Gan Sacher – Page 2 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem Riding the Waves of August

August 9, 2020Sharon A

From Jerusalem, there is good news and bad news.

Rollercoaster days with ups and downs.

Highs and lows with COVID-19.

Beautiful, happy weddings and sad, sad funerals.

Crazy times with closings and openings.

Yet 140 new Olim arrived from France. We know that others are arriving daily without a big reception, to go into a two-week quarantine, before starting their new lives in their new home.

The seasonal international tourists are missing from the Jerusalem streets.

The Pianos Festival went online this year.

However, the seasons and nature are consistent.

The days are growing shorter with the end of August rapidly approaching.

The well-watered grass in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park is ready for guests.

The Jerusalem Mayor’s office announced the removal of public telephones. But Jerusalem has added food trucks in various park locations. Friday morning, pizza was available in Gan Sacher.

Drive-in movies are being shown at the First Station parking lot. Regular theaters are still closed to Corona restrictions.

Shaon Horef, the Winter Noise Festival held on Jerusalem streets on Monday nights in February, got lost in the news of approaching novel coronavirus. Now Jerusalem is trying for Shaon Horef on August summer nights with music and performances on various streets.

The parks are sponsoring Sport and Fitness for retired folks.

Among the other options are biking, flower arranging, yoga and Pilates, and Segway tours.

Not sure who was having more fun here, the father controlling the flying toy or the kids who sat to watch.

Parties for the youth are planned in the Jerusalem parks.

And Jerusalem parks are, as always, perfect for a first date, another sign of this season.

The Jerusalem municipality has offered to host weddings at various scenic locations:

the Promenade at Armon Hanatziv,

the Bloomfield Gardens near the Montefiore Windmill,

and the Liberty Bell Park. They are also some of my favorite Jerusalem locations.

Protesters sitting on Jerusalem street near the Prime Minister's Residence — Photo credit: Shifra G

Those noisy protests near the Prime Minister’s Residence continue.

The Israel Museum was closed for months but there is some good news there.

Museum galleries are scheduled to open this Thursday. The employees protesting last week are to return to work.

From a distance I noticed the all-black covering put on the back of city promotional signs along Hazaz Street, part of the black shirt anti-government protest.

However, looking closer to the new landscaping along the street, there are new flowers emerging.

This pink sign is one of the Jerusalem promoting tourism which were covered in black. But I took this photo to share a sign of normalcy. Friday morning flowers were being sold for Shabbat.

The sun has risen and set.

The limes on the tree are growing and almost ready to pick.

I thought I had found a perfect rose for a closeup.

Only when I got home a saw there was an insect crawling on it.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon announced,”Following the global tourism crisis, we decided to advance the upgrade work and infrastructure related to tourist areas throughout the city. Upgrading King David Street is a complex upgrade project that affects transportation throughout central Jerusalem.”

The Israel National Library on Givat Ram announced, including their online sessions, will be closed for lack of funding.

But, construction on the new National Library is going strong. This is how the roof looked today.

So there you have it, not all good, part of what’s happening on the Jerusalem streets this week.

I miss attending events at Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s Residence. The very restricted number of programs now are limited to the Government Press Office only, not open to those of us with GPO cards.

Israeli President on phone — Photo credit: Mark Neyman

Today President Rivlin spoke on the telephone with people who have requested help via the coronavirus hotline opened by Beit HaNasi.

Let’s hope we can all ride these waves safely.

Jerusalem after Tisha B’Av: Mourning to Celebrating

August 2, 2020Sharon A

Oh, Jerusalem!

Jerusalem has just completed another Tisha B’Av.

Instead of past years with crowds of tens of thousands, there were 1,000 people allowed at the Kotel, the Western Wall, at night.

Sections were divided off and marked to permit the small groups allowed to follow the latest COVID-19 restrictions.

The women’s section which in the past was crowded with thousands had barriers also.

Reading Eicha, Lamentations, in Gan Haatzmaut, Independence Park, had a much smaller attendance.

Damascus Gate at night was quieter than usual as the 26th annual walk around the Old City Walls, limited this year to 50 participants, passed by.

On the other side of the street, the shops were all open late for Eid al-Adha preparations. The Muslim fast day coincided with Tisha B’Av this year, and at sunset they began a 3-day celebration.

Good news. The social workers and nurses are back to work after short strikes.

Israel Museum employees held a peaceful protest holding up signs to passing traffic.

The only loud noises were cars honking in support.

The Israel Museum has been closed since the coronavirus crisis began. On Thursday, museum director Ido Bruno announced a $4million donation from the American Friends of the Israel Museum. Plans to reopen are said to be underway.

On the hill below the Israel Museum, olives are on the trees.

Last week Jerusalem’s Gan Sacher, Sacher Park was empty.

The end of school year summer outings were not happening.

