would sing and Leef would speak to the people after every show.
“That’s when I decided I would dedicate myself, using music as an instrument, toward change … not just be an instrument for supporting my existence … but to spread a message and how I believe this world should be. [It] was a big turning point in my path,” Deckelbaum told the Independent.
A year later, one of Deckelbaum’s friends shared an email about Women Wage Peace.
“A lot of times, us musicians, we get invited, we go, sing and leave,” said Deckelbaum. “We feel good about it. But, this time, I felt like I had to meet them. A few days later, I was sitting at a table with women from Women Wage Peace. They told me about this march they were planning – a group of mothers who, in the period of military operation, were experiencing terror at home, fear … mothers sitting at home, knowing their sons are somewhere and not knowing if they’d come home from war.
“One of the founders told me she said to herself that she would never forget this feeling of terror, that she can’t sit anymore and do nothing about it. She urged us to do something radical, extreme, because something had to change. She couldn’t live with the feeling of helplessness anymore.”
At one point, Women Wage Peace fasted for 50 days outside the prime minister’s house, demanding a mutual agreement between Israel and Palestine be made.
“They told me they were already connected with Palestinian women who feel the same,” said Deckelbaum. “And then, on Oct. 19, 2016, 1,000 Palestinian women marched with us together in the Dead Sea [area] – the lowest place of the earth. I started to cry, as it touched me in a deep place.
“Many years ago, I had this vision of women marching together … not something I can explain…. Then, I met these women [who] told me about this, and it was coming true. And, it has an energetic meaning that it happened in the lowest place on the earth – women marching to the belly of the earth. So, I cried and offered to give my music to the cause.”
Deckelbaum invited more artists to join and sing, and became the march’s artistic director. She began with songs like “Give Peace a Chance” and “Hallelujah,” and then wrote originals herself. “The melody and the lyrics just came,” she said. “And the ‘Prayer of the Mothers’ was born, directed by Astar Elkayam.”
Deckelbaum was inspired by a message that had been sent to march organizers by Leymah Gbowee. Gbowee is a Liberian woman who led a women’s peace movement, which helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003, after 13 years of fighting.
“I felt something very real is happening, that I have a chance to do this,” said Deckelbaum. “I put it into the song clip, so you can hear her speaking. And she sang, ‘As the world we live in, peace is possible / Only when women of integrity and faith stand up for the future of their children.’”
This year, Women Wage Peace planned a second march, dubbed, “The Journey to Peace,” which started in the south of Israel near the Gaza border on Sept. 24 and ended in Jerusalem. Other events have followed, and will continue, throughout Israel. The peak of it was on Oct. 6 in Jaffa/Tel Aviv, with a march that Deckelbaum helped organize, “colourful with dancers, musicians, and drummers – happy and hopeful,” she said.
On Oct. 8, there was an event in the desert with Palestinian women. The previous year, 1,000 Palestinian women came. This year, there was twice that number, and the hope is that, each year, it will grow.
“These are the miracles we’re all waiting for – peace between Israel and Palestine, and between and within ourselves and amongst us as people,” said Deckelbaum. “Women Wage Peace isn’t only about making peace with Palestinian women. It’s about making peace between all kinds of women in our society and different places.”
Deckelbaum learned there is a global women’s revolution. She heard of a march in Washington, D.C., in which she participated, and another in Zurich, at which she was invited to sing.
After the video of “Prayer of the Mothers” was released, more marchers all over the world were set into motion. Deckelbaum is now working on a project called Women of the World Unite.
“I believe that women from all over the world are sharing this message, a hope for peace – a message that’s inclusive of all human beings,” she said. “We need women to be more involved in managing the ways of the world – not only by raising children, but also by engaging in the system and how things will work.”
The Jewish Independent spoke over the phone with Deckelbaum when she was in Switzerland doing concerts with an ensemble of religious and secular Jewish, Muslim and Christian women called Prayer of the Mothers Ensemble. It involves 14 women, carrying the message of female empowerment, revolution, evolution and peace.
