Grapevine April 7, 2024: Tears for Taiwan

• Published date: 07 April 2024
• Author: GREER FAY CASHMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

■ THE PLANNED celebration of the 30th anniversary of trade ties between Taiwan and Israel will be held under a cloud of grief over the vast loss of life, serious injuries, and substantial damage to property. The anniversary event by way of a conference held in conjunction with Zulat, the Movement for Equality and Human Rights, which will take place on Monday, April 8 at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, will also include a Taiwanese film, Who'll Stop the Rain

Conference participants will include head of the Taiwanese mission in Israel Yaping Abby Lee, Zulat President and former head of Meretz Zehava Galon, former MK Nira Shpak, who is a member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Dr. Manal Totry Jubran of the Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty, and Pnina Tamano-Shata, who chairs the Knesset Committee on the Advancement of the Status of Women, with Zulat CEO Einat Ovadia as moderator.

Helping evacuees and families of hostages

■ FAMILIES OF the hostages and evacuees from the North and South of the country are highly appreciative of all the things that are being done to ease their plight, but many are frustrated because the government is not remaining true to its promise to help farmers and other reservists or employers of reservists who have been called to fight.

In Israel's convoluted bureaucratic system, there are always people who fall between the cracks and miss out on whatever benefits the government or other official agencies are supposedly making available. They trek from office to office in the attempt to find solutions to their various problems – and no one seems to have a solution. Meanwhile, the problems are exacerbating.

But it's not just a matter of finance or extra hands on the job. Many of the evacuees are not working due to the situation, and they feel worthless because they are not doing anything. This could have a long-term effect on their mental health.

JNF-UK came up with a partial solution to that particular problem and initiated a project for the building of garden furniture for dozens of families who were evacuated from Kibbutz Nirim to apartment complexes in Beersheba. The "do it yourself" project was carried out in cooperation with the Nirim community.

"This activity was intended not only in response to a practical need, but also to symbolize the resilience and unity of the community in the face of the ongoing plight of the kibbutz members," said Yonatan Galon, director of JNF-UK in Israel. " As we know, Yagav Buchstab and Nadav Popplewell are still hostages...