Jerusalem photos – Page 160 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem Spring

April 21, 2011rjstreets

Syria is lifting emergency law after 48 years and

the ‘Arab Spring’ is grabbing headlines coming from the Middle East.

News of the murder of an anti-Israel Italian ISM member in Gaza,

came as Jews were busy shopping before the Passover holiday.

Many Arab shoppers were also in the stores buying the potato noodles and matzah.

Daniel Viflic, the 16-year-old riding on a school bus who was injured by an anti-tank missile from Gaza,

died from those injuries and was buried just before the holiday began.

A tragic beginning…

for the Jerusalem spring.

There were photos of President Peres visiting the Shalit family and reports of new negotiators, but

Gilad Shalit missed the Passover seder for the fifth year,

the protest tent was dark and empty on Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, Jerusalem spring

is a time of families get-togethers,

and fanning

the flames

of the mangal in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park–

that has evolved into a Passover holiday tradition.

While millions of people take to the roads to travel North,

many others descend on Gan Sacher to picnic,

to play ball,

to relax,

to take a walk,

and enjoy nature.

It is a place

where even used coals can be shared and the news can be forgotten…at least for a bit.

Happy Passover… it’s time to eat.

Two women wearing hijab sit inside Aroma Cafe in Jerusalem Israel Mailla Mall on Jerusalem Day

Israeli Apartheid?

March 8, 2011March 8, 2020rjstreets

Saudi Arabia bans protests, Turkey locks up journalists,

Iran and Libya kill their opponents,

Egypt killed protesters, Syria kills hundreds every day.

Haneen Zoabi, an Arab woman is an elected member of the Israeli Knesset

and has led anti-Israel protests.

Israeli apartheid?

Her actions would never be tolerated in any of the surrounding countries,

but Zoabi’s anti-government pieces are routinely published

in main stream Jerusalem newspapers and supported by the courts.

While Saudi Arabian women are forbidden to drive a car,

in Jerusalem, many Arab women take driving lessons

and sit where they want on public buses.

School girls are not afraid to share the same streets,

no matter what uniforms they wear, and go on to attend Israeli universities

and find work in the medical professions in Israeli hospitals.

Arab women walk alone

through the streets of the Old City

and in all the neighborhoods

around

Jerusalem, Israel

dressed in clothing

of all types

and colors.

Often Arab women shop

in Mamilla Mall,

in the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk,

on Jaffa Street,

King George Street,

and in Talpiot.

They can eat in a street cafe or restaurant

or walk with a male companion.

With young children

or alone,

Arab women are not afraid or forbidden to move around freely.

Israeli apartheid?

Books, More Books and Authors

February 23, 2011rjstreets

While eulogies for volumes with paper pages are being composed,

and Borders goes chapter 11,

the 25th Jerusalem International Book Fair opened on Sunday night

at Binyanei Ha’uma, the Jerusalem International Convention Center.

Very strong rains with thunder and lightning, a rarity in Jerusalem,

welcomed author Ian McEwan who was awarded the Jerusalem Prize

at an invitation-only event.

Monday morning the convention center doors opened to the public,

where one exhibition hall

after another

and another

and another

were filled with over 100,000 books from more than 30 countries.

Along with Hebrew and English, there is plenty of Russian

and Esperanto.

There are university publications

to children’s books,

and a chance for everyone to find

something interesting–

even Obama’s Secrets.

Tuesday at a symposium on E-publishing, Google books was one topic

presented to a large crowd by an international panel led by Yossi Vardi.

All week a Literary Cafe featuring Israeli and foreign writers is featured.

All day long there are varied discussions in a variety of languages.

One impressive example of the dynamic of the presentations:

after a well attended panel discussion led by Israeli editor Noa Manheim,

Czech Republic author, Tomas Zmeskal of “Love Letter in Cuneiform Script”

speaks with an audience member.

Some people will stay inside at the fair from 10:00am to 10:00pm all week, but

it is doubtful that the Chilean miners who were trapped under ground

and arrive in Israel today for a visit

will be taken to a book fair, no matter how large or popular.

Hope they are used to the sunshine by now,

as spring temperatures and sun are here, at least for a short time,

and the scene of the Old City walls is also not to be missed.