middle east current events

What’s new in Jerusalem for February?

Sharon A

Things in Jerusalem, Israel, are hard to predict and can change in a minute.

In February, we had winter days in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem street covered with snow

In February 2021, the Jerusalem streets and trees were covered with snow.

Other years, we also had summerlike weather.

Oh, the rain and sandstorms come and go with the season.

Abundant sunshine predicted? But, not so much today.

It is much easier to report on what’s new and the colors on the Jerusalem streets.

The cherry trees near the Japanese Pagoda were filled with pink blossoms in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.

Blue lights colored the Jerusalem Theater at night.

Some of the new buildings are also impressively lit up at night.

New buildings and construction are seen everywhere.

New government buildings have gone up near the entrance to Jerusalem.

The Givat Ram Stadium was again the launch site for the Jerusalem Marathon.

The 15th Jerusalem Winner Marathon is set for Friday, March 27, 2026.

The Jerusalem Mayor, Moshe Lion, posed with his new shirt, along with city sports officials and marathon sponsors.

The stadium is located not far from the new Iron Swords Monument

and the new children’s playground near the memorial site is open.

In February in Jerusalem, the flowers pop out of the ancient stones.

I so much prefer seeing the white roses blooming to shoveling snow.

The third Monday in February is when the US celebrates the birthdays of Presidents Lincoln and Washington.

I have looked forward to the annual Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations’ leadership missions in February for many years. The Prime Minister was again the key speaker at the opening gala.

Conference of Presidents Chair Betsy Berns Korn,  CEO William Daroff, and Executive Vice Chair Emeritus Malcolm Hoenlein welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the 51st annual conference.

The Inbal Hotel was filled with delegates and special guests on Sunday night.

This was the only session I was able to attend this year.

The BeSheva media group held its 23rd Jerusalem Conference on Monday and Tuesday at the Vert Hotel.

One thing new this year was Cow Free milk to go with the coffee.

It was not cold, but it did taste like milk.

One of the dozen honorees of the Jerusalem Prize was Rabbanit Esti Rozenberg of Migdal Oz for women’s education.

A highlight of the week was Ambassador Mike Huckabee at a special town hall-style conversation with Paul Gross at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

After brief words, the Ambassador sat and answered questions from the audience. The session was available online.

However many times I hear Mike Huckabee, I marvel at his composure and presentations without notes.

I started taking short videos to remember accurately what he said.

So I will leave you this unpredictable February with his concluding remarks.

At the end of the evening, Huckabee cited hope for the future from the Bible.

Interesting that the following day, at the BeSheva Jerusalem Conference, one speaker’s comments in Hebrew were so similar.

So in English or Hebrew, day by day, hope is key, and we hope to see you soon on the Jerusalem streets.

Checking out Jerusalem streets before Hanukkah

Sharon A

The week before Hanukkah was a busy one in Jerusalem, Israel.

There is a general sense that things are returning to “normal” on the streets of Jerusalem.

Even as the horrid news comes from Australia, we must keep sharing the truth with the world.

Check out only some of what was happening:

  1. The Jerusalem Theater held the final event of the Ambassador Summit 2025.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee was the highlighted speaker. He is always popular with his audiences.

One panel featured the mother of a fallen soldier and Israeli officials discussing the war in Gaza and the aftermath of October 7.

Fleur Hassan Nahoum, Caroline Glick, and the father of Yaron Lischinsky spoke of the global impact of antisemitism on another panel.

A buffet dinner was ready for the 1000 Christian leaders before they headed home. Hopefully, they will share the truth they witnessed and return with their followers in tour groups to see the real Israel.

What timing. Last week, the first person I met from the Ambassador Summit was artist Hooman Khlili.

And there he was being interviewed by Jodie Cohen of Newsmax as I left the theater.

2. Monday morning, I was on my way to the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk, when I had to stop

to look at the new towers that have risen over the old area.

Suffganiot, the Israeli doughnuts for Hanukkah, are traditionally fried, sugar-coated doughnuts filled with a red jelly or jam.

The display at Teller Bakery, the first stop, had many more varieties. It was the first time I ever had Trix and blueberry cheese cake doughnuts – and for breakfast. What a sweet start for the “Suffganya Crawl” with Jamie Geller and her Aish production team.

Oh, how very sweet it was!

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They stopped for a few minutes in the shuk to make a Happy Hanukkah video and pose for a photo.

In the Haba bakery stall in the shuk, he was making suffganiot. Only the traditional ones, not rated high, but the least expensive and the freshest if you got one that was straight from the fryer.

It had been months since I was in town on Agripas Street. Helen is a new bakery and restaurant.

The line of customers waiting for service was long and impressively patient.

The items on display made me wonder how many calories are in only looking.

This seems to be the year of the Lotus suffgania. These at Helen were the most expensive of the day. But considered a 10 by Jamie and large enough for two. But not my favorite flavor.

Gagou de Paris had plenty of customers lined up in front of its inviting display cases.

Getting there was not so simple due to all the light rail work going on.

However, taking a photo of the displays was not so simple either. These wild berry suffganiot must have been really good. I did not get a taste to sample. They were gone by the time I reached the back of the store to the tables. Pistachio was still available, salty, not sweet, which was different.

From there, we went to the roof of the new Suzana and Ivan Kaufman Aish Institute for Women’s Education, also on King George Street. Of course, I had to get a photo of the view from the roof first.

