middle east current events – Page 31 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem Under Old Walls to New Northern Ramparts

December 25, 2019Sharon A

Jerusalem, Israel, where the very old meets the new.

With so much happening on these Jerusalem streets, it is hard to keep up.

Thousands and thousands of visitors are filling the streets.

Drivers honking at the poor tourists trying to maneuver, unfamiliar with the crazy lights and the turns of the Jerusalem streets.

The Old City Walls are thousands of years old, but for this holiday season, there is also new.

New adventures and views for visitors to the Jerusalem Old City.

Outside Damascus Gate at night, a familiar view.

We passed Damascus Gate walking around the walls on the night of Tisha B’Av.

Four years ago in Jerusalem, we descended into the nearby King Solomon’s Quarry,

also called Zedekiah’s Cave, located close to Damascus Gate.

Down in the Zedekiah’s Cave was an amazing piano concert.

For a Jerusalem Light Festival, Zedekiah’s Cave was also an impressive sight.

This week public concerts are held at night in the cave.

What else is new?

There have been popular Southern Ramparts Walks on top of the walls.

Now after 10 years of work, there is a new Northern Ramparts Path open to the public.

For our Northern Ramparts walk, we met at Zedekiah’s Cave and began next to Damascus Gate entrance, down at the Roman Plaza entrance.

First, we went down, and then up to the top of Damascus Gate.

The top of Damascus Gate from the inside was another flight up.

Love the look of the stones against the clear blue sky!

Looking down into the Muslim Quarter from above near Damascus Gate was a new sight.

One view of the Muslim Quarter from above to the residential areas.

This was a view from the path on the wall toward northern Jerusalem with Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in the distance.

The newly opened walk goes around the tops of the Old City walls, on the right, a wide and straight part.

Looking out over the Rockefeller Museum from that part of the path.

And one more looking back toward Damascus Gate and the morning scene below.

At times the path gets narrow with twisting metal stairs.

One place was so low I bumped my head. At 5 feet short, that was a first for me, other than on a very tiny plane.

Private land in the Muslim Quarter looks like a garbage dump.

But look not far in the distance.

With a bit of zoom lens, you can see the domes of the Temple Mount.

Approaching the corner of the Old City wall, traffic below and Hebrew University in the distance on the left and Mount of Olives on the right.

Modern sports fields fill this corner of the Muslim Quarter.

At Stork’s Tower where one has incredible views.

Not all are original stones. The new ones are marked with those black tags to show future historians what was recreated before 2020.

The new path provides an unprecedented view of the Muslim cemetery built along the northern wall.

Tourist buses lined up on the Mount of Olives, with the Jewish graves going back thousands of years on both sides.

Storage? This structure is in the middle of the Muslim cemetery.

One more view approaching the Lion’s Gate.

MK Ze’ev Elkin – Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry and Mordechai Benita – Director-General of the ministry posed before the opening ceremony.

The tour guides and invited guests were waiting below.

As Zeev Elkin was speaking, I was watching a security guard leave her post and assist an old woman with a cane out of Lion’s Gate.

The official ceremonial blue ribbon was cut at Lion’s Gate.

Inside of Lion’s Gate, from above, attracted my attention during speeches.

One old Jerusalem street on our way from Lion’s Gate inside the Old City walls.

Oops, was walking quickly and snapping as I went.

The scene approaching the Kotel, Western Wall Plaza, from inside Old City.

Finally, back to familiar sites and scenes.

Special cleaning for the notes left at the Kotel,

as Western Wall prepared for holiday crowds and Hanukkah candle lightings.

Another beautiful winter day in Jerusalem, Israel.

Lots more photographs, but if you want to check out for yourself, please note:

The walks are not accessible to people with disabilities and wheelchairs.

Young children should be in a carrier.

South Walk:

Sun-Thur 9:00-16:00 (summer to 17:00, July-August to 22:00)

Friday and Holiday evenings 9:00-14:00

Exits – at Zion Gate and at the end of the Tekuma Garden (Jewish Quarter)

*Southern box office: At the southern end of the Cannon Plaza (the back entrance of the Tower of David, to the right side before of Jaffa Gate square)

North Walk:

Sunday – Thursday and Saturday: 9:00-16:00 (summer to 17:00)

Exits – at the New Gate, Damascus Gate, Herod’s Gate and Lions Gate

Ticket includes the Northern walk and entrance to the Roman Plaza.