Sylvan Adams, 58, is funding the construction of the Middle East’s first Olympic velodrome, slated to open in Tel Aviv in May 2018. (photo from margolin-bros.com/en/project/Velodrom)
In Europe, the Giro d’Italia bicycle race ranks in status with baseball’s World Series or hockey’s Stanley Cup. Since the beloved Italian sports extravaganza’s initial race in 1909, the multi-stage race has never started outside Europe – until now. Next May, the annual event’s starting flag will be waved in the Holy City, thanks in big part to Sylvan Adams – the Montreal billionaire now living in Tel Aviv who himself is a competitive bicycle racer.
Adams, 58, is funding the construction of the Middle East’s first Olympic velodrome, slated to open in Tel Aviv in May 2018, in time for the Israel-based initial part of the 23-day Giro d’Italia. The Israeli team is all but guaranteed to receive one of four wildcard invitations for the race.
The bike-racing stadium, called simply the Velodrome, is part of the National Sports Centre being built by the Tel Aviv Foundation, by Mazor-First Architects. Located on Bechor Shitrit Street in the Hadar Yosef neighbourhood, the complex will gentrify a once-impoverished area. Budgeted at $11 million, the 7,100-square-metre biking facility will be jointly owned by the Olympic Committee of Israel and the Tel Aviv Municipality.
Adams, who made aliyah in December 2015, is honorary president of the organizing committee of the race’s “Big Start” in Jerusalem.
The three-week Giro is widely considered the most beautiful of cycling’s three Grand Tours, ahead of the sporting leviathan of the Tour de France and Spain’s lower-key Vuelta a España. Ministers from Israel and Italy met at Jerusalem’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in September to sign an agreement that the opening three stages of next year’s Giro will be held in Israel.
Like the other Grand Tours, the modern editions of the Giro d’Italia normally consist of 21 daylong segments (stages) over a 23-day period that includes two rest days. All of the stages are timed to the finish, each stage’s time added to the previous. The rider with the lowest total time is the leader of the race and gets to don the coveted pink jersey, called maglia rosa, worn by the leader of the general classification.
Adams, who has until recently been publicity shy, today lives in a penthouse overlooking the Mediterranean and Tel Aviv’s sea-side bicycle path. A two-time world outdoor cycling champion in his age category, his most recent title was won at the World Masters Championship, held in Manchester, England, in November 2015. Adams, who began cycling competitively more than two decades ago, is a six-time Canadian and 15-time Quebec champion. He won four gold medals at two Pan-American meets, and a total of five golds at the 2009 and 2013 Maccabiah Games.
His dream is to turn Tel Aviv into “the Amsterdam of the Middle East,” i.e. a city as bike-friendly as the Dutch capital. He believes something similar can be done in Tel Aviv, where traffic congestion and a parking shortage are reaching a crisis, as more and more motorists come in from “satellite” cities.
“Petach Tikva, for example, is eight kilometres from the heart of Tel Aviv. That can take an hour to drive some mornings. By cycling, it is 20 to 30 minutes,” he said.
Adams first visited Israel nearly four decades ago. He and his wife of 33 years, Margaret, a native of London, England, met while volunteering on a kibbutz.
Now retired, Adams has given up his involvement with the family business, Iberville Developments Ltd., the real estate giant founded after the Second World War by his father, Marcel Adams, a Romanian-born Holocaust survivor. The younger Adams was its chief executive officer and his son Josh, one of his four children, is now running the company, one of the largest owners of commercial properties in Quebec.
נציגיקהילתיהודיטורונטוביקרובשכונתאבןגבירולבעיררחובותשאותההםמאמצים. (צילום: Little Savage)
ראשי קהילת יהודי טורונטו קיימו בשבוע שעבר ביקור חגיגי בשכונת אבן גבירול בעיר רחובות שבמרכז הארץ (במישור החוף הדרומי), אותה הם מאמצים כבר שנים רבות. ביקור קודם של ראשי הקהילה היהודית באבן גבירול התקיים לפני שתיים עשרה שנים.
האימוץ כולל תרומות נרחבות לתמיכה בתושבי לאבן גבירול (ובשמה הקודם כבר גבירול) מכל הגילאים. הוא כולל: הקמת בית הספר בשכונה (בשנת 1988) על שם ראש הממשלה לשעבר מנחם בגין – שכולל חטיבה הצעירה וכן משמש את לתמידי המגזר החרדי, מתנ”ס, מרכז יחודי לגיל הרח, מרכז שכונתי לבני גיל הזהב וכן מלגות לסטודנטים מקומיים.
