Happy holidays everyone and welcome to my make-believe Sukkah at Israel Corner!
One of the greatest mitzvahs during sukkot is the Ushpizin Mitzvah – the mitzvah of inviting guests to your sukkah. So today I am going to tell you a little bit about the Israeli people I want to invite to visit my make-believe sukkah.
Golda Meir – elected on March 17, 1969 as Israel’s fourth and first woman to hold the office of the Prime Minister of Israel. She has been described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics, though her tenure ended before that term was applied to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion used to call Meir “the best man in the government”; she was often portrayed as the “strong-willed, straight-talking, grey-bunned grandmother of the Jewish people”.
Shaike Ophir – was an Israeli film actor and comedian, and the country’s first mime. He was born in Jerusalem. His family roots in the city go back to the mid-19th century. He studied acting as an adolescent, but left school in the 1940s to join the Palmach. During Israel’s War of Independence, he escorted convoys to the besieged city of Jerusalem, and took part in naval battles. Thanks to his comic skills he was accepted to the Chezbatron, an army entertainment troupe. In the 1950s, he made a name for himself as a multi-talented performer. Ophir acted in 28 films, wrote, directed and starred in several variety shows and was an accomplished mime, appearing alongside Marcel Marceau. He reached the peak of his international fame in the title role of Ha-Shoter Azoulay (literally, Policeman Azoulay, translated as The Policeman), a film which won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Language Film (1972) and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Academy Award the same year.
Ori Sasson – is an Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg (+220 pounds) category at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In June 2015, representing Israel at the 2015 European Games in judo in the +100-kg category in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sasson won a silver medal for Israel in the inaugural European Games. In doing so he won the silver medal in the 2015 European Judo Championship. On October 8 2017, Sasson competed at the Grand Prix Tashkent, his first competition since the 2016 olympics, and won the gold medal.
Gal Gadot – is an Israeli actress and model. Gadot is primarily known for her role as Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe. She started with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), continued again in 2017 as the lead in Wonder Woman, and will reprise the role in Justice League. She previously appeared as Gisele Yashar in several films of The Fast and the Furious franchise. Gadot was born and raised in Israel. At age 18 she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served two years as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, where she was a combat trainer. She began studying at IDC Herzliya college before pursuing modeling and acting. Between the ages of 18-20, Gadot served for two years as an enlisted soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, serving as a combat trainer. She said of her time in the army: “You give two or three years, and it’s not about you. You learn discipline and respect.” Gadot says that her background helped her to win the role of Gisele in Fast & Furious: “I think the main reason was that the director Justin Lin really liked that I was in the military, and he wanted to use my knowledge of weapons.”
Let me know who you want to have in your sukkah!
Until next time…
Or