There, we had more samples from other artisan bakeries, and one non-dairy cream was surprisingly good.

3. I was off to the Old City and the Tower of David.

The Roladin suffganiot are well known for their inventive varieties each year, as these in Mamilla Mall.

This time of year, it is hard not to find suffganiot.

The plaza outside Jaffa Gate was too empty given the pleasant weather.

But the tourists are arriving.

People who have not been to Jaffa Gate recently will be surprised to find it covered with stickers. The friends and families of fallen soldiers have made stickers to share the names and faces of those lost.

The big archeological news this past week, before Hanukkah, was the Hasmonean Wall revealed in the Tower of David Kishle.

Archeologist Amit Re’em has been exploring the space for 25 years. On Monday, he was interviewed by the media as his extensive work was presented worldwide.

In around two years, a glass floor will enable the public to view the site.

4. Ambassador Mike Huckabee was the special guest for NGO Monitor on Wednesday night at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in a discussion with Gerald Steinberg and Olga Deutsch.

He was the first and last speaker I heard this week. Not a problem, I could listen to him every day.

Great timing! The Storm called Byron only brought some rain as we headed home at night.

5. Inside the Jaffa Gate was quiet as three women walked toward the Muslim Quarter.

But the shops are open, and Santas are out, waiting for the holiday tourists.

The Hanukkah lights are colorful over the Jerusalem streets, ready for Hanukkah.

Hanukkah starts at sunset Sunday, December 14, 2025. We have had our share of rain for a while. I hope the week is dry. There are too many tours and events to list now. It’s a family time to celebrate together.

Hanuka sameach bus sign

HAPPY HANUKKAH

3 things you should know happened in Jerusalem

Sharon A

Three events from the third week of November in Jerusalem, Israel, are highlighted in this post.

As the Jerusalem skyline above us constantly changes, things are happening on the streets, conference halls and theaters. As always, there is more happening than makes the headlines.

ONE

Monday night, nine women took to a Jerusalem stage to perform “Heroines” for an audience of women.

In July 2023, inspired by a video of Rachel Goldberg-Polin speaking at Kever Rachel, Shayna Levine-Hefetz sat down at the piano. As she played, music flowed through her, imagining Rachel in conversation with her Biblical namesake. That was when the concept of “Heroines” was born.

The monologues are presented in a Reader’s Theatre style: an open-book dramatic performance.

The opening scene relates the story of Adi Vital-Kaploun, of Holit, who was murdered in her home in front of her 4-year-old and 4.5-month-old sons. The boys were then taken captive on October 7, 2023, but miraculously released. Each story is encapsulated in a short presentation of a dynamic event.

The open-book dramatic performance requires no memorization, and the costumes are simple.

Performers use voice and facial expressions to bring the words to the audience.

Not always seated for the solemn and sad stories, they were up and active in some of the scenes.

Plus, a few gestures and scenes were included, providing humorous relief from the tragic stories.

‘Heroines” is a tribute to the women who died and survived during the Swords of Iron War.

“Our nation’s history seems to repeat itself, but so do our nation’s qualities of unbridled bravery, leadership, faith, and hope,” said Toby Klein Greenwald, who has led the women of “Raise Your Spirits” Theatre shows with Biblical themes to women-only audiences for the past 24 years.

TWO

All day Wednesday at Nefesh BeNefesh, the 4th Jerusalem Business Conference was held.

Organized by Lesley Kaplan and the Israel Networking Hub in partnership with the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) and Nefesh B’Nefesh, the event theme was “Own Your Voice.”

Hillel Fuld was opening keynote speaker, with advice based on his experiences in tech and social media.

Joseph Gitler of Leket Israel was another important speaker in conversation with Lesley Kaplan.

The panel moderated by Heather Dean included Debbie Sassen, Fleur Hassan Nahoum, and Zev Levi.

The participants filled the room, including one fitness expert who brought along his own ball to sit on.

Most stayed for the speaker and special networking session late in the afternoon, and the prize raffle.

THREE

According to their tradition, Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, are descended from emigrants from the tribe of Dan in the Land of Israel during the time of King Solomon. Each year on Sigd, they went to a mountain top in Ethiopia and prayed to return to Zion, to Jerusalem.

Ethiopian religious leaders Kessim in Jerusalem for Sigd

Sigd was declared a national holiday in Israel in 2008. Some members of the Ethiopian Jewish community fast and recite prayers. Tens of thousands come to Jerusalem each year, 50 days after Yom Kippur, for the services led by Kessim, their religious leaders.

I say each year, these were the original Zionists.

Woman praying at Sigd event in Jerusalem Israel

Thursday, November 20, in the morning, Sigd was celebrated on the Tayelet, with prayers and celebration.

Hostage-poster-Avera-Mangisto-ten-years

Special this year, former long-time hostage Avera Manfisto attended Sigd for the first time.

Traffic was still blocked as people were leaving in the afternoon.

And at night, it was Rosh Chodesh Kislev.

Chanukah is coming.

Festivals and culture are returning to the Jerusalem streets.

As the war in Gaza drags on, with three hostages still held captive, Jerusalem is building, bigger and better, like the new entrance to the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens seen here.

Next year in Jerusalem, or will we see you here sooner to see for yourselves?