Tim Boxer

The crowd roared when Michele Bachmann proclaimed that the northern Samarian town of Bet El “must remain and always will remain a part of Israel.”

Most of the 1,000 guests at the American Friends of Bet El Yeshiva Center’s 30^th annual dinner, last week at the Marriott Marquis on Broadway, continued to applaud vociferously as the Minnesota congresswoman and wannabe Republican presidential candidate expressed her robust support for Israel’s future.

 “Zet sich avec!” Bombay native Zubin Mehta pleaded in Yiddish with the 500 black-tie guests to sit down when they honored him with a standing ovation at a post-concert dinner last month at the Plaza Hotel.

Born 76 years ago in Bombay (now Mumbai), the maestro has picked up quite a few Yiddish and Hebrew expressions since becoming music conductor for life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1981.

Some 30 years ago Varda Rotter finished her work with a cancer research team at MIT and returned to Israel. She wanted to continue her work but didn’t have a penny in her pocket. Israel Cancer Research Fund came through for her, giving her a grant that enabled her to start her own research.

She said that ICRF told her: We give you the liberty to work. Go ahead and realize your dream.