Jerusalem Comes Out from Lockdown

Jerusalem, Israel streets began to come alive. Slowly people came out from the latest coronavirus lockdown, as from the safety of a cave or like a butterfly from its cocoon.

Each day last week I walked a different route to see what was happening on the Jerusalem streets with the lessening of corona restrictions.

People returned to the Old City as soon as the gates were again reopened.

Yes, school? No school? No Red or Orange school. Yes, Green preschool?

Confused? Here was the start of the new answer to the constant question:

Question #1 from a 6-page official document:

Does the return outline apply to all schools and nurseries throughout the country?

Answer: The outline distinguishes between localities and authorities that are in green and yellow areas and those in orange traffic light areas where physical learning has been allowed, and between authorities that are orange and red according to the traffic light model.

So? Most schools were not open, especially in Jerusalem this past week.

Gan Sacher, Sacher Park, had a holiday appearance, and the sounds of laughter and smells of grilled food filled the air.

With spring-like winter weather, families flocked to green open spaces.

While many people drive south to see the flowers, I am happy to walk closer to home for those annual red anemones, the sign of spring.

Zion Square provided a place to sit, as Ben Yehudah and Jaffa Road eating places provided takeaway food. As I walked around I kept thinking of bears coming out of hibernation and hungrily looking for a first meal.

Stores were still closed on Mamilla Mall, and this was the last cyclist allowed to pass through, as people were slowly returning and walking on Mamilla Ave.

Not sure where these two women carrying bags made their purchases.

Rimon, the only cafe open, was back in business, with outside eating only.

I was disappointed to find not one hamentashen displayed in the window.

Purim is less than two weeks away, but the usual holiday excitement was not apparent this year as I walked around Jerusalem.

People were in line for eyeglasses, interesting as they were one of a few businesses allowed to be open throughout the strict corona lockdowns.

The hair salons were allowed to reopen and here a customer was having their hair done with the door open. However, next door the small clothing store was gone, out of business.

Too many small business owners forced to close for repeated corona lockdowns have given up and their vacated stores now display for rent signs.

This appeared at first to be a sorry sight on Ben Yehudah Street.

But when I looked up, new buildings towered above. Thousands of new hotel rooms should be ready when tourists come back to Jerusalem.

As for the new hotel going up on King George Street, I was wrong, it’s over 15 stories tall, not ten as I mentioned last week.

The renovation of the Knesset Museum on King George Street though is still in a very sorry state of disrepair.

The road work on Jerusalem streets continues, with closings to traffic and detours becoming the new normal.

As these new signs were going up, the street was closed briefly. There are so many new signs I may have to do a piece on some of the ones I collected.

I was relieved that these oversized signs were for phones. As the March election date approaches, we anticipate some politicians’ oversized faces will again appear here near the main entrance to Jerusalem.

King David Street is closed for repaving. However, a new sign for George Washington Street was up in time to share for the US Presidents’ Day on February 15th this year.

This Abraham Lincoln Street sign is next to the YMCA on King George Street.

But where the two US presidents’ streets meet there are no signs to share.

The YMCA will be difficult to access when it is allowed to reopen, my shortcut using this side entrance on Lincoln Street will become popular.

Lovely days and golden sunsets, and talk of possible snow by Wednesday?

Credit Photo: Haim Zach / GPO

President Rivlin took a trip to Mount Hermon this week to the snow.

When will we get back to “normal” is the big question, not if it will snow.

On Friday, my son was sitting on our porch. He looked out and said, “What’s that building? It wasn’t there last time I was here.” Not the Knesset, it has been there over 50 years, but the construction near Cinema City has mushroomed up during the past year.

Parents with young children were relieved to get out for some fun days this past week with travel in Israel less limited. But families really want to go back to school in real classrooms or even outdoors, and not at home forever zooming. There are Israeli students who have been in classrooms for only one day, though I saw a sign this week wishing students good luck on their final high school exams.

