***Newsletter on hiatus until mid-August***
Two years ago this week, Japan lost arguably the greatest statesman of the postwar era, Shinzo Abe z”l. The loss was acutely felt by members of the Jewish community globally and closer to home. Just months prior to Abe-san’s assassination, the JCC hosted his wife Akie-san for a charity event.
It is impossible to overstate the role Shinzo Abe played in improving Japan’s ties with Israel. While Israel opened its embassy in Tokyo in 1953, it took Japan another ten years to upgrade its legation in Tel Aviv. Considering each country’s alliance with the United States, advanced economies and shared values, relations were shockingly underdeveloped until very recently.
In the immediate aftermath of the Yom Kippur War and its attendant oil shock, Japan’s Keidanren business lobby pushed for a boycott of the Jewish state. Although never officially implemented, avoiding trade with Israel became Japan’s de facto posture. Paradoxically, Israel’s commercial ties to Japan’s regional rivals including China far surpassed what was thought possible with their fellow member of the OECD.
From Abe-san’s election in 2012, he seemed to turn Japan’s attention from the Far East to the Middle East. He visited Israel twice during his tenure in office. Speaking at Yad VaShem in 2015, Abe-san remarked in Hebrew “Ha’Shoah le’olam lo od. The Holocaust, never again.” On the same trip, he stated “I am determined…to make further efforts to strengthen Japan-Israel relations, so that the potentials are fully materialized.” Abe-san visited the Anne Frank House, Chiune Sugihara’s home in Lithuania and hosted a delegation from the American Jewish Committee.
All this goodwill was nearly squandered on Abe-san’s second visit to Israel in 2018. The culprit? A patent black leather shoe. Inexplicably, the Israeli celebrity chef Moshe Segev who designed the menu for the state dinner decided to serve the chocolate praline dessert out of metal artwork shaped like a semi-brogue Oxford. The dish whet nobody’s appetite, much less so the Prime Minister of a country famously fastidious about footwear. Ever the diplomat, Abe-san tried to brush off the international incident by inviting Chef Moshe to cook in Japan where presumably he would have learned that the humble plate never goes out of style.
The top of the ark at the JCC contains a play on words combining Nihon (Land of the Rising Sun) with a verse from Malachi: ‘For from where the ‘Sun Rises’ to where it sets, my name is honored among the nations.’ This Biblical praise could hardly be applied to the decades long musical chairs of Japanese Prime Ministers whose time in the Kantei was better measured in weeks and months than years.
However, the message seems to fit for Abe-san as proved by the influx of dignitaries from over one hundred countries to his state funeral in 2012. Coinciding with the second day of Rosh Hashana, one overseas visitor even stopped by the JCC to hear shofar on his way to the Nippon Budokan.
On learning of the death of Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton famously shared from the Rose Garden “Because words cannot express my true feelings, let me just say, Shalom Chaver. Goodbye Friend.” On Shinzo Abe’s second yahrzeit which we observe this Shabbat, we honor the former Prime Minister whose life was tragically cut short. さよなら友よ Sayonara Tomo yo.
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, July 12th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Chukat
Kiddush sponsored in the spirit of Larry David: Brought to you by Anonymous and Anonymous who would like to celebrate the JCJ’s vibrant community (and ongoing campaign to bring back the pool)
Saturday, July 13th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, August 16th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vaetchanan
Bar Mitzvah of the Shaoul Family
Saturday, August 17th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Friday Night and Dinner Reservations can made on our website: https://jccjapan.jp/shabbat-meals-sign-up/
Events
Stay tuned! A film screening, Swallows game and a delegation visit are all in the works.
Event Registration Page: https://jccjapan.jp/event-registration/
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please visit our website: https://jccjapan.jp/event-committee-inquiry/
Announcements
Condolences to the Liederman Family on the passing of David, most famous for David’s Cookies. A recovering lawyer, David founded the eponymous American chain that operated in Japan through much of the 1980s. David sold his first cookies to Zabar’s before unsuccessfully attempting to purchase the hallowed halls of appetizing several years later.
While the newsletter will take a break for a few weeks, event planning is full steam ahead. Please check your inbox for some upcoming summer happenings at the JCC.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested to join. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club’s monthly meetings explore Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Chukat
Candle Lighting: 6:40pm
Havdala: 7:42pm