* Northern box office: at the TICKETS OFFICE on the left-hand side, just after entering the Jaffa Gate, and at the Roman Square box office

Fees:

Adult – 20 NIS, student / retiree 10 NIS, child / soldier 8 NIS

The ticket is valid for both sections, for two days.

Tickets: PAMI website www.pami.co.il and at the box offices

4 Stops in Shomron: See Old and New

December 11, 2019Sharon A

At first, I said no.

I had been on trips to the Shomron (Samaria) in the past.

The schedule seemed similar to previous visits to the Shomron and Barkan.

However, on Sunday morning, as the Jerusalem, Israel skies turned grey,

I was on a bus on my way out of town before the rain started to come down…

and come down long and hard on the very dry Jerusalem streets.

As we drove away from Jerusalem, the morning sky was blue and clear.

Clouds gathered as we neared the Barkan Industrial Park in the Shomron.

The view from the road to Barkan of Ariel Industrial Park was as impressive as ever. The development and growth in the once-barren hills is amazing.

Stop #1 in the Barkan included greetings from the Shomron Council officials to the Israel Allies international parliamentarians. These supporters of Israel had come from around the world.

I have an entire album of selfies. Dr. Thomas Coker of Sierre Leone taking a photo with Alan Clemmons of South Carolina has to be the new favorite.

Full disclosure – one of the main reasons I decided to go was to meet Facebook friend Rep. Alan Clemmons who initiated the first US anti-BDS legislation in South Carolina. Over half the US states now have similar laws against Israeli boycotts.

“Never Again will nations stand silent in the face of boycotts against the Jewish people,” stated this declaration signed by the international group of 25 ministers and parliamentarians.

MK Miki Zohar held up a photo of Kim Levengrond Yehezkel z”l and Ziv Hajbi z”l as he addressed the delegation. The signing and speeches were held in the parking lot of the Twitoplast factory.

In October last year, this workplace of coexistence, that I had written about more than once, was the shocking scene of terror when the two young parents were murdered.

Ziv’s mother spoke as did Kim’s father (seated in center). Both asked the international lawmakers to get their governments to stop funding terror. Standing is IAF President Josh Reinstein, and sitting next to the podium is Yossi Dagan of Shomron Council.

No trip to the Barkan is complete without Moshe Lev Ran, who spoke to the international visitors in the Twitoplast factory.

Moshe’s smile and message were not new.

As I have shared in the past, these factories in the Shomron employ thousands of Arab workers. Work in these Jewish businesses means higher salaries and benefits than under PA. If an Israel business is forced to close from the EU labeling restrictions and boycott, those hurt most are the families of the Arab employees.

Each time I go to the factory there seem to be more products.

Israel Twito, the creative genius behind Twitoplast, has over 100 patents.

This graphic makes the areas A, B, C, clearer than if I tried to explain the complex situation of governance in Yehudah and Shomron.

Roads in the Shomron in area “A” have red signs not allowing Israelis to enter.

As you can see the weather had changed by the time we left Barkan.

The memorials of terror victims are along the road near intersections.

Villages in the valley sit between the rolling hills that line the road.

New housing on the hilltops gets more impressive with each visit.

Stop #2 was also a repeat and as expected the Kabir Winery lunch was excellent.

The second reason I decided to go was that Leah Goldin, mother of Hadar Goldin z”l, was to speak after lunch. For 5 years and 4 months, she has tried to get her son’s remains, held captive in Gaza by Hamas, returned to Israel for burial.

I was on a bus returning to Jerusalem from Soroka Hosptial in Beer Sheva after the supposed 2014 ceasefire. Rockets were still being fired, and we could see the Iron Dome at work.

Hamas killed and captured Hadar two hours after the “cease-fire” began- a war crime and against humanitarian rules of conduct. Goldin wanted to make the legislators aware and urged them to help in their home countries.

Stop #3 was in Shiloh.

This was done very quickly as the sun was setting soon.

Minutes after this it started to rain.

Very quickly the group posed for a photo next to the new colorful display of the Twelve Tribes.

I went prepared for the day with an umbrella and plastic bags, however, they were on the bus.

