Praise from Obama
in the days and weeks before leaving office, former president Reuven Rivlin received numerous phone calls and letters from world leaders past and present. among them was former us president Barak Obama, who wrote, “Congratulations on a remarkable career and thank you for your friendship over the years. you have always been a staunch supporter of the close friendship between the united states and israel, and during my time as president i could always count on you as a source of advice and partnership.” in the letter, obama recalled rivlin’s visit in 2015 when they lit hanukkah candles together.
“i am also proud of our shared efforts to strengthen our security, partnership and the people-to-people ties between our two countries,” wrote obama. “the work of the united states and israel in pursuit of peace, security and democratic progress is never done, but your leadership on behalf of unity and democracy within israel and partnership abroad set a positive example for those who follow in your footsteps.”
HRH The Prince of Wales wrote, “i particularly wanted to write and express my gratitude at the end of your term as president of the state of israel for all you have done to ensure that the relationship between our two countries has developed in so many ways, especially in the fields of technology and scientific collaboration, during your time in office. i have also greatly appreciated the chance to speak honestly to each other as friends, including on the most complex of issues.”
palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas, with whom rivlin has spoken quite frequently, telephoned and expressed his hope that the two sides in the israeli-palestinian conflict would soon find a path to peace.
■ Not eVeryoNe looks at the Facebook page of the american embassy, and thus were not fully aware that despite the fact that there has not been a us ambassador in israel for the past year and a half, there would be a comparatively low-key independence day reception. many who had been on previous guest lists in the days when us ambassadors hosted mega-affairs to which as many as 3,000 and more guests had been invited, asked each other whether there would be a reception this year or whether anyone had received an invitation. Calls to the embassy resulted in discovering that there would indeed be an event at the embassy, but that for various reasons it would be limited to 150 people.
rivlin, who was among the invitees, did not stay around long enough to share a stage with his host, us Charge d’affaires Michael Ratney, prime minister Naftali Bennett and Congressman Gregory Meeks, who was leading a bipartisan congressional delegation, which he said was the first since the outbreak of the pandemic.
although he did not deliver a speech or stay long, rivlin tweeted, “Celebrating #4thofjuly at the us embassy in jerusalem this evening. israel has no greater ally and no closer friend than the united states. strengthening our bilateral relations, shared values and common goals has been one of the highlights of my term as president.”
ratney said in a speech that rivlin had been a powerful voice for arab citizens of israel, and noted Isaac Herzog’s unwavering commitment to strengthening israeli security, although herzog was not present. in congratulating Bennett on the new government, ratney commented that there were lots of changes happening in both Washington and jerusalem, but what remains constant is the rock-solid partnership between the us and israel, and america’s commitment to israel’s security.
he was pleased to host a real in-person gathering where people could see each other’s faces and shake each other’s hands.
Bennett, in addition to the usual bilateral platitudes, recalled his american roots, and how when living in america, he had loved to cross the Brooklyn Bridge in New york to watch the fireworks on independence day.
■ aesthetiCs are important, even to Brig.Gen. Ala Abu Rukon, who as rivlin’s military secretary, was most displeased with the large piece of tarpaulin that covered the bust of the president. artist Sigalit Landau was inclined to agree with him, but she did not want to make a fuss. however, abu rukon had no such qualms and asked someone to go inside and find a more suitable covering. the messenger returned with a small, deep-blue tablecloth that was attractively draped over the bust, so that rivlin and landau could ceremoniously do the unveiling. rivlin was somewhat surprised that he had been asked to unveil a statue of himself, but told landau she had done a magnificent job.
By the time newly installed president isaac herzog completes his seven-year term, some serious changes will have to be made in the garden to accommodate his bust. Finding a place for the marble pillar on which the bust will be mounted will not be difficult, but there is already no room for an additional long, trilingual biography encased in plexiglas. that area is overgrown with bushes, which will grow more abundantly over the next seven years.
■ iN the final week before the changing of the guard at the president’s residence, certificates were presented to outstanding workers by outgoing director-General Harel Toubi, who will still be around for a couple of months. arguably, one of the most veteran employees is Rikki (Rivkah) Tamir, a glamorous grandmother who as deputy head of the Ceremonies and events department has worked with presidents ezer Weizman, moshe Katsav, shimon peres, reuven rivlin and is now continuing with isaac herzog.
tamir served in the israel air Force during her mandatory national service, which is where she first met Weizman. a few years after her discharge, she was invited to the wedding of a friend who happened to be employed at the president’s residence. at the reception, she heard someone call her name, and when she turned around, she saw it was Weizman. they got to talking and he suggested that she come and work at the residence. she had no idea when she initially arrived how many people were employed there and the
intensity of their work. she had never given much thought to the preparations for any presidential event, but she learned quickly and quietly and efficiently performed her duties.
she has only good things to say about each of the presidents, saying they all treated staff with respect and dignity. Weizman came to all the major celebrations in her family. Katsav insisted that her younger son on his bar mitzvah be called to the torah in the synagogue at the president’s residence. peres always expressed appreciation at the conclusion of an event, as did rivlin.
although she has never traveled abroad in a presidential entourage, she has met many heads of state, diplomats, entertainers and other public personalities through her work, and is eager to see who will be on herzog’s guest lists.
she can be reasonably sure that one person who may often be seen will be former mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who was among the early
arrivals at the residence on Wednesday evening for the newly inaugurated tradition of the presidential transfer of powers. after inspecting the names on place cards on the seats, Cohen and his wife took their own places in the front row with the rivlin and herzog relatives. rivlin, who up to that time had never entered an event in the main hall without an announcement by an mC and a request for everyone to rise, wandered in casually without an escort, saw Cohen and embraced him warmly. later, when he re-entered with herzog during the formal proceedings, herzog also embraced Cohen warmly, so there is reason to believe that he may be a frequent visitor.
■ WheN he involuntarily went into retirement at the end of last month, veteran political analyst Hanan Kristal was told by his friends at KaN reshet Bet that they would be calling him from time to time. he didn’t imagine
that only a week would go by before that happened. But Shelly Yachimovich, former labor leader and party rival to isaac herzog, wanted to get Kristal’s take on herzog’s inaugural speech as the 11th president of the state of israel.
yachimovich, who is back at her previous career as a broadcaster, and runs a nightly current affairs program with former shas mK Yigal Guetta, might not have been too happy to hear Kristal’s analysis, even though she is no longer in politics. he said that presidential speeches are usually bland and boring, but that herzog’s speech was nothing like that of his father’s and was not actually a presidential speech but that of a prime minister. herzog did have ambitions in that direction, and may still nurse them. after all, he will still be under 70 when he completes his term.