Israel – Page 193 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Israeli Opera in Jerusalem Shuk

March 25, 2015rjstreets

When Shakespeare wrote

that ‘the whole world is a stage,’

somehow I do not think a cheese shop

or fruit and vegetable stand was what he had in mind.

However, the Israeli Opera had

performers in Machane Yehuda Market,

the shuk on Monday singing arias.

The man selling nuts was smiling,

as was the green grocer across the way.

So was I after they found my cell phone.

Trying to get a good shot with so many photographers

pushing in the crowded and narrow alleyways,

I almost lost my phone there.

There was more than one place used as a stage,

some shoppers were determined to keep going,

while others in the market became part of the show.

“L’elisir d’amore” by Gaetnao Donizetti

is to be performed in the Sultan’s Pool the end of June,

and some Jerusalem shoppers got a preview.

As cameras rolled,

one girl in the crowd was serenaded to by this opera singer,

but after an hour the surprise show was over,

and it was back to time for holiday preparations.

Mountains of fresh garlic have arrived in the shuk

and piles of fresh fruits and vegetable are ready,

and one fresh fish store was really popular.

I loved this sign,

this store is ready for Passover and

NO ONE is to bring in anything that is not for Passover.

Now if only my house was nearly as ready.

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov

March 20, 2015rjstreets

Chodesh Nissan,

Passover in two weeks,

beautiful time to be out on the Jerusalem, Israel, streets,

as here on the steps of Yemin Moshe.

שבת שלום

חודש טוב

After Elections and Jerusalem Marathon

March 19, 2015rjstreets

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.

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.

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.

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.

Police officers were lined up ready to “run” with

children, all with severe disabilities, from ALEH,

One police officer was holding a child’s hands,

ready to be the first off the starting line.

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.

There is the Jerusalem Arts Festival

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.