An Inside Look at What’s New this Week in Jerusalem

It was hard to decide on only three of the special things from this past week. There was so much happening on and off the Jerusalem streets you may not have heard about, but should know.

Ok, only two were really inside and one very much outside.

  1. Who remembers the old President Hotel on Ahad Ha’am Street?

We stayed there once on an organized tour and I remember saying the 1-star status at the time meant there was a toilet in the room.

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I had heard it was being used as a new Social Space and drove by to share a photo a few weeks ago, but that didn’t get shared at the time.

Then I started out last week to see inside but got distracted by a loud noise.

Oh no, I thought, not another protest group marching thru the Jerusalem streets. But I was wrong. They were color war teams of a local youth group. I ended up following them in the opposite direction that day instead.

So finally, here it is!!

Remember this photo? Yes, the hotel was this run down – not Photoshop.

For a very long time mostly abandoned, as in this photo from four years ago.

However, now stepping inside I got a pleasant surprise. At the end of the hall, a dance studio opened in March, and the dancers were having a lesson.

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A wall mural was clean and neat and new.

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I looked through the metal grating and saw a bar space ready to open,

and an impressive colorful meeting area, smaller spaces around and above.

Tables were set up outside, but only a few people seemed to know about Jerusalem’s newest urban renewal by the reaction to my post on Facebook.

The side of the building that faces Keren Hayesod Street is still an eyesore and has been for years. It still needs work, but the lower levels are a huge improvement and it looks like they are working their way up.

I wrote about Urban Recycling in the past. Plus, we have appreciated the Social Space renovation at the old Shaare Zedek Hospital.

2. A much more well-known Jerusalem meeting space is the Israeli Knesset.

Walking to the Negev Hall for a meeting, I was so surprised to see Alan Clemmons, a former State Senator from South Carolina, to my embarrassment, I at first called him – Sam Clements.

The halls were filled with Knesset Members interacting with visitors.

The meeting I attended started late, as members were busy voting. But the Knesset Israel Victory Caucus held its opening meeting. I learned that with each new Knesset, caucus meetings have to be held anew, as they do not carry over from one government to the next.

Speakers from the government and opposition, as well as security officials, called on Israel to start defeating its enemies, in the event titled “How Should Israel Win the Next War?”

Held in coordination with the U.S.-based Middle East Forum, which manages the Israel Victory Project, it’s an initiative seeking to change the public discourse on the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

While the Jerusalem street where the Prime Minister lives is often closed, walking the Knesset halls one would never realize troubles outside.

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3. The 40th Jerusalem Film Festival opened in the Sultan’s Pool on Thursday night, with thousands filling the outdoor amphitheater stands.

Award-winning actor Dame Helen Mirren was on hand for the premier.

The British actress stood out elegantly dressed in white lace. Director Oliver Stone was also honored – wearing the red tie, also in the front row, as everyone stood when Israeli President Herzog and his wife Michal entered.

President Isaac Herzog was the first of several speakers.

Helen Mirren, the actress who starred as Golda Meir in “Golda,” got the most attention that night, for her brilliant performance in an excellent movie.

The Yom Kippur War was a difficult time, yet the movie has a few moments of comic relief and was well-paced. Even though everyone knew the ending, the film kept viewers entranced. An amazing depiction of a great woman at the most difficult time of her life.

The Jerusalem Film Festival, JFF40, runs from July 13 – 23, 2023.

Showing “Golda” as the opening event made this year indeed special.

Want to guess where else I was?

I have lots more to share for next time, so check back next week.

A clue–this sunset was not in Jerusalem but in southern Israel.

Everyone is trying to stay cool and hydrated, as it’s very hot this week on the Jerusalem streets. So very glad it did cool off to enjoy the movie, as most summer nights in Jerusalem have been reasonably comfortable.

Past, Present, and Future Come Together on the Jerusalem Streets!