בביקור הפעם נכחה משלחת גדולה של ראשי קהילת יהודי טורונטו שמנתה שלוש מאות וחמישים איש. אותם קיבלו בברכה בין היתר ראש העיר רחובות רחמים מלול, סגניו עו”ד מתן דיל וזהר בלום, יו”ר ועדת שכונת אבן גבירול גבי גולן (המנהל קשר קבוע ומתמשך עם ראשי קהילת טורונטו) וכן חברי מועצת העיר תל אביב איטח רונן ואמיר רונן.
המשלחת מטורונטו השתתפה בטקס חגיגי לחנוכת הכיכר בצומת הרחובות יוני נתניהו ובן גוריון (במערב רחובות) על שם יהדות טורונטו. זאת כדי לבטא את הקשר החזק והעמוק בין תושבי שכונת אבן גבירול לבין קהילת יהודי טורונטו. לאחר הטקס התקיים אירוע ברחבה המרכזית של בית הספר על שם בגין, שכלל הפנינג גדול עם מאות מתושבי השכונה.
בתום האירועים אמר ראש העיר מלול: “אנו מוקירים את ראשי הקהילה היהודית בטורונטו על תרומתם הגדולה לשכונה ולעיר רחובות. הקשר הפורה הזה הביא ברכה גדולה בליבה של השכונה המתפתחת הזו. לשותפות זו בינם
לביננו יש משמעות ערכית, חינוכית ולאומית. אם בתפוצות ואם בישראל כולנו עם אחד”.
כפר גבירול וכיום שכונת אבן גבירול נקראת על שמו של הרב שלמה אבן גבירול, שהיה מגדולי המשוררים והפילוסופים היהודים בימי הביניים. לפני מלחמת העצמאות שכן במקום הכפר הערבי אל-קוביבה (בערבית הכוונה לכיפה קטנה או קציצה), שחלקו ננטש וחלקו פונה מידי תושביו (במסגרת מבצע ברק של חטיבת גבעתי במאי 1948). השכונה מורכבת מאוכלוסייה מגוונת של יהודים מהמזרח והמערב. תחילה היא אוכלסה ביהודים שעלו מבולגריה ולאחר מכן מיהודים שהגיעו מתימן. בשנות השישים הגיעו יהודים שעלו ממרוקו, בשנות השבעים יהודים שהגיעו מברית המועצות לשעבר, ולאחר מכן יהודים שעלו מאתיופיה. במשך השנים לאור עליית מחירי הנדל”ן באזור תל אביב עברו להתגורר בשכונה זוגות צעירים, בעיקר במגדלי הדיור החדשים של חברת הבנייה אביסרור.
השכונה ידעה שני פיגועים בשנת 1955: חולית מודיעין ממצריים רצחה בחודש פברואר תושב מקומי. לאחר מספר חודשים באוגוסט חוליית פדאיון רצחה אף היא תושב מקומי.
קצת היסטוריה: בני שבט היין התיישבו באזור קוביבה במאה השלושה עשר, על שרידים של כפר מתקופת הברונזה. השבט הגיע בנדודיו מחצי האי ערב. בהמשך ניצבה במקום העיר אלתקה (אחת מערי הלווים). בתקופת השלטון העותומאני רכשה קרן קיימת לישראל כששת אלפים ושלוש מאות דונם מאדמות הכפר קוביבה. האדמה חולקה לארבעה צרכים עיקריים: לגידולים חקלאיים, לגידולי מספוא, לגידולי שלחין (פרדסים וירקות) וכן לגידולי כרמים (אדמה זו התאימה אף לבנייה).
ברחובות שהוקמה בשנת 1890 מתגוררים כיום כמאה וארבעים אלף תושבים. היא נחשבת לעיר השניים עשר בגדולה בישראל. למעלה מעשרים אחוז מהתושבים הם עולים כאשר רובם (בדומה לשכונת אבן גבירול) הגיעו מברית המועצות לשעבר מתימן וכן מאתיופיה.