After Elections and Jerusalem Marathon

The 2015 Israeli election is over.

President Reuven Rivlin has sent letters to the various

political parties inviting their leaders to come to Beit Hanassi, 

starting on Sunday, March 22, 2015

to indicate their preferences for forming a new government.

ballots with Hebrew letters

 Over 4,250,000 of these little slips of paper,

each with Hebrew letters representing a political party,

were put into little blue envelopes

which were then inserted into a slot in

 cardboard boxes,

and were counted by hand.

What a low-tech method for a Start-up Nation!

Some emerging facts are surprising.

Who would think that an Arab village would have

the highest percentage of voters for Bibi?

77% of voters in Al Naim voted Likud.

We knew that the head of elections was an Arab Supreme Court Judge,

and now the Joint Arab list has even more than the

10% representation than they had in the last Knesset–

so much for apartheid.

The last RJS post with 30 photos broke all the rules

of blogging, it was very long,

but the marathon was such a big and colorful event.

Photographers waited at the marathon starting and finish lines

and all along the routes, so that millions of photos were taken.

Arab girls in Jerusalem Marathon

 This photo was by far my most popular in the social media.

Some people may be tired of seeing pictures of runners,

 but there is one photo I want to make sure gets seen.

ALEH in Jerusalem marathon

Team ALEH  posed for photos on the track

at the start of the Community Race.

For this special 800 meter event,

5000 people participated representing many organizations.

start of Jerusalem marathon

Police officers were lined up ready to “run” with

children, all with severe disabilities, from ALEH,

Upsee ready to go at Jerusalem marathon

One police officer was holding a child’s hands,

ready to be the first off the starting line.

Jerusalem marathon special races

Then he stepped off on his way,

using a special harness called “Upsee.”

This child was able to “run” in the Jerusalem Marathon.

We may still be using paper ballots,

but one Israeli mother invented this device,

got it manufactured,

and changed a child’s life-one step at a time.

She has more clever devices on the way,

and I cannot wait to see what Debby comes up with next.

Start Up Nation at its best.

Now that that the marathon is over, it is time to prepare for Passover,

but there is more than just cleaning to look forward to next week.

hebrew sign

There is the Jerusalem Arts Festival

sign for Valley of gazelle

and the long-awaited new nature reserve,

The Valley of the Gazelles, is slated to open.

As always, there is so much happening in Jerusalem,

however, the more things change,

the more some seem the same.

Jerusalem Marathon Ready Set

It poured overnight, but the skies are slowly clearing,

and those who prepared early are very happy,

Tomorrow is the big day,

this has to be drier that the first rain soaked Jerusalem marathon.

The Jerusalem Marathon is hard to miss,

and just like last year’s run,

Jerusalem marathon finish line

a finish line has been up and ready

across a major street for a couple of weeks.

ad for Jerusalem marathon

These huge signs are displayed in multiple locations.

Not only will the races close

many Jerusalem, Israel streets all Friday morning,

Sports Marathon at ICC

but there is also a Sports Expo

in the Jerusalem International Conference Center.

Sports Marathon sign up for runners

Runners have three days to come and get their kits,

with their official shirts and numbers.

Sports Marathon 016b

Entering  the Convention Center lobby

Sports Marathon at ICC

it is all about marathons.

Sports Marathon expo

But inside the large halls,

Sports Marathon 011b

it is all about sportswear marketing.

Sports Marathon Aleh booth

Aleh is one of the many organizations with teams of runners

who will raise thousands of dollars for charity.

Sports Marathon pick up shirts and numbers  at ICC

The full marathon attracts runners from around the world.

Sports Marathon ready in Gan Sacher

Gan Sacher, Sacher Park is the main venue.

Sports Marathon start times

The times for the different runs are posted here.

Sports Marathon shul in park

With those early morning start times

it is good that the synagogue is easy to find.

Sports Marathon ceremonies

The serious marathon runners will race up and down

the hilly Jerusalem streets in amazing times,

with the first awards ceremony set  to start before 9:00 am.

Sports Marathon Jerusalem finish line

The finish line for the full marathon is in the park,

each year it gets a little better organized,

  the large park is filled with runners and supporters.

Street fair on Emek Refaim during Jerusalem marathon

With major roads closed to traffic,

many residents do not like this sports event

that shuts down the city.

But maybe the music and street theater

on Emek Refaim Street this year

will keep some of those not running and cheering

in a better mood.

What a difference a few years makes:

who even remembers those half marathon runs?

Jerusalem Marathon 2013

How it has grown!

The Jerusalem Marathon 2013 is a major sporting event with

20,000 runners, who come from 50 countries all around the world.

In 2010, there were 3,500 runners in the Jerusalem Half Marathon.

Gan SAcher, Jerusalem marathon photo

The work involved in transforming Gan Sacher, Sacher Park,

Jerusalem marathon photo

into the gathering point,

Jerusalem marathon photo

 the starting line,

Jerusalem Marathon image

and the special finish line for the full marathon has been a major project.

 Jerusalem Marathon 2011 ended in a muddy mess that took months to repair.

With this new platform in place there should be no such problems.

For Jerusalem Marathon 2012 there was rain and hail,

but this year better weather is predicted.

Jerusalem marathon photo

Flags have been hung 

Jerusalem marathon photo

lining the streets

Jerusalem marathon photo

along the route.

Jerusalem marathon photo

Direction signs around Jerusalem are hard to miss this year.

Jerusalem marathon picture

For weeks, runners have been training on the streets, but

Jerusalem marathon image

first they have to check in at the International Convention Center

Jerusalem marathon photos

and pick up their number and official shirt.

Jerusalem marathon shirt

These are the shirts that will fill the streets this year.

Jerusalem marathon photo

There are also several shorter races running with different start times.

Jerusalem marathon photo

Many worthy organizations are entered in these races to

raise money and awareness for their causes,  OneFamily and ALEH

 are just two that had special registration booths this week.

Jerusalem marathon photo

Some people will complain. 

 Traffic will stop as the runners take to the streets.

Jerusalem marathon sign

But everyone has to agree that Jerusalem Marathon has certainly grown.