When people of different nationalities marry, one partner often goes to live in the country of the other. That’s what happened to Jerusalem-born Vered Kollek, who married an American and has lived in the US for many years. But she has numerous friends in Jerusalem, and keeps her finger on the pulse of developments in her beloved city.
She is devastated by the radical change that has robbed the city of its charm, and recalls that when her iconic relative Teddy Kollek was mayor, and commissioned world-famous Israeli architect Moshe Safdie to upgrade the old city, it was on the condition that the city’s character be preserved.
Safdie was of the same mind, so there was no argument on his part, and in fact, he has an apartment of his own in the old city, though he lives abroad, but comes to Jerusalem from time to time.
Jerusalem's growing population
Current Mayor Moshe Lion is aware of the objections of many of the residents to the manner in which the city has been transformed, but when attending services at the Hazvi Yisrael synagogue in Talbiyeh last Saturday, he told congregants that once all the projects are completed, the residents of the city will enjoy them and will forget about what Jerusalem used to be.
He pointed out that building up Jerusalem is a necessity because the population is multiplying, and with the rise in antisemitism throughout the world, more immigrants are expected to make their homes in Jerusalem.
Lion drew an analogy between events in the Torah reading and Israel’s capital, comparing the revolution and evolution in the life of Joseph to what has been happening to the city under his stewardship.
While congregants may not have been delighted by what the mayor said, the service conducted by singer, composer, and musician Aharon Razel with his friend and colleague Meir Ben Dror was a wonderfully uplifting experience.
The synagogue has four congregations that hold services at staggered hours in different parts of the building. This time, they all came together, and the main synagogue was almost as full as on the High Holy Days.
Razel and Ben Dror introduced a lot of Carlebach tunes into the service, and sang with similar spirit and body language, dancing on the spot as they sang, then dancing with each other, and subsequently leading some congregants in a dance around the synagogue chamber.
In acknowledging the beauty of the service, Marsha Wachsman, who chairs the committee of the congregation, said that she could not overlook mentioning the Bondi Beach massacre, especially as Naomi Leibler, one of the regular congregants, had grown up in Sydney; nor could she ignore the passing of Rabbi Avigdor Burstein, who for thirty years had been rabbi at Hazvi Yisrael, before becoming the spiritual leader of the Raananim Synagogue.
A gifted speaker, with a gentle voice that projected itself to the last row in the women’s Gallery, Burstein had the ability to say the most in the least number of words.
The kiddush sponsored by the Becker family was a farewell to Shmuel and Renee Becker, who this week moved to Yad Binyamin to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Adrian and Sheila Becker will also be moving within the next few months, but they are staying in Jerusalem and are relocating to Arnona to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
The two couples – originally from London – this year celebrated their respective 60th wedding anniversaries.
President of Israel's Scholarship Awards
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem led all institutions in recipients of the President of Israel’s Scholarships for Scientific Excellence and Innovation, with six of the 12 outstanding doctoral candidates selected this year for the prestigious national award.
Established in 2013, the President’s Scholarships are awarded annually to exceptional Israeli doctoral students whose research demonstrates originality, academic excellence, and strong potential for advancing knowledge.
Each year, the president of Israel selects a central academic theme, and candidates are evaluated by an expert academic committee whose decisions are based on scientific excellence, originality of research, academic achievements, and recommendations.
In recent years, the scholarships have placed particular emphasis on strengthening research in the social sciences and humanities.
The six Hebrew University recipients of scholarships were: Elyashiv Zangen, Hazar Yassen, and Guy Kariv – Faculty of Medicine; Ouriel Bliah – Institute of Chemistry; Hadar Arnon – Department of Psychology; Ortal Yerushalmi – Faculty of Dental Medicine.
“Our doctoral students represent the next generation of scientific leadership in Israel”, said HU Rector Prof. Oron Shagrir. “Their success is a testament to their talent and dedication, and to the research environment at the Hebrew University that encourages excellence, creativity, and interdisciplinary inquiry.”
Hanukkah lunch in Jerusalem
There are many empty nesters and people without any immediate family in Israel who live alone. One such person is Esther Klein, formerly from New York, and for several years in the German Colony, who has several friends in that category, as well as married couples whose offspring have flown the nest.
She decided to invite ten of those friends for lunch on the last day of Hanukkah, and put out a delicious spread, which she cheerfully admitted that she had ordered from Holy Bagel, whose menu has expanded significantly to include attractively arranged and well-packaged platters of smoked fish, vegetables, dips, bagels, latkes, ravioli, and more.
People of Polish background, who don’t like the regular Israeli latkes or levivot, as they’re called in Hebrew, will love the ones from Holy Bagel, which are very thin but full of flavor.
Playing the violin
It's fairly common knowledge that Menachem Begin arrived in British-ruled Palestine in 1942 as a soldier in the army of General Wladyslaw Anders. Less known is that another Jewish soldier who fought in Anders’ Army and arrived in the country at the same time as Begin was a gifted violinist by the name of Meir Iszo Israel.
Meir and his violin survived the Holocaust and Israel’s War of Independence, and Meir continued to play throughout his life, albeit not in a professional capacity. He was very attached to the violin, and before his death, told his grandchildren that they must keep it in the family.
During the COVID-19 period, violinist Natalie Harris was living in Jerusalem with a roommate who happened to be friendly with Meir’s family, with whom she corresponded via Zoom. Harris was in the background playing the violin during one of these sessions.
The person with whom the roommate was in contact, who worked at the Israel Museum, and on hearing the violin, was reminded of Meir’s violin and spoke about it.
The family member in whose attic the violin was stored lived in Pardes Hannah, and Harris asked if she could come there to see it. Eventually, she persuaded the family to sell it to her. She had it restored and will play it at a concert at the Anat Studio in Tel Aviv-Jaffa on January 15, 2026.