Jerusalem street photos

New February Flowers and Flying Flags in Jerusalem

Sharon A

Another week wondering where to begin and what to include in what’s happening in Jerusalem, Israel.

When the rain stopped the clouds were impressive over the Israel Museum and the valley below. After the rain, green grass and wildflowers pop up from the ground to bask in the sunlight.

It’s always a good idea to take a moment to see the latest at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.

The pink cherry tree blossoms burst out last week.

New Israeli flags were posted on the fence around the soon-to-open Japanese Pagoda.

New flags line many Jerusalem streets.

Some new flags and a sign for a fallen soldier were put up across from his former home.

Sadly, too many new flags with the loss of another soldier, killed in the October 7 War.

Finally construction work is slowly resuming on the Jerusalem streets. The new path to the starting line of the Jerusalem Marathon has to be completed before the March 8 starting time.

The 13th Jerusalem Marathon will be held during these challenging times, “based on the spirit of struggle, perseverance, determination, and the victory of the human spirit, especially in times of war.”

On a visit to the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem this past week, under this large welcome sign were smaller posters of hostages kidnapped on October 7.

Inside on the second level is a new exhibit ‘Splinter From the Storm’ where contemporary art is interspersed with ancient artifacts.

Jerusalem has creative works found both inside museums and along the Jerusalem streets.

The juxtaposition of old and new is constantly changing as new buildings tower over the old.

Some things in the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk, appear the same and constant.

However, seeing bread and rolls packaged in plastic and not in the open is relatively new.

It’s time to sign up for next year in schools as signs along a busy Jerusalem street remind us.

No need for “Bring them home now” signs as a reminder, but they are posted in many windows.

Tens of thousands were at the Kotel, Western Wall on Thursday afternoon, before Rosh Chodesh Adar to pray for the return of hostages. It got less media coverage than other rallies even with both chief rabbis participating in the prayer service.

Some relatives were there also, Bring Him/Them Home Now! can be seen almost wherever you go.

As sad as much of the past four difficult winter months have been, the first lupins have appeared as another sign of spring, new growth, and hope as the days get warmer.

New Am Yisrael Chai banners have appeared on some Jerusalem streets.

It is a good time to get up and go out and appreciate the sunshine.

Seeing what’s new and what else is happening on Jerusalem streets can help improve your mood any day.

See the Jerusalem Streets for Tu Bishvat

Sharon A

What is changing faster?

The weather over the Jerusalem streets–or the mood of the people, trying to move forward after almost 4 months since Hamas atrocities started a war on October 7?

From the horrors on Simhat Torah, it is already time for Tu Bishvat, the holiday called the ‘New Year of Trees’.

The almond trees were indeed bursting with flowers this week.

The sky at sunset was often filled with pink clouds.

Even the pink blossoms of the cherry trees in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens were ready for the holiday.

A sign on the way to the gardens was for ‘raising a glass’ to celebrate Rosh Hashana before an election which was to be held at the end of October and is still on hold until the end of February.

Inside the gardens, the pond is ready for the spring and summer ahead.

The 75th-anniversary birthday celebration for the Knesset on Tu Bishvat was extremely low-key. Oh so very different than in 2016, when the current location celebrated its 50th year on Tu Bishvat.

No flags were flying on the street, and no tourists were admiring the menorah across from the entrance.

The row of carob trees across from the Supreme Court was fully green, a far cry from those old brown bokser pods we remember for the holiday “treat” that in Jerusalem litter the ground.

Back at Beit Hanasi, the Israel President’s Residence, the reception held was not for Tu Bishvat, but for the UN-mandated International Holocaust Remembrance, Day which falls on January 27th, and this year on Shabbat.

Inside the chairs were lined up for survivors of the Kindertransport, but the hostages in Gaza were not forgotten. There is an undercurrent everywhere thinking about the hostages held by Hamas.

These “children” who were saved 85 years ago by being sent to England, many never to see their parents again, were the featured guests of the President of Israel.

Germany’s Ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert attended and listened carefully to the survivors’ stories.

Sitting next to the moderator, he heard one of the survivors rescued from Nazi Germany in the Kindertransport operation in 1938, say that she was once again evacuated from her home – this time in Kibbutz Zikim on the Gaza border, after the community came under attack by Hamas on October 7.  

So yellow ribbons are tied to trees anticipating the hostages’ return.

The military cemeteries are expanding, with more graves and fresh memorial wreaths,

and new ones being prepared for use.

There were only two graves here on our last visit, not so long ago.

Love not war, as war goes on into the fourth month–a war Israel did not want, but must win.

On Tu Bishvat it was good to see the roof of the Bird Observatory green again.

Even the Jerusalem buses go green with the new electric ones.

The new towers rising over the Jerusalem Streets seem to reach the grey clouds in the sky.

Construction is starting up again.

Nature is coming back to life again, with green grass and almond trees in bloom.

Flowers line the path ready for the Jerusalem Marathon in March.

Azza Street was blocked for a protest – again.

But flowers are sprouting from the old stones, part of the old and new, and changing along the Jerusalem streets.

Tu Bishvat four years ago at Beit Hanasi, ended with a special hope. Still singing songs of hope.

Moving forward and upward from October 7, it’s Israel Space Week 2024.

Israel Space Week started on January 28, 2024.

Something is always happening on the Jerusalem streets.

Hope to see you all here soon!

Jerusalem Streets Slowly in War Time Returning to Normal

Sharon A

Another week — where to begin and what to share?

No, this is not a Six-Day War.

However, life is beginning, ever so slowly, to return to the Jerusalem streets.

The buildings are rising higher and higher than in the past.

The shops are opening after dark again.

Winter clouds fill the skies and the weather is again a topic of conversation.

The “activity” on the northern border reminded me of this photo from the last trip to the border with Lebanon when we were shooting each other with cameras, not missiles. Hezbollah was already on the border, in violation of UN Resolution 1701.

The residents of northern communities have been evacuated from their homes for months, as well as the residents of southern communities. Up to 300,000 Israelis cannot go home yet.

However, to start the New Year, the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza reached the partygoers in Tel Aviv.

On December 31st, there was a well-attended book launch and program at Ohel Nechama Synagogue in Jerusalem.

The farmer’s markets have become a regular sight, along with soldiers in uniform with a weapon over one shoulder and a child in tow.

Baking has become a weekly event in thousands of households. Thousands of challahs and cookies are being sent every week to soldiers on all fronts, as a way for those not toting a weapon to support the war front from home.

The delicate beauty in nature can still catch your eye if you walk along the Jerusalem streets.

However, a favorite sighting was the new Japanese Pagoda in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens lit at night as seen from the road. It is planned to open when the cherry trees next to it start to bloom, which is only a few weeks away. Perhaps it will be on schedule.

While plans for events in the future are limited, some are being held. One bat mitzvah girl had a party for close friends to mark the occasion, a larger event for family will be held later. Each girl made two bracelets, one for themselves, and one for a girl who was evacuated from her home.

So Jerusalem streets are filling with honking traffic again, with reminders of those still held hostage in Gaza to “Bring them home now.”

And below this sign, near the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, I saw a Gett taxi driver who had just gotten off his knees after evening prayers. As he tossed his prayer mat into the taxi, I walked around and up the stairs to go home.

Just another day on the real Jerusalem streets that does not make headlines.