Jerusalem Streets are not Straight

Sharon A

Oh, what a week it was.

The Jerusalem streets are always bumpy with highs and lows, nothing seems to be straight or planned with logic. Maps and photos can not capture the topography of Jerusalem.

When the week and day start with the heaviest dust storm you have experienced, how nice it was to wander on the Jerusalem streets, just as the sun is beginning to set. The dust cloud lifting was a perfect opportunity to take a photo of the sun in the sky from a newly developed area in the Baka neighborhood.

I was on my way to a post-Passover Mimouna celebration (delayed for one night) with a gorgeous table laid out for the invited guests.

Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan Nahoum was a marvelous hostess! Her boundless energy greeted each person who arrived over several hours as if they were as important as the Mayor of Jerusalem who arrived late.

Flyover rehearsal for Yom Haatzmaut, Israel Independence Day was another favorite high of the week. New stunts are planned for this year!

The first time back to Har Herzl, after two long years for an event, I walked past the military cemetery on my way to Yad Vashem.

The official Israel State Opening Ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day took place on Wednesday, at 8:00 pm, in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem, on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Israel. 

The testimony videos are readily available on the Yad Vashem website and are highly recommended, with subtitles in Hebrew and English.

I decided to share with you behind-the-live camera scenes.

Leaders of the several international interfaith groups in attendance found

the atmosphere is different from watching on a screen alone from home.

It seemed to me that more international media was on site this year, after corona severely limited attendance to the ceremony for the past two years.

The faces of the torch lighters standing proud, each with a horrific story of their survival but beaming with the hope of future generations, are inspiring and uplifting, as seen here – Zvi Gill, 

The numbers of survivors decrease but young leaders and IDF groups are seated in the back each year. It is not common to see children attending, but David brought his young son to Yad Vashem for the powerful event.

In the large crowd, it was not possible to find them afterward for a comment or to find long-time friends from overseas in attendance.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s son and family seated in the center of the second row were a focus of the media.

Former President Reuven Rivlin met with and posed with some of the GPO photographers he spent time with over the years.

Former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu made a much less dramatic and quieter entrance than in the past.

The IDF Honor Guard was back on stage standing at attention as usual.

The new Prime Minister and President of Israel made their entrance along with their wives and a few other Israeli officials with multiple cameras aimed close to their faces.

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau lit the flame as he has done in the past.

The crowd watched the TV live stream broadcast projected on a screen.

I was able to get close to Naftali Bennett speaking for the first time as Prime Minister at the Yad Vashem ceremony.

How sad that Shmuel Blumenfeld z”l passed away after doing his video, two weeks before the ceremony, but his son Aryeh was present and lit the torch in his honor and memory.

Each year the survivors are assisted by a close relative, often a grandchild serving in the Israel Defense Force. Their faces show expressions of defiance and survival against incredible odds to move forward and rebuild their lives.

Before leaving the plaza, President Isaac and Michal Herzog went to speak with the honor guard after the ceremony ended.

Benjamin Netanyahu did also before making a quiet exit from the plaza.

Ayelet Shaked stopped for a photo with an admirer on her way out.

And Walter Bingham, 98 years young, standing straight and strong, a survivor originally from Germany, still working as a professional journalist, was honored with a special seat.

From the Yad Vashem entrance lit at night,

I walked down Har Herzl past the military cemetery entrance again, where Israeli flags had been lowered to half-mast for Yom HaShoah.

Further, on the way home, I passed the blue and white lights and flags that were ready for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Haatzmaut to follow this week.

The crowd always stands at the end of the official opening Yom HaShoah commemoration in Jerusalem, Israel to sing HaTikvah – The Hope.

The Jerusalem streets are not straight, but there is always hope.

Jerusalem Passover Photo Favorites

Sharon A

The Passover holiday has ended in Jerusalem, Israel, and around the world.

When we awoke on Sunday morning, the Knesset building was shrouded by the dense haze/sand in the air. Not a favorite sight to photograph.

Even with the indoor mask law lifted last night, I would advise wearing one outside today on the Jerusalem streets!

But before we move on to the Yoms, starting with Yom HaShoah on Wednesday night, there were special scenes of this past week I want to share.

The wall of Jerusalem’s Old City near Jaffa Gate was lit up at night with a colorful Pesach Sameach, Happy Passover greeting for the week.

As the holiday was to begin, windows had to be closed to keep out the smoke from the burning of chametz, as the last bread or pasta was taken out of the house and burned in countless fires around Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem streets were quieter than usual, with less construction going on over the holiday period.

The excited sounds of tourists returning were pleasant to hear instead.

The Kotel, Western Wall, was the main attraction for most visitors.

There was a tour group at the egalitarian section when I was there.

The main Birchat Kohanim, Priestly Blessing, was held twice to accommodate more people with less crowding, the same as last year.

The damage caused to Al Aqsa Mosque by rioting thugs was evident in the broken windows you can see above. On another night of rioting, their firebombs caused an old olive tree on the Temple Mount to catch fire. Meanwhile, after Israeli security cleared the area, hundreds of thousands of Muslims were able to pray there peacefully for Ramadan.

Security was on higher alert and patrolling strategic locations.

This woman became a favorite when she bent down to explain to her young daughter not to be scared since the security was there to protect her.

The magnificent horses of the security patrols are always a favorite, even better when all they have to do is sit and watch the crowd.

Holiday music along the Jerusalem streets is also a favorite sight and sound.

