Jerusalem

In Jerusalem October ended with protests

Sharon A

October ended on the Jerusalem streets with thousands of visitors arriving from around the world.

The World Zionist Congress meets every five years in Jerusalem, Israel, for the largest global Zionist gathering. As in the past, this year’s WZC, held in the Jerusalem International Conference Center. Included were 543 delegates representing political factions and an overall total of 755 delegates.

The power of a story is felt more and more; emotion over facts has become our reality. This WZC took place 128 years after Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897.

The United States sent the largest group in WZCs’s history, with 155 delegates and about 100 alternates.

Ahead of the opening, the American Zionist Movement (AZM)  hosted a luncheon for them to meet.

In the afternoon, a moment of silence was held in memory of the victims of the October 7 and fallen IDF soldiers as the plenary opened.

During the program, the parent of Omer Neutra spoke. The audience rose in support of them.

One of multiple speeches included Yaakov Hagoel, current chairman of the World Zionist Organization.

Sondra Sokal was one of the individuals given special recognition in the opening plenaries.

This jacket caught my attention.

Much of the action during the day was held in the halls. Those were the bags given to delegates.

People worked, mingled, and ate upstairs.

And downstairs.

For those not familiar with the building, these are the stairs.

For the evening opening event, the main auditorium, Ussishkin Hall, was again filled. President Isaac Herzog was seated with delegates and guests.

During his featured address in Hebrew, a short section was in English. “Zios” has become a new slang for Jews, but he commented with pride to those who come to Israel to build the homeland.

When I left at the end of the long first day, I planned to come back on Thursday.

But in Jerusalem, Israel, things do not always go as planned.

I had seen Miki Zohar on his phone. But only found out late Wednesday night that plans had changed, and on Wednesday, the WZC had their big meetings to vote, not on Thursday as originally planned. The controversy is too complicated for now, and others have written on it, but more photos from WZC – HERE.

Wednesday night, I went to a wedding officiated by Rabbi Shlomo Katz.

Guests from Australia and the US joined in the celebration.

What a wedding! With the desert as background as the sun was setting, a unique experience.

Oh, and the bride and groom rode away on the camel.

The camel and scene inspired the post for Lech Lecha Shabbat Shalom.

Too many Jerusalem streets are blocked and closed for light rail construction to count.

But on Thursday, the thousands arriving in Jerusalem for the anti-draft protest closed even more.

Since the WZC had moved their main events to Wednesday, Thursday, I was free to walk to Gan Sacher.

I had wanted to see if the piano was still yellow. The “You are not alone” is gone.

Alon Ohel is home, but the yellow remains.

New signs are up for new festivals in November, “TRACES” and “Autumn Cult.”

Always something new happening on the Jerusalem streets. With the Open Houses this weekend, tour groups were out discovering some local gems and their history.

The signs to prepare for winter are up. Only the weather for those thousands of visitors felt more like spring and summer.

It was a good week if you were not stuck in construction traffic or had your plans ruined due to closed roads and protests.

Jerusalem gets back to normal after holidays

Sharon A

It’s time to get back to “normal” with a full five-day week without holidays.

To start a busy week, nothing like changing the clocks to get the week going – slowly.

Last week, the Vice-President and Secretary of State of the US paid short visits to Jerusalem, Israel.

I did not see either of them, but the US flag was up outside Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s Residence.

It was enough for me to remember Biden’s two trips as VP and VP Mike Pence in 2018.

This week, President Herzog presented nine Israeli Medals of Honor to a very diverse group of awardees.

The yellow chair to remember the hostages still in Gaza was placed next to the medals.

The honorees were seated in the front row with distinguished guests on the other side of President and Michal Herzog. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee was one of several Ambassadors.

The very diverse group of winners included Sheik Muwaffaq Tarif, leader of the Druze community.

Dr. Miriam Adelson, one of the female winners, spoke for the group and wore a white garment with blue Stars of David embroidery.

Miriam Abelson and Michal Herzog, one of many hugs of the evening.

Group hug of the President, Adelson, and freed hostages Matan Angrest and Segev Kalfon was another.

The two young men recently freed from Gaza received special mention and applause.

Impressive, before leaving, giving a thank you to the Medalists.

