Keeping Cool

With the season of many holidays at an end and summer on the way,

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu took his government members and their spouses

to the cool mountains of Safed for a get away on Friday and Saturday.

It was good timing as Jerusalem was hit with a heat wave.

The streets by the Tayalet were much quieter than usual,

the Haas Promenade, a popular tourist spot with one of the best views of the Old City,

 was nearly deserted, all seemed so quiet,  I did not take more zoom shots.

So it is impossible to see the rock throwers and policemen on the Temple Mount

who made of all day’s the headlines.

The real action on the streets was…a few Segway riders.

Children’s playgrounds were empty in the afternoon sun,

good only for finishing up a frozen ice cream treat.

Tel Aviv has the beach… in Jerusalem, when the temperature rises,

people flock to the air-conditioned shopping malls

to keep cool and have fun.

 

Every car waiting to park is searched, causing traffic backups;

every package, bag and pocket contents are examined.

There was one occasion when security was called into action and came running..

 when a couple of Chabad young men pulled tefillin out of a bag to put on a solider.

Inside the large Jerusalem Mall,

one can find everything from a colorful bird in a noisy passage way

to a quiet reading room in a book store.

Food establishments fill whole sections of the malls,

and are popular as a place for families

and friends to meet and sit for hours.

 

Large signs may announce the season of culture,

but this is also the beginning of the season of the mall.

The Prime Minister left for Rome today, the doctors strike is dragging on

 and borders all around are heating up.

Keeping cool, and a comfortable spot to sit in a mall…

could be more important than ever this summer.

 

5 thoughts on “Keeping Cool

  • June 15, 2011 at 10:28 pm
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    Great as usual – both photography and narrative. Perfect! Keep cool.

    Reply
  • June 17, 2011 at 2:26 am
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    So good to see the Stafsky family looking so well!

    Ginger and Roy

    Reply
    • January 1, 2020 at 7:03 pm
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      amazing the comments I missed years ago and am finding this evening.

      Reply
  • June 17, 2011 at 5:38 am
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    Until our next trip, I will have to make due with these amazing photos. Thank you!

    Reply

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