Grapevine January 10, 2025: Ohana talks of Hoenline Hotline

At a tribute dinner ahead of receiving Israel's highest civilian honor, Jewish leaders celebrated the former Conference of Presidents chairman's decades of diplomatic achievement.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN JANUARY 10, 2025 11:36

KNESSET SPEAKER Amir Ohana with Malcolm Hoenlein. (photo credit: SARAH DAVIDOVICH)

Standing out against his fellow recipients of the President’s Medal of Honor this week was Malcolm Hoenlein, the former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations, a position that he held for more than three decades.

Hoenlein continues to be involved with the Jewish world and Israel and is the non-resident President of the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem. The synagogue’s executive board hosted a dinner for Hoenlein on Tuesday evening, just 24 hours ahead of the presentation ceremony of the medals at the President’s Residence.

■ Among those who attended were Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana; Morocco’s representative in Israel, Abdul Wahab Allalli; Emeritus Deputy President of the Supreme Court Elyakim Rubinstein; President of Shaare Zedek Medical Center Yonatan Halevi; Head of the National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi; pioneer of Israeli hi-tech, Yossi Vardi; current chairman of the Conference of Presidents William Daroff; and Sir Ian Gainsford, the former dean of London’s King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Rabbis, present and former members of Knesset, and prominent personalities from the Jewish world, along with leading business people and academics, were also present.

There are speeches at every tribute dinner, but it’s rare for so many to be brilliant. Indeed they were – possibly because all the speakers, including Synagogue Vice President Zalli Jaffe, knew in advance that Hoenlein, who was known for his compelling oratory, would give a most memorable address, and they did not want to perform poorly in comparison.

It was not the first time that Hoenlein had been honored by the Great Synagogue. In March 2018, well before he accepted his appointment as president, he and fellow medalist Ronald Lauder, the President of the World Jewish Congress, had two walls in the synagogue chamber on either side of the ark, dedicated in each of their names. 

Unfortunately, Lauder could not be in Israel at this time

This was also not the first time that Hoenlein received a country’s highest civilian honor. In a good-natured show of brinkmanship, Wahab Allalli announced that Hoenlein had previously received a medal from King Mohammed. This was some years prior to the Abraham Accords.

The evening began with a choral recital by the impressive Jerusalem Great Synagogue choir, conducted by Elli Jaffe and Raymond Goldstein. Throughout the evening, there was also a strolling violinist.

The recital and speeches were not the only impressive aspects of the evening. The spacious entrance foyer of the synagogue building where the dinner was held featured beautiful table settings with tall crystal candlesticks and brass candelabras.

The waiters were all polite and efficient and instantly honored any request.

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Following some preliminary remarks by Jaffe, who was Master of Ceremonies, Ohana was the first to speak in beautifully polished English. He said that it was an immense privilege to honor a man who had so profoundly shaped the trajectory of Jewish history.

He also emphasized that when Israel was in trouble and needed advice or a spokesman, “Malcolm was the magic person.” He was the “one-man emergency Hoenlein hotline.”

Ohana was proud to have been one of the people, along with Rubinstein, Halevi, Avi Balashnikov, and the late Israel Prize laureate Yosef Chakhanover, who sent letters to President Herzog last year nominating Hoenlein for the Presidential Medal of Honor, Israel’s highest civilian award.

Ohana described Hoenlein as “a beacon of our values,” who embodies everything that the medal represents, including his relentless commitment to human rights and social justice. Ohana also recalled how in marshaling support for Soviet Jewry, Hoenlein had put the issue on the global agenda.

He credited Hoenlein with helping to stem the tide of antisemitism, and in his meetings with presidents, kings, parliamentarians, and other influential persons, “he reached a level beyond any other advocate for the Jewish people.”

Rubinstein, whose many high-ranking positions include diplomacy, said that when he was deputy chief of mission at the Israel embassy in Washington, he was in daily contact with Hoenlein and in the ensuing years, met with him frequently. “For me, Malcolm was not just a name,” he said.

In a subtle dig at certain Israeli politicians, Halevi said that Hoenlein was fluent, eloquent, and persuasive, but eloquence, Halevi added, is a double-edged sword that can be heard all over Israel, suggesting that its definition should include “moral conscience.”

