Passover Leftovers

Passover has ended.

I used 150 eggs, large quantities of potatoes, onions,

sugar and chocolate this week,

and not one cookie or crumb of cake is left in the house. 

However, there are still a few holiday leftovers that I would like to share.

'flag picture", "image of highway", "photo flag", "picture road Israel"

Flags lined Israel Highway #6 for millions of people on their holiday trips,

"picture dancing", "photo Breslovers dancing" ,"image men dancing"

while in Jerusalem you could find dancing on the streets

"Israeli girls", "photo girls", "image little girls"

and families dressed in their holiday finest.

"picutre SAcher Park", "image park, "photo picnic"

Crowds filled Gan Sacher, Sacher Park.

"picutre tents" , "image park", "photo picnic"

At times there seemed to be more tents than during “The Occupy Protest”

"picture of Sacher Park", "Picnic in the park photo", "Image of cooking"

and so much smoke that I made the mistake of calling it “Gan Smoker.”

"grilling meat picture", "photo picnic", "image BBQ in park"

  Gan Sacher is big enough, though, to find a quiet spot 

for conversation, grilled meat and a bottle wine.

 No need to go hungry in Jerusalem for lack of Passover food,

"image matzah sandwich", "picture of matzah sandwich", "photo Passover food"

these matzah sandwiches were for sale across from the Central Bus station,

"picture Israel flag", "photos of Israeli flag", "image Passover sign"

where “Happy Holiday of Freedom” signs and Israeli flags flew above.

 I wrote the last post about the Aleh Jerusalem March

(make sure you haven’t missed it)

"picture Aleh march", "image Aleh volunteers", "photo girls"

 and the impressive young volunteers,

"picture little boys", "image sharing" , "photo kids sharing"

 but these two children sharing a bag of potato chips were my favorite.

Those are a few favorite Passover leftovers, so that’s it…

"picture Israel bus", "photo bus sign Passover", "image bus Israel Passover"

 until next year, when the buses again say,

” Kosher and Happy Passover.”

9 Photos Jerusalem Prepares for Passover

 Passover time in Jerusalem:

"photo Jerusalem", "Jerusalem sky photo"

the purple flowers against the blue sky make a beautiful picture

"Jerusalem flower picture'

 and the aloe flowers are in full bloom.

"Office Depot store"

The office supply store did not have the notebook I needed,

but had plenty of Passover food gift baskets.

"sushi rechavia"

The sushi store was closed for day to get ready to serve food on Passover.

"photo boiling water","picture man kashering"

Massive pots of boiling water 

"kashering photo"

and blow torches to get rid of that last bit of bread or chametz 

can be found on many streets.

"photo flowers", "picture bouquet" , "image rose"

Flowers for holiday table centerpieces are abundant,

"picture matzah"

as is matzah and more matzah.

Finally, to the many people

"picture matzah",

 travelling for the holiday, welcome to Jerusalem

and where ever you are we hope it is a healthy and safe

Chag Kasher v’sameach!

Happy Passover!

Happy Easter to all our many Christian friends!

Malha Mall Rioters Drown out the Music

Malha Mall in Jerusalem is a large shopping center, busy day and night.

"Palestinian women' , "Arab women in Israel picture", "photo Arab women"

  Typical scenes like this one show no hint of apartheid.

Last week a group of Beitar football (soccer) fans made quite a scene

 in Malha Mall that caught international attention.

In no way do I condone their rowdy and obnoxious behavior, 

but sports fans have rioted in Canadian and  US cities also.

 Was the entire country condemned for their miserable behavior?

An Israeli diplomat in Rabat, Morocco had to be rescued from a mob

of tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

I did not hear of human rights activists writing essays against these events.

Once again, an isolated, repulsive incident has been blown out of proportion

 and has drowned out the other sounds coming from Jerusalem:

"J Street', Image "Wall of Old City", "photo of Jerusalem"

the sounds of a three-night music festival called “Sounds of the Old City.”

The city of Jerusalem offered free musical entertainment

"picture of Jaffa Gate", "lights" , "sundown photo"

 to bring more visitors to enjoy the beauty of the Old City at night.

Throughout the Old City and Mamilla Mall, 

"light on wall"  , "photo stone walls"

there were also video art displays…

 much better for a photo blog than music played in the dark.

"narrow streets picture", "sundown photo"

It was easy to follow the lights and art

"lights above narrow street" , "J Street"

through the narrow alleyways of the Old City.

"photo Hurva Synagogue"

The Hurva Synagogue in the Rova, the Jewish Quarter, was lit up.

"stage picture", "photo of a stage"

Musical performances were scheduled from 6-11:00pm;

sorry, I only got a program on the way out and missed the shows in the Rova.  

"picture of Cardo", "photo of Cardo at night"

Musicians performed inside the Cardo 

"musicians playing photo", "picture of Cardo at night"

and out, two of many dramatic backdrop locations.

Shows were also performed in the Christian and Muslim Quarters

"sound in the night" , "Arab men photo"

   and along many of the Old City streets.

"music fans" , "photo of stage", "Jerusalem photo"

Comfortable seats were impossible to find,

"Arab food photo", "picture of Fava beans",

but the food for sale near Jaffa Gate was hard to miss.

"Palestinian photo", "apartheid image" , "video art picture"

The crowds grew larger as the night went on.

"photo drum circle", "picture of drums", "Arab boys", "Jerusalem photos"

On the way home, this drum circle near Jaffa Gate caught my attention.

"picture boy dancing", "Arab boys in Jerusalem photo", "image Arabs"

One boy got up and started to dance

 to an audience which gathered to watch and included smiling Arab families.

The sounds of music from the Old City went unnoticed by the media,

drowned out by the noise of a few trouble makers.

There was no violence during the festival…so it is not news.

 The “Sounds of the Old City” was happening in Jerusalem last week.

What did you hear?