Israeli Media Snow Jerusalem Blizzard

They were calling it #IsraelBlizzard.

Jerusalem, Israel, was prepared for #WhiteJerusalem.

Schools were closed, meetings cancelled,

everyone was ready.

We were braced for power to go out,

just hoping for less time than the full week last year.

image hail storm knesset

First, there were hail and fog, with very strong winds.

photo hail stones on ground

Hail stones fell after loud thunder and lightning.

photo snow on roof tops Jerusalem Israel winter storm

Snow covered roof tops quickly,

#whiteJerusalem

and was sticking to cars and roads.

And then,

after ten minutes,

image Knesset in snow

it stopped and a slight powder of snow

that could be seen on the Knesset grounds.

All day we waited for more,

#WhiteJerusalem

by night fall the streets were quiet.

image snow in Jerusalem

 at bed time this was the best snow photo of the day.

No blizzard.

It felt like those old days in the DC area,

where the government and schools shut for snowy weather

that made every Northerner and Canadian laugh

and go into the details of their memories of a real blizzard.

image snow on ground outside Knesset

In the morning the Knesset had a thin cover of white,

and no serious accumulation of snow.

#WhiteJerusalem still might come over the weekend.

thermometer low house temp

It is cold though, this indoor thermometer,

 read 50 degrees first thing this morning,

so the temperature has been rising.

Outside,

image bad weather

it is another grey, wet, sleet and slippery day.

After a late school opening,

the kids are out of the house,

making the parents very happy.

#WhiteJerusalem was not an #IsraelBlizzard,

even with that loud thunder all day.

Hard to believe that only four days ago,

there were those rainbow colored flowers,

Counting Chanukiot or Hanukkiot

Yesterday, 834 people in a hangar in the Princeton, New Jersey airport 

set the Guiness world record for the most Chanukiot lit at the same time.

I do not know if we could even get that many people 

in Jerusalem, Israel, to agree on anything.

It is even hard to agree on the spelling in English.

Are they Chanukiot or Hannukiot?

This time of year in Jerusalem, Israel,

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 Hanukiot, special Hanukkah menorahs,

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pop up on top of buildings,

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and are displayed in windows

DSC_0122m

in all colors and types.

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They are sold at many craft fairs before the holiday 

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and can be found on top of cars during Hanukkah.

We have done whole blogs on Just Chanukiot in the past

and Chanukkah lights.

So what is new and different this year?

I set out yesterday to check the Jerusalem streets, 

but did not get very far before the rain started.

rain in Jerusalem, mud puddles

There are those who count every single millimeter of water, 

 yesterday it came down in buckets.

When it rains in Jerusalem, the sky gets grey and the people go inside.

Israel Museum

At one popular destination is the Israel Museum, the garden was empty,

Israel Museum

as people looked for shelter and families filled the children’s sections,

hand made menorahs

where Hanukiot were made of recycled materials.

But I wanted to find the special Hanukkah exhibit

Israel Museum chanukiah

 on Hanukiot

Israel Museum, exhibit chanukiah

 from around the world:

menorah from Yemen, chaunkiah

simple ones from Yemen

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as well as ornate ones from Europe.

Israel Museum, chaukiah

Families looked at the various small Chanukiot

Israel Museum, chanukkah

and admired the large ones,

large menorah, chanukia

while the weather outside also got plenty of attention.

I really wanted to go across the street to see the new

“Fire” exhibit at the Bloomfield Science Museum

But I was still wet, so I went home to get some hot tea and dry clothes.

Today the sun is shining again, it is a much better day for photos.  

Happy Hanukkah!