Summer days in Jerusalem, Israel: when the sun bears down so strong it is too hot to wander around on the Jerusalem streets to see what’s happening.

But the nights usually cool off enough to get out.

A stroll to the Botanical Gardens with the sights and sounds of the lily pond is refreshing after being inside for too long.

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Was it the full moon, the upsetting, inverted news coverage from Jenin, or the fast day to start of the Three Weeks before Tisha B’Av, that made finding positive stories to share harder than usual?

However, getting out before dark is always a good idea, as some things were happening you should know about.

Jerusalem Machane Yehudah Market after renovation

Machane Yehuda Market, the Shuk, celebrated 100 years with big events on Sunday night, street actors, activities, and musical performances.

The actual year the Market opened was 1922, but the events were held off due to the limited travel last year after the pandemic.

Shutters with graffiti in shuk, Jerusalem Machane Yehuda Market

The days of market stalls shuttered at night have been replaced with new eating spots, bars, music, and people partying late into the night.

On Monday at the Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion opened an International Markets Conference, interviewed by Talia Friedman.

The Mayor spoke of his efforts to keep the outdoor market open during the Covid closures and its importance for Jerusalem.

Rami Levi, wearing a plain white tee shirt, stood to give the Mayor a hug after he spoke. Rami Levi started his business as a small shop in Machane Yehuda Market and participated in the conference connected to the 100-year celebrations.

Signing an international agreement was part of the program. Markets are working on ways to make themselves relevant in a changing world.

Friedman, elected chair of the Mahaneh Yehuda Merchants’ Association at the end of 2020, has the difficult job of balancing between the old-style vegetable seller and the new nightlife scene.

As with most everything else these days, there is a difference of opinion.

But there is one constant, the Liberty Bell in Liberty Bell Park still has its crack. The replica was organized when Teddy Kollek was Mayor of Jerusalem for the US Bicentennial in 1976.

Near the Liberty Bell is the Yonatan Netanyahu Garden, created in memory of Yonatan Netanyahu who fell in the Entebbe Mission on July 4th, 1976.

Also nearby, next to the Montefiore Windmill, is a small plaza, a popular tourist spot, which hosts musical performances, and even engagements.

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On the right, I included in one photo, the memorial to soldiers who fell liberating Jerusalem. There is an annual official ceremony in their memory.

In the center, a tourist group on segways arrived wearing yellow safety helmets for the guide to share the view and history of the site.

And on the left, a wedding ceremony was being prepared with a musical rehearsal.

The past, present, and future coming together on the Jerusalem streets!

I missed the wedding ceremony but stopped later for a few minutes to watch as a tour bus emptied out, and the people went to watch the dancing and to take photos and videos of the celebration.

I was on my way to the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Awards for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage for 2023.

My favorite photo of the night was of new Jerusalem Post Editor Avi Mayer with the world’s oldest working journalist, Walter Bingham, who is 99 years young. He should be nominated for lifetime achievement next year.

During the question and answer period with Alan Schneider, Director of the B’nai B’rith World Center, I noticed Mayer’s unusually muted socks for the occasion. On previous panels, his socks drew the audience’s attention.

While I am not a fan of the hot summer days in Jerusalem, they are good for wildflowers that line the Jerusalem streets.

It was too hot outside to walk, but in Jerusalem Cinema City, any day is good for a scoop or two of ice cream.

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem to Brighten Day

In the early days of The Real Jerusalem Streets, publishing a new image or photograph of Jerusalem before Shabbat was a weekly post.

Over time, new ideas were hard to find. Last night was distressing. Countless vile messages on Twitter, bolstered by lies from international media about Israel, so decided to create something to brighten the night.

Hoping this Shabbat Shalom greeting strikes a positive chord with you.

שבת שלום

FYI. This is a photo of the top of the Jerusalem Chord Bridge at the entrance of the city against a bright blue sky – pun very much intended.

(Thanks, Liron for the comment)