We ran up the hill in the dark and rain to shelter in the Shiloh hologram show of ancient Shiloh, and movie reenactment with actors.

For 369 years ancient Shiloh was the site of the Tabernacle before King Solomon built his temple in Jerusalem. You will have to come to see for yourself, as rainy nights are not the best conditions for photography.

Stop #4 was the Psagot Winery.

Another ride up a winding, narrow road to a mountain top, to the warmth of a fine restaurant.

And wine. Good wine. Psagot owners went to the ICC international court to try and reverse the EU labeling against Jewish businesses in the Shomron. They lost, but they plan to keep trying. With 200 disputed territories in the world, they ask why only Jewish Israelis have to be singled out with special labeling?

Having been in the Shomron, it was good to see and hear the old and new.

Plenty was happening on the Jerusalem streets, besides heavy rain.

A tour of Ambassadors to the UN, led by Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon was at Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s House.

For most of the international diplomats, it was their first trip to Israel.

While they were in private discussions with President Rivlin, across the street, a group of Arab students was on their way to the Islamic Museum

More from Leah Goldin speaking about humanitarian and legal issues.

More Facebook Shomron photos of the trip HERE

More from what’s happening in Jerusalem, Israel next time.

As November Ends in Jerusalem Photos of 9 Happenings

November 27, 2019Sharon A

Jerusalem, Israel, was warmer than usual this fall.

The usual complaints of bone-chilling cold winter weather have been missing.

My third growth of roses was impressive enough to share.

The Knesset entrance looked nicely kept with green landscaped welcome.

What’s happening–or not happening–inside appears to be a mess.

But, across the street from the Knesset, the Israel Museum entrance has a clean new look.

Do you think this time of year, from “after the holidays” until Hanukkah, it’s quiet on the Jerusalem, Israel, streets?

Not at all, some evenings there are multiple events at the same time!

At Beit Hanasi, President Rivlin hosted a press conference to launch an international conference on antisemitism at Yad Vashem at the end of January.

2. At the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference, Chief strategist and Foreign Ministry PMO spokesperson Ben Moore, during an interview with Steve Linde, pointed to recently published antisemitic cartoons.

The results of his research have confirmed that the BDS movement has succeeded in mainstreaming and desensitizing the West to antisemitism in the Israel context.

Another international panel discussed antisemitism. Paul Packer from the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad expressed US support for Israel.

Ambassador Mario Bucaro of Guatemala (third from left) was one of the foreign dignitaries attending.

There was more than antisemitism, politicians, and journalists. Tourism was the topic of Ilanit Melchior’s TEDTalk.

With 2.5 million visitors to Jerusalem over the holiday season, sustainability and accessibility are important topics. The traffic from tourist buses and rental cars can be felt on the streets.

A very different conference that did not receive as much media attention was held in the Jerusalem International Convention Center.

3. The tenth Temech Conference for Israeli businesswomen and female entrepreneurs attracted 1000 women from the north and south to Jerusalem.

Networking is a very important feature of this event run by women for women.

The English track was smaller than in the past, but the Hebrew-speaking program has grown.

The theme ‘Unlock the Wealth’ had panels and speakers appreciated by women aspiring to grow their various endeavors.

4. The 2019 Elimination of Violence against Women’s Day was marked at Beit Hanasi.

It’s 50 days after Yom Kippur when the national holiday of Sigd is celebrated.

5. Sigd was a holiday in Ethiopia when prayers were offered for the return to Zion and Jerusalem.

Sigd means ‘prostration’ and marks a reaffirmation to Jewish heritage.

Here the religious leaders called Kessim in their white robes led services in Jerusalem.

Tens of thousands annually gather on the Tayelet with its view of the Old City.

6. Jerusalem Biennale ‘For Heaven’s Sake!‘ 2019 ends November 28, but the Street Art Festival pieces will be up longer at First Station, adding color to the tourist area.

7. Time to remember Kaf Tet November, the date the UN accepted the partition plan to establish the State of Israel.

8. With Rosh Chodesh Kislev, strawberry season is approaching.

With sufganiyot, donuts of all sizes, shapes, and flavors – everywhere –

9. Hannukkah or Hanuka or Chanukah will be here before we know it.

No. No downtime, something is always happening on these Jerusalem streets.