Forever Young (The Israeli Hall of Fame)

I went to see my beloved Patriots play the 49ers at Candlestick Park. The Patriots rarely make it to the bay area, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to see them playing live. However, I am not going to talk about the game. In 2 sentences: I had fun, the Patriots won, it's still not the same without Brady, and the first touchdown (Cassel to Moss for 66 yards) was amazing.

But the best part of the game was at half time. The 49ers officially retired Jersey #8 in honor of Steve Young. It was a very emotional ceremony with fireworks, and a lot of kids on the field wearing a red, #8 shirt. The crowd was extremely supportive (of course, why not?). Overall, it was well done, in good taste, and I am sure it was fun for Steve Young himself AND for the crowd.

Now, here is a question? Why don't we have events like these in Israel? Specifically in sports (Why can't we have our own Israeli soccer version of the football hall of fame), but not only in sports. I think we should put a lot more effort in honoring successful artists, writers, businessmen, and even politicians. We do have the Israel prize, but we should have much more than that. It creates a sense of belonging (affiliation), and it teaches the importance of respect. My partner Adi Pundak Mintz quotes Bill Clinton about the importance of respect. If we will respect our past heroes, it will help us respect one another (especially true of VCs).

With the New Year just starting, and being inspired by Steve Young today, I thought of 4 people that are "must haves" in my personal hall of fame.

1. Shalom Hanoch – for creating the Israeli rock music.
2. Ed Mlavksy (from Gemini) – for creating the Israel Venture Capital industry, and for founding Gemini.
3. Ruby Shapira – for making my Hapoel Haifa dream come true (at least for a short while).
4. Dov Lautman – for showing that peace is something that needs to be created, and not just received

Comments

[Guy]

How about making it a 'top 10' hall-of fame?

My personal list would have included 3 of your top 4 (I would have missed Shalom Hanoch, my fault...) and the following seven:

- Shimon Peres, for stabilizing the Israeli economy in 1985, making Israel a business-worthy country.
- Jimmy Carter (and his administration at large), for showing us the road to peace.
- Prof. Amotz Zehavi and Azarya Alon, for educating Israelis to think and act 'green' when it was more fashionable to think and act 'grey' (=concrete)
- Eliezer Ben Yehuda and the "pale tracker" trio (HAGASHASH HA'HIVER in Hebrew), for reviving the ancient Hebrew language and then re-inventing it. (Yes, I know they are technically three people, but I need to make an exception to make room for:)
- Ephraim Kishon, for showing us that being an Israeli patriot doesn't mean we can't make fun of everything we hold dear.

I’m sure my list is different from anyone else’s, even in Israel. Still, it’s worth sharing… and you opened the door for it :).