Israel gets virtual 73rd birthday fete
National online breakfast is 10:30 a.m. Sunday in our area
Israel turns 73 years old this week. But the Jewish National Fund’s free annual party, Breakfast for Israel, will be Sunday April 18. It’s a virtual breakfast with fascinating special guests—the stars of smash hit TV series (now on Netflix) “Fauda.” The title is Arabic for “chaos”, the aptly named thriller set amid the collision of Israeli and Palestinian politics.
It’s a nationwide event; the breakfast begins here in New York at 10:30 a.m.
“Breakfast for Israel started in 2003; we didn’t know if anyone would still be interested in attending without the lox and bagels,” Jewish National Fund communications director Stefan Oberman said. “Not only did we see record numbers attend our last Breakfast — we also realized people relished the opportunity to be on a video call and speak to so many other people from their community who they hadn’t seen in many months.”
Oberman said JNF aid helps build medical centers in the Negev Desert and Galilee, creating playgrounds and supporting the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, which says on its website that it is dedicated to preparing “future leaders from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and around the world.”
The Jewish National FUNDUSA named Albany’s Lauren Iselin to be local chairwoman of Women for Israel. She’s also been a leader at Beth Emeth’s congregation. She is proud that JNF funds ag-tech education including a program that invites farmers from developing African and Southeast Asian nations to come to the Negev Desert for classes in sustainable farming and environmentalism.
“We then provide grants to the farmers when they return to help them implement their learning,” Iselin explained. She adds that JNF supports young people in Israel with intellectual disabilities by offering them experiences such as “what it’s like to pilot a Boeing 737.”
The kids got to pilot a fully-operational flight simulator big enough to allow for wheelchair access.
“I think that was a world first,” Iselin said.
She added that JNF supported development of water saving technologies that allowed Israel to recycle 90 percent of its water for use in agriculture. “In comparison, the U.S. recycles approximately 1 percent of its water,” she said. “We invite the entire Capital Region community to join our free virtual breakfast for Israel on April 18.”
For those who haven’t binge watched Fauda, the series kicks off with Israeli agents chasing a Palestinian terrorist they thought was dead. It’s been called the Israeli version of the HBO series, “Homeland” which often sparked vehement reactions.
Palestinian journalist Yasmeen Serhan wrote in “The Atlantic” that Fauda is told from an Israeli viewpoint focused on Israeli characters “yet Fauda doesn’t ignore the Palestinian perspective.
The show’s creators avoid portraying Palestinians as some homogenous Other, dedicating much of the second season to highlighting intra-palestinian political disagreements, which divide even members of the same family. The show also highlights the inherent power imbalances between Israelis and Palestinians.”
To register for the breakfast, just visit https://www.jnf.org/ events-landing-pages/jewish-national-fund-breakfast-for-israel.