In Bnei Brak on Thursday night, free chulent was offered to people getting vaccinated. Hikers were vaccinated in an MDA Corona vaccine trailer in the Shokeda Forest.

The sun was shining and it was warm last week, what will happen next?

You never know what will happen in the Jerusalem streets!

Check back next week to find out and stay well out there.

Rain or Shine All You Need in Jerusalem is Love

In Jerusalem, at the beginning of January, the weather was so warm, it was hard to remember previous years with snow and more snow.

But taking advantage of the sunshine and wandering a different route each day I was able to find something new.

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First I will start with a new photo of Martin Luther King Junior Street.

One of the RJS’s early posts – In Memory of MLK commemorated the US holiday which is celebrated on January 18 this year.

There is a lovely new park called Detroit Garden on Rachel Imenu Street.

The last time I was by, the park was surrounded by a construction fence of an archeological dig. The idea to have hundreds of tourists in this neighborhood and to go underground in limited numbers seems to have been nixed and a new outdoor area has been prepared instead.

The Light Rail Trains have been running through the COVID-19 lockdowns but on a reduced schedule. Posters have been added at stations with suggestions of games parents can play with their children to fill the time.

Having passed too many people walking with their heads down while looking at their phones, I hope this initiative gets people thinking and interacting.

Oh, the road work still seems to be everywhere. But here new street signs were going up off of Jaffa Road for Shaare Zedek Street.

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The original Shaare Zedek Hospital was recently the home for the Israel Broadcast Authority and now for building developers in the area.

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This “Coation Trucks Crossing” sign is in the midst of the major construction works of the Jerusalem International Convention Center and Gateway projects.

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Multiple huge cranes line the city skyline.

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But after months, or is it years already, work above ground is finally visible.

As mentioned before, building construction and road work have been allowed throughout corona lockdowns.

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However, travel for most people is limited in the new lockdown. Random police stops popped up in multiple locations, especially at entrances to city.

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This security stop on Derech Hevron was under a new sign to register for the new school year of 2021/2022. Planning for education continues even in a pandemic with students at home.

New signs went up by the Prime Minister’s Residence. Now it’s officially, France Square (not Paris Square) at Azza Street. Previously this small section of the street was called Ben Maimon Street, not Azza Street as would be assumed.

By whatever name, the fountain was being cleaned on Sunday morning, after another Saturday night of protesters partying around the fountain.

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Protesters set up shop one day this week on Balfour and Brenner Streets.

Plus their usual – every day – and not just Saturday night main location.

One thing they are is persistent, a new day and a new corner, and now in the colder and wet and windy weather.

For the first time, I saw this protest encampment being inspected today. Not what one would expect to see in Gan Ha’atzmaut, Independence Park, across from the United State Embassy building. Oh, well at least for this week it is called the US Embassy.

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After the rain, when the sky clears you can see the mountains of Jordan in the distance. The usually busy road filled with tour buses has been too empty too long.

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Takhana Rishona, First Station, had a few food places try to open, but new stricter regulations closed most of them down. Police were checking businesses as I walked through the sad scene.

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Oh but when those tourists come back, not only will they be surprised by the new skyline and roads, but also the new spots like this one near First Station.

After weeks of sun, the sky was grey on Friday over Har Hazeitim, the Mount of Olives.

As I approached the Old City, across the way on Har Hazeitim, I saw the funeral for Sheldon Adelson z”l. At the private ceremony, cars and motorcycles were parked well above the gravesite. Those specks of black in the middle are the photographers trying to get a glimpse of the funeral.

Trying to get a view of the burial site, one of the closest to the Old City walls.

It is not the big tent, but the small one on the left with men dressed in black and one in an orange United Hatzalah jacket.

In the Old City, security outnumbered the number of people allowed to pray at the Kotel, Western Wall.

Guards were at gates to exclude those who are more than one kilometer from home. More Facebook photos of Friday in Old City can be seen HERE

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While numbers of coronavirus patients are high, small businesses are shut.