William Daroff, who succeeded Hoenlein at the Conference of Presidents, regards him as a friend and mentor. The two are in daily contact and have traveled to many places together, including countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel and, in some cases, are even hostile to it.

Relating to the warmth with which Hoenlein has been received in all these countries, Daroff said, “It’s not only who you know, but how you know.” 

■ HE EXPLAINED that Hoenlein takes no credit for what he does, “but what he’s done is historic. He’s loved and praised by world leaders because they know that whatever was between them would not be revealed.” If anything was made public, Hoenlein would make sure that his interlocutor would receive the credit.

Daroff concluded by saying that he could not think of anyone in the last century who has done more for the Jewish people. Despite all the plaudits, Hoenlein, in true form, complimented Jaffe, saying, “People don’t know what Zalli does. I don’t know how he does it, but he does it. What happened here tonight is his doing.” 

In his own address, Hoenlein covered all the bases. He referred to the many issues on which he and Rubinstein had worked together. In his relations with world leaders – in fact with anyone – he emphasized the importance of trust.

With regard to what he has done for Israel, he recalled that people were quick to criticize his organization’s warnings about Iran. “Now they’re saying that they should have listened.”

As for Shaare Zedek, Hoenlein said that his mother had supported the hospital when she was still living in Germany and then also in the US and personally knew the hospital’s famed head nurse, Schwester Selma Mayer.

Hoenlein also referred to Jewish tradition and said that Jews look at history more than any other people, which was why the Conference of Presidents was able to issue an early warning about Iran.

On a religious level, the Yizkor prayer recited for the dead is a prayer of remembrance, he said. “Then you know what to look for. Judaism teaches us a unique reference to history. That is never more important than in the times we live in now. We live in a world that dismisses history. 

“In 80 years, the world hasn’t changed. Jews are still the targets. What is different is the State of Israel and the IDF. The language and geography may be different, but the hatred is the same.”

(The following evening at the medals awards ceremony, President Herzog also referred to remembrance and history, saying: “In Jewish tradition, we are not only encouraged to remember but instructed to tell our story from generation to generation. This is a crucial moment in Jewish history.”)

At the Great Synagogue on Tuesday, Hoenlein, in referencing the present war, said that it was not about any of the issues at hand, but rather “it’s a war about the future of the Jewish people.”

Taking up the mantra of togetherness, which has been one of the dominant messages of the past 14 months, Hoenlein said, “When Jews stand together, we can overcome anything.”

He did not forget to put in a plug for the Great Synagogue and what it does for evacuees, lone soldiers, and singles. The spontaneous standing ovation he received as he finished his address spoke volumes of the high esteem to which he is held. Jaffe, who is fond of quoting distinguished British philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin, did so again at the conclusion of the official part of the event.

When he was a child, Jaffe attended the Jerusalem International Book Fair at which Sir Isaiah received the Jerusalem Prize. In his acceptance speech, Sir Isaiah quoted an 18th-century English judge, who had stated that there were two ways to express gratitude – a short way and a long way. 

The short way was to say, “Thank you very much.” The long way was to say, “Thank you very much indeed.”

In paying tribute to Hoenlein and his wife, Freida, it was impossible to calculate how many indeeds needed to be added to the expressions of gratitude for all that they have done, said Jaffe, reiterating that the couple had dedicated their lives to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. 

“Malcolm’s contribution to the development of Israel’s relationship with so many countries,” his hostility towards world leaders who express hostility to Israel, his uncompromising fight for Soviet Jewry “taught us the dignity and determination in diplomacy,” and how to conduct the most complicated

Jewish People in which he led the Conference of Presidents.

All this and more represent “one of the most important volumes in the Jewish history of the 20th century. Many of Malcolm’s missions are still unknown. Many of his vast contributions are stories yet to be told. He is privy to and contributor to many secrets that led to Israel’s many successes on the world stage. Thank you very much indeed, indeed, indeed.”

Jaffe also revealed that when Hoenlein agreed to be president of the congregation, he had thought that it was for a year or two, but no, “It’s a life sentence,” he pronounced.

Later, when complimented on such a comprehensive and captivating address delivered entirely without notes, Hoenlein responded, “It was from the heart.”

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