Not all the winners were Israeli or Jewish. Mathias Döpfner, a German businessman, author, art collector, and journalist, is the CEO of media group Axel Springer SE. He prides himself on being a non-Jewish Zionist, and his media was singled out for not sharing anti-Israel propaganda. He is also very tall.

The construction and destruction of Jerusalem streets for bike paths and the light rail goes on, and on.

One sign says that we will be able to get from Herzog Street to Route 16 by October 2027.

Will see if that really happens. It feels doubtful with so many streets ripped up and traffic stuck.

Meanwhile, it is fall and the weather and seasons are changing.

In the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, the pond lilies are changing colors as they wilt away.

A new restaurant opened this week in the old popular location. The dairy one did not last long. Will see how a kosher Moroccan grill does in the site best remembered as the old Moment Cafe.

The hundreds of delegates to the World Zionist Congress are arriving from around the world for the WZC opening sessions starting on Tuesday at the International Conference Center.

Winter weather is on the way. But if you walk along the Jerusalem streets, roses are still blooming.

Take time to stop and smell the roses, or check out the Open Houses this weekend. Over 160 places of interest are open to the public during the annual festival.

As always, more is happening than what makes the sensational headlines.

Hope to see you soon on the Jerusalem streets.

Extra joy in Jerusalem for Simchat Torah

Sharon A

Where did the week go?

Where do the weeks go?

In this holiday season, it often becomes hard to remember what day of the week it is!

It is officially “after the chagim,” and the Jewish holidays are behind us.

Before moving on to the upcoming events, I would like to share a bit about last week and Simchat Torah.

It’s remarkable how things can be portrayed negatively in the media when they were so positive.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee got a terrible review in Arkansas by someone who saw the video of him and David Friedman at the United Hatzalah event in Jerusalem. While I had to agree that comedian Elon Gold was not the best singer of the night. The Ambassadors’ guitar work to “Sweet Home, Jerusalem’ was greatly appreciated by the audience, and their expressions serious as they played.

Even Huckabee getting up to dance to a song by Avraham Fried was worthy of applause.

The return of the last of the living hostages from Gaza hours before Simchat Torah began added to the festive mood throughout Israel.

Outside of Israel, Simchat Torah extends for a second day. Rabbi Yitzhak Yedidia Frenkel is credited with starting the custom of second-night hakafot (dancing around a Torah scroll) in Tel Aviv in 1942, with music distinguishing the second from the first, religiously mandated day.

There were multiple options after Simchat Torah to keep the celebrations going in Jerusalem.

The musical Hakafot were held again in Liberty Bell Park and at the Kotel, the Western Wall Plaza.

However, the Great Synagogue was also lit and ready for a special celebration.

A new Torah was brought to be completed in memory of Aryeh Cohen, escorted by his sister Shira Cohen.

Shmuel and Leah Rieder donated the Torah in honor of a group of survivors who committed to keeping Shabbat in the merit of the hostages’ return, dubbed the “Shabbat Heroes.”

Twenty Nova Heroes decided in the past year to keep Shabbat.

Hundreds of people came to celebrate with them and the Kesher Yehudi organization.

Dancing was in the lobby of the Great Synagogue, though it was hard to move with so many people.

Michal Ochana spoke briefly: “Today we dedicate a new Torah in the memory of all of our loved ones that we have lost, after two incredible days of celebrating life, and the return home of our hostages.”

Photos, videos of the Torah and the Heroes who were given a sash with gold letters – “Hero” in Hebrew.

Popular singer Lipa Schmeltzer performed again with his amazing energy.

The band accompanied multiple Israeli singers, including this young one.

This was the truck and screen parked outside the Great Synagogue. It attracted the attention of young people walking by on Jerusalem’s King George Street. Lipa was still singing when I left at the start of the FIRST hafakah at 11 pm. The celebration went on until well after midnight.

The Jewish Agency was lit with “Veshavu Banim Ligvulum,” “the sons returned to their border.”

Much more simcha this Simchat Torah, but also sadness of the loss of life over the past two years.

Not all of the murdered hostages have been returned; their families are still waiting.

The annual Oud Festival is November 6-13, and the Jerusalem Open Houses are on October 30 – November 1, 2025. As always, things are happening on the Jerusalem streets besides traffic.

Hope to see you soon – this year in Jerusalem.