ALTHOUGH THREE-and-a-half years have passed since his release from five years of Hamas captivity, Gilad Schalit continues to be subjected to unwanted celebrity status. Schalit, 28, is currently a student at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, where prominent figures from Israel and the world at large are often among the guest speakers. At the beginning of the week, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon addressed the students and discussed the underground tunnels built by Hamas in Gaza. It was in one of these tunnels that Schalit was imprisoned, said Ya'alon. People in the class began to titter, and someone pointed out that Schalit was sitting in their midst. An embarrassed Schalit waved in Ya'alon's direction. Without missing a beat, Ya'alon said, “Hi, Gilad,” and continued with what he was saying about the threat from Gaza and how it was being thwarted by Israel's intelligence operations, in relation to detecting attempts by Hamas to infiltrate Israeli territory. ■ ONE OF the joys of working as a general manager for the Hilton Hotels chain is the opportunity to see the world. Hilton general managers often get switched around from city to city and country to country. Thus Yaacov Asher, who until recently was the general manager of the Hilton Queen of Sheba in Eilat, has headed for Hiltons abroad and been replaced by Mickey Schneider, who though not previously part of the Hilton chain has amassed considerable managerial experience in Israel and the US. Schneider was previously general manager of the Sheraton, the Royal Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv, Herods and the Sheraton Four Points in Eilat, the Park Central in New York and the Park Plaza in Boston, as well as serving in executive roles at other US hotels. Prior to his current appointment, Schneider was regional manager of the Victor Group of hotels in Miami Beach, Florida. There used to be a saying: “Join the navy and see the world.” The message applies equally well to people in the hotel industry and the tourism industry in general. ■ RISHON LEZION Mayor Dov Tzur last weekend inaugurated the annual Sefi Rivlin Prize at the city's Comedy and Humor Festival, dedicated to the memory of native son, actor and comedian Sefi Rivlin, who died 15 months ago of throat cancer. Rivlin, who was a personal friend of Tzur's, was committed to the city's well-being and even served on the city council at one point. He was also honored as a distinguished citizen of Rishon Lezion, and was an inspiration for many established and aspiring comedians. City council members decided to perpetuate his memory through the laughter, nonsense and comedy for which he was best-known in the many roles he played on stage and screen, by establishing a drama school scholarship in his name, to be awarded each year at the Comedy and Humor Festival, which will also bear his name. ■ MAYORS FROM across the Negev gathered in Beersheba this week to celebrate the launch of the Lauder Employment Center, yet another gift to Israel by New York-based international businessman, Jewish world activist, mega-philanthropist, World Jewish Congress president and Jewish National Fund USA chairman Ronald S. Lauder. The motivation that spurred the establishment of the center was to give an incentive to graduates of Ben-Gurion University to remain in the Negev – to work there, make their homes there and raise their families there, so the Negev population will rise in accordance with the ratio of the region's total area in Israel's sovereign territory. Although this is yet another feather in the cap of Beersheba Mayor Ruvik Danilovich, who together with Lauder, BGU president Prof. Rivka Carmi and JNF USA president Jeffrey Levine acted as joint chairman of the center's senior steering committee, he made it clear in his passionate address that he was not speaking in his capacity as mayor of Beersheba, but as one of the leaders of the Negev. While all other speeches were in English, Danilovich told his audience that if they wanted him to speak with passion, he would have to speak in Hebrew. He urged all leaders of municipalities – Beduin as well as Jewish – to join in a cooperative effort to make the Negev a desirable place to live. Potential employers at this stage include offices of government ministries; government corporations; public institutions; Leumi, Discount, Mizrahi-Tefahot and Hapoalim banks; hi-tech and communications companies such as HP, Intel, Ness, Matrix, ECI, Amdocs, Tescom and others; infrastructure and communications services such as Bezeq, Partner, Pelephone, HOT, YES and others; and defense companies including Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael, Elbit, Israel Military Industries and the Nuclear Research Center. There are also employment opportunities in consumer goods companies, food industries, mobile and organic farms, and tourism. Lauder and JNF USA CEO Russell Robinson were confident that the number of job opportunities will grow as more companies realize the benefits of setting up branches in the Negev.
