4.2.12 WC: 191694 Singing with Vidal Sassoon I was the guest speaker at a Hebrew University dinner honoring Frank Gary. Among the guests was the hair stylist Vidal Sassoon. The topic of my speech was the Middle East conflict. I was introduced to Sassoon by David Steinberg, the comedian. Steinberg said, “Did you know that Vidal Sassoon had fought for Israel during its War of Independence?” Sassoon added, “I was in the Palmach,” which was the elite strike force. Sassoon simply didn’t look like he was old enough to have participated in the 1948 war so I issued him a challenge, “Sing the Palmach song for me.” Without a moment’s hesitation, Vidal Sassoon started to belt out the anthem of the Palmach. Since I too knew the song, from my time at Zionist camp in 1948, I sang along with him. So here were these two old men singing “Mi mitula ad hanegev, rishonim tamud anachau tamid anu anu hapalmach.” A crowd quickly gathered around us and the few people our own age joined in the singing. It was a wonderfully nostalgic moment for us all. 387 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017474