You know the visitors are back when the port-a-johns are on the move.

Is a Greek flag on your mask a good sign of security for this Greek official out and about with his son?

Good to see these usually closed doors along the Armenian Road wide open.

Jerusalem streets require a protest sign, and this one is against the internet.

Some of the days of Passover were hot, others cold, but on one hot day the Iriyia, Jerusalem Municipality, gave out bottles of water that were much appreciated.

Multiple places in the old city sold bottled water, but along s main walking route to the Kotel, one family was giving away water to those who stopped and recited the appropriate blessing.

A hot day means if you don’t drink it’s easy to dehydrate. Also, it is a danger to slip on the stone Jerusalem streets that can be as slippery as ice. Emergency response teams were ready to provide aid and transport those in need to hospitals.

Food. So many restaurants were open for Passover observant visitors.

Jerusalem streets were cleaned up over the Passover holiday, with more than the usual runs to keep up with all the extra waste.

The art was back in Mamilla Mall. This piece was designed to encourage people to watch their speech and avoid Lashon Hara, talking badly of others.

There were tours and special programs for families at the museum and tourist sites as usual, but not many tourists found this Jerusalem art fair.

Tucked away behind the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, on the entrance street, only one lone cat was near the feeding station the day I went to check it out.

On Wednesday of Passover, in the evening there was a controversial Flag March. I went to check it out for myself and decided to share this short video to show the real Jerusalem streets.

As usual, thousands are peaceful, and only the few trouble makers make the news photos and headlines.

The Temple Mount is closed to Jews until after Ramadan, which ends with Eid al-Fitr on May 3 and 4, 2022. The Druze are celebrating Nabi Shu’eib in memory of the Prophet Jethro. And today is Orthodox Easter Sunday, with a major ceremony “Holy Fire” held yesterday in the Old City.

Until the dirt clears from the air, I am content to stay inside and pack up the Passover dishes once again.

As every year, we concluded the Pesach seder with “Next Year in Jerusalem.”

Hoping to see you next year in Jerusalem!

Passover in Jerusalem

Sharon A

How is this Passover different than all other Passovers?

Passing people while walking on the Jerusalem streets, I think they look familiar. However, I am not certain if I know them from 20 years ago, 2 years ago, from online meetups, or if they look like their parents?

As the sun came out over the Jerusalem streets, people returned to Jerusalem’s Old City by Jaffa Gate – in spite of terrorist threats and rioters.

In every generation, they rise against us to annihilate us. שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו

But the Holy One, Blessed is He, rescues us from their hand. והקודש ברוך הוא מצילנו מידם

Not my words, but from the Passover Hagadah, from the paragraph that begins – והיא שעמדה – which we recite year after year at the Passover seder.

First, the different look at Jaffa Gate, lovely at night with new lighting.

For the first time, an international food festival was held outside the walls of the Old City the nights before Passover. The array of different kosher cuisine, beginning with the US and burgers near the Tower of David was impressive.

Tables and chairs were placed at the food venues for patrons to sit and eat. I was amused by the signs ‘not to sit on the rocks’ which were covered by the fabric.

Entertainers were out along the route of this new food festival.

I decided a short video would share the event better, with its music.

I was out on Palm Sunday, but I was late getting to the Old City. That’s why I was excited to see a man walking in the distance with a long green thing.

Only when I got home I realized it was a light bulb, not a palm branch.

However, later at Mamilla Mall, there were still a few of the faithful out on the streets with their palm branches in hand after dark as I headed home.

For Orthodox Palm Sunday, I arrived in the Old City in time to see people walking with long, short, and decorated palm branches.

What is different this year, is that Passover, Easter, and Ramadan all also fell on Sunday. It was good to see the Old City streets filling with visitors and international tourists again.

Security was visible at critical junctions in the Old City.

The Rova, Jewish Quarter, was alive again after two years of corona closings. Tour guides were out again sharing their knowledge with family groups.

Passover matza was being given away outside of Jaffa Gate.

And freshly baked Arab beigele were for sale just inside Jaffa Gate.

The Passover rolls looked like real bread in Mamilla Mall.

Walking from Jaffa Gate toward the Kotel, the Western Wall, the new pizza shop is open for Passover.

Birkat Cohanim at Western Wall

The large Birkat Cohanim, Priestly Blessing at the Kotel, is again to be held twice to keep the size of crowds in the Old City down and is scheduled for Monday and Wednesday. Monday morning saw the plaza full for the online live broadcast. There’s still time for you to participate live on Wednesday.

However, already on Sunday, there were people arriving all day.

I wonder how many noticed the broken windows in the Al Aqsa mosque?

Trudging home in the heat, after spending hours walking and photographing in the Old City, how nice it was to be offered a bottle of water. Thank you Iriya, Jerusalem.

Four days before Passover is יו”ד ניסן Yud Nissan. For those not familiar, I decided to share a special trip in 2019.

Israel cleared the landmines, then a pandemic shut down the tourist site.

But as the holidays and tourists return to the Jerusalem streets, they will see the Jerusalem and Israeli flags flying over the streets.

Signs are up for a blue and white Yom Haatzmaut, Israel Independence Day.

But first, we have a week of Pesach, Passover to celebrate with thousands back on the Jerusalem streets and many more away in national park sites enjoying the warm weather and water spots filled after winter rain.

Much more on Passover next time!

Chag Pesach Sameach!