Race for the Cure

On October 28, 2010,

the first Susan G. Komen Israel Race for the Cure

in Israel was held in Jerusalem.

White tents and pink balloons filled Gan Sacher, Sacher Park.

White t-shirts were given out at registration,

with about 200 special pink ones going to breast cancer survivors.

Participants came from all over Israel and from all around the world,

 men and women participated,

 

 children

and little babies.

 In spite of the blazing sun, at least 5,000 people were in the park at noon.

Remax was one sponsor and had a special tent, and the only red, white and blue.

 Na’amat was one of 15 organizations that partnered in the race;

their members made an impressive entrance,

walking together as a large group under white umbrellas.

Leaving the park, walkers grabbed bottles of water which were appreciated in the heat.

The 3.5 kilometer walk/run began under a pink and white balloons on Bezalel Street.

Buses blocked the traffic, and even they looked pink.

The Hadassah group began walking as pink and white balloons filled the skies.

 VIP leaders including, Hadassah President Nancy Falchuk,

Nancy G Brinker, sister of Susan G Komen,

and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and his wife Beverly led the way.

   Hadassah Lieberman and Senator Joseph Lieberman seemed to enjoy the day.

 The march turned at the corner of King George Street, towards the Old City.

King George Street was not closed to traffic, but traffic backed up anyway,

while the marchers had to walk in the sun on the sidewalk.

The route went along the sidewalk across from the walls of the Old City

and ended at the finish line which was near the Sultan’s Pool.

Groups of participants rested in the shade,

 socializing,

 listening to the music and speeches,

 and just enjoying the amazing day. While pink was the color of the day,

 not everyone wore pink and white.

 Shaare Zedek Hospital opted for black t-shirts.

 

Also, wearing black t-shirts was Jennifer’s Team.

 Jennifer Griffin of Fox News and a breast cancer survivor,

came with a whole camera crew to record the event.

Similar fundraising events have been held throughout the US and in 11 other countries,

but only in Jerusalem… a box to put notes in the Kotel, the Western Wall.

 Many people walked with a pink note pinned to the back of a shirt

with names of  friends or family members

who have breast cancer or who have died from the disease.

Even though this kind of fund-raising is new to Israel,

million of dollars were pledged to cancer research to find a cure.

 But October 29, 2010…

 RivkA bat Tirzel z”l ran out of time waiting for that cure.

Good Days

This week’s international visitors included former US president Jimmy Carter and his group of Elders;

delegates to the annual convention of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, JPPI; and

 the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, who met in Jerusalem to discuss the Agency’s  future.

Also, this week the government announced that housing in Jerusalem is a priority.

Around the world the real estate market continues to suffer,

while in Jerusalem real estate prices just keep going up and up.

If you would like to buy here, it helps to have lots of money.

You could have spent 40.2 million shekel  to buy a large apartment in the Mamilla project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, any property in Jerusalem,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

no matter what its appearance, is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, euros, or shekels.

 

Luxury construction goes on in Jerusalem,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and construction equipment can be found on many streets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cranes and workers can be seen if you look up,       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and rubble if you look down.

 

With space so limited, new building is often on top of the old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful rooftop gardens can be the result,

however,  many of these luxury buildings stand empty much of the year.

 

 

For the real Jerusalem streets these good days are not so good,

as the average Israeli salary is around 6000 shekel per month.

A new housing project for secular young people is now being planned for Costa Rica Street,

with the announced bargain price of 1.2 to 1.7 million shekels per apartment.

 

The dry weather has provided many good days for the construction business.

.

A much-appreciated break in the heat wave made it possible to sit outside

 .

                                                 and walk more comfortably.                                      

   This man stopped his painting, smiled and said  “Good days.”

There may be too much rain from Indonesia to Chicago, but in Jerusalem,

as seen in the Valley of the Cross, it is DRY.

Now what is needed are some good WET days.

 

Too many buildings, too much stone and not enough color this week?

The walls of the Old City have been illuminated pink at night as thousands of people are preparing for

  the Susan G. Komen Israel Race for the Cure, Thursday, October 28th in Jerusalem.

Visitors and a Regular Friday Morning

 

Tourism in Jerusalem reached record numbers over the holidays.

Some locations like Rachel Imenu Street were so crowded with visitors,

that the bus traffic was often hard to believe.

The Greek Consulate is located on this beautiful, tree-lined street, and with the Monday visit of the

Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas, there were more diplomatic cars parked outside than usual.

Did everyone else go home so he was the only visitor in Jerusalem?

No, on Friday in the Old City, the crowds were at times overwhelming.

While school boys in the Jewish Quarter played at recess,

thousands of international tourists shopped nearby in the Christian Quarter,

and tried to stay cool and hydrated in the heat.

Busloads of people came to see famous tourist sites, like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

There was no media or security visible at the entrance to the Arab shuk.

 

 

 

 

 

Muslims, old and young, went to prayers

moving swiftly through the crowded path.

 

The roof tops

and basketball court in the Muslim Quarter were quiet,

while below, yeshiva students were inside learning.

Some signs welcomed all,

while others might not be so welcoming.

Many locations in the Old City were pleasant,

well-known and familiar,

but only a cat might want to hang out in a tree.

Many Israelis headed for the beach as temperatures rose to summer time heat wave levels,

but mid-day at Jaffa Gate people were coming and

going freely in spite of the heat.

 

Tuesday was the Second Annual Interfaith Ethics & Tolerance Symposium at the Jerusalem Ethics Center,

at the Konrad Adenauer Conference Center at Mishkenot Sha’ananim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Director of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman was one of many speakers.

He told the crowded room that the world needs tolerance or as he prefers, respect for all religions…

Too bad he wasn’t one of the visitors last Friday in the Old City,

he would have seen the real Jerusalem streets on a regular Friday morning.