This morning, it was good to see children back in the Jerusalem park.

Jerusalem’s usual summer conferences have moved online, to Facebook and Zoom.

The annual Jerusalem sport event of Street Ball has been canceled.

Thousands of flags of the Jerusalem Parade will not fill the Jerusalem streets this year. The official cancellation was announced this week.

The day after Tisha B’Av, fifteen years ago, 8,500 Israeli citizens were forced out of 21 Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip and four communities in Samaria.

These beautiful homes were destroyed 15 years ago. The expulsion did not bring peace.

Instead, thousands of rockets, missiles, and destructive burning balloons.

I went to see the rebuilding starts of Gush Katif victim nine years ago

and the Gush Katif Museum five years ago.

That is an ongoing unpleasant chapter of Israeli history.

However, a much more pleasant story is what happened at the Hurva Synagogue 100 years ago. The historic and memorable first visit of the first British High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel, after his installation. Samuel was a knowledgeable Jew who participated in the Shabbat morning service.

Today at the rebuilt and re-inaugurated synagogue which was destroyed by Jordanian Legion in 1948, a special ceremony is to be held in honor of the centennial. However, attendance will be extremely limited due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Highs and lows. And new Corona signs have been posted.

New signs were up for “Leonardo da Vinci -The First Start-up entrepreneur,” the theme of a new exhibit at First Station for this summer.

The next day this sign – “Needed Now “Baseless Love” sign was posted.

The protests near the Prime Minister’s residence have gone on unabated.

They are loud and they disturb the residents well past the 11:00 pm noise curfew.

I think the police have used great restraint with these provocateurs.

On to much better news to share, a notice for יריד היין הגדול של ירושלים.

At First Station, the Jerusalem Wine Festival is planned for August 11– 13, 6 pm – 11:55 pm.

In local sports news, Israeli soccer is to return at the end of August.

Online tours galore can be found for those who are home-bound.

The National Library construction site had workers busy on the roof areas.

Now that Tisha B’Av is over, it’s almost Tu B’Av and time for celebrations and music.

Next Year in Jerusalem!

Jerusalem Heats Up for Summer

July 19, 2020Sharon A

It had to happen here in Jerusalem, Israel.

The hot weather had to arrive.

We are well into summertime in the Middle East.

This past week was still cool in the evening and pleasant.

But, today it’s hot outside.

July 14th was Bastille Day, celebrated in France with an official ceremony including a military marching band – “Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood.”

Protest Rally in Jerusalem Israel near Prime Minister's residence — Photo credit: Shifra G

In Jerusalem, the 14th was marked by a huge protest rally under the banner of “Siege of Balfour.” Protests are allowed under Israeli law, even when COVID-19 restrictions are the most severe stages. Most other gatherings, on the other hand, have been limited in numbers to try to control the spread during this coronavirus pandemic.

Protesters late at night at Jerusalem Israel Paris Square set fire to a paper recycling container — Photo credit: Shifra G

After the main protest rally with its noise and drums and shouts, it quieted a bit near midnight. We could hear the noises a mile away.

There have been protesters near Paris Square for a month, close to the Prime Minister’s Residence.

Gilad Shalit’s family was there for years until he was released from Gaza.

Most weeks since, someone has a protest there. I have taken photos, but not always shared them.

However, this was more than the regular noisy protest.

Jerusalem Israel recycle container set on fire by protesters — Photo credit: Micky Rosenfeld Israel Polie

A paper recycling bin was set on fire, and enough protesters to fill a bus were taken away by police after being sprayed by water.

The truck was a little late getting to the protest scene. After making a wrong turn, the driver had to back the oversized vehicle out of our small, one-way street VERY carefully.

These protests have made headlines. The social workers are still on strike, but they’re not violent, making them less newsworthy.

Nurses are ready to strike also?

No idea what next, but can share what did happen:

Israeli Scouts in uniform and masks met on Tuesday for an outing.

A group of young children gathered in this shaded nature spot. I liked how their backpacks were hanging from a cord – carefully distanced. I was reminded of the days when parents thought that head lice was the worst possible of plagues.

President Rivlin watches Israeli football final from a box, as the only spectator — Photo credit Kobi Gideon, GPO

The Israeli Football (soccer) final had one spectator – President Reuven Rivlin.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin meets with IDF near Lebanon border — Photo credit: Kobi Gideon, GPO

Twenty years after the withdrawal from Lebanon, President Rivlin visited the northern border on Thursday, beginning his visit with the operations room at Camp Biranit. I thought the plates of healthy food on the table were interesting.

I have plenty of border photos from January. Seems so long ago, when I was near the Blue Line, on the Israeli border of Lebanon.

The Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF) announced the end of its plans to run a delayed physical edition at the end of August. Following a surge in COVID-19 cases, new restrictions on large-scale gatherings have been introduced.