But the vaccine program is racing along to over 2,000,000 inoculations. There are increased feelings of hope for the future, even as the number of coronavirus patients rises.

Even under grey clouds, windy and cold, with empty streets, there is always something new to see on the Jerusalem streets.

With a bit of music from Shalva, all we need is love and good health, and I will end with one of my favorite scenes of many this week.

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Friends of a groom were picking him up on the way to his wedding.

They saw my camera and smiling posed with a thumbs up.

I shouted “Mazel tov” to wish him well.

I love Jerusalem

All you need is love to brighten a grey day.

Take care and stay well.

Colorful Week in Jerusalem

Will it rain tomorrow?

How cold will it be today?

In Jerusalem, Israel, the weather is a constant topic of conversation.

Last week was unusual, with pleasant weather, not too hot, not too cold.

A great week to get out and get some sun before the winter rains return.

My colorful week with good weather began with one of the best views of the Jerusalem Old City from the Tayelet.

Sigd this year was downsized to a few “capsules” with three Kessim at the dais to lead the traditional prayer service which was broadcast live.

Seated a few meters away was “capsule 3” Kessim in a group, socially distanced sitting under their colorful umbrellas. The annual observance in other years attracted thousands for prayers and after the fast a major party, but due to corona restrictions, it was extremely limited this year.

This woman was keeping her distance as she faced Jerusalem’s Old City, but I noticed her cell phone.

This man sat on a wall at the Tayelet, but without the view.

Was he watching the prayers broadcast on his phone?

Security was in place. However, sadly due to COVID-19 few people came.

These new buildings sprung up near the Tayelet and they are part of the change in the neighborhood.

Ahdeya Ahmad Al-Sayed, President of the Bahraini Journalists Association, said she will never forget the photos from Jerusalem of Israel and Bahrain.

The red and white flags of Bahrain were at Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s residence, as the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Excellency Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, signed the official guest book before meeting with President Rivlin.

The King David Hotel was open, but King David Street was closed.

I got a photo of the Bahrain and United States flags on the hotel with the Israeli flags as official state meetings were held inside.

The real streets were not involved with meetings unless the drivers were stuck in traffic, which was an all too common occurrence before the coronavirus pandemic.

Now is the time for fall colors – rare and appreciated in Jerusalem.

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The garden outside the Knesset was more colorful than usual this week.

The flower bed on Herzog Street had reached peak color.

The floral butterfly near Gan Sacher, Sacher Park was past prime time.

It’s time to pick those olives, otherwise, they end up on the ground under the trees, and turn into squashed overripe purple globs. Plenty of photos of those streets, but not such a pretty sight.

Blue skies and white clouds were great for walking this past week.

This path, empty in the past, became so popular I went off to look in different directions.

Groups of children were in parks taking advantage of the sun.

Jerusalem parks were green and filled with student groups.

Jerusalem green spaces were alive with the sounds of children’s voices.

In Nahlaot, where space is dear, green vines grew on and over the streets,

and flower beds add color along the walls in the old narrow lanes.

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Coronavirus has moved synagogue prayers outside to the Jerusalem streets,

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and study centers out of the buildings into covered open shelters.

Communal street lending libraries were open when other public ones were closed for browsing due to virus limiting restrictions.

Gan Sacher was green and full of life, as couples strolled in the midday sun, taking advantage of days without rain.

It was a colorful week, with people taking the time to get away from their screens and go outside, from the Tayelet to the Jerusalem Rose Garden where before corona I led nature photo walks.

But I will save those many photos, and share one of my favorite sights this past week before I close.

A woman taking her youngsters out for a walk using one of those rolling pens. The old ones from kibbutz days were made of wood, but this one was made from light metal. They were such a cute sight on their outing.

The Jerusalem new winter signs are up, for “a warm winter and health – because in Jerusalem winter is winter.”

So when the weather is good, it’s good to get out and see the autumn colors.

Take care everyone and stay well.