Stephen Harper

I am a Stephen Harper fan.

When he was the Prime Minister of Canada, I admired his strong support for Israel.

In 2014, when he paid an official visit to Jerusalem, Israel, with his wife Laureen,

I arrived so early that only a cat was wandering around with me.

I don’t remember what Harper’s remark was that got the Israeli Prime Minister laughing.

But thanks to Stephen Harper’s inspiring pro-Israel speech at the Shurat Hadin conference, I now have a great quote to share along with these photos I have been saving.

Near the conclusion of his speech which came out strongly against BDS, Harper said of Israel, “Built from nothing to be one of the most successful countries on earth.”

While not many people are attending all the multiple conferences and various leadership meetings this week, it is hard to avoid the building going on in Jerusalem, Israel.

Construction sites around Jerusalem are similar to this one. First, earth-moving equipment digs down, down into the ground.

Look up and you will see a crane.

Cranes tower high above Jerusalem buildings.

This huge hole in the ground is to be the new Shaare Zedek Hospital building.

An underground radiotherapy specialty unit is to rise on this site.

These cranes, a lovely sight at night, are busy all day and late into the night, working on the National Library.

Earth moving equipment is now shoveling the huge pile of stones. The Knesset across the road is seen clearly in this image.

A photo of the new library is on the construction fence.

It is finally up to ground level and looks like this.

While there are still some of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the world in disrepair,

other locations have buildings going up to new proportions. This housing complex is being built on the old Shneller grounds in Geula.

On the day this was taken a worker fell and was transported to hospital by ambulance. Building safety is a serious issue.

The old Moment Cafe was hit by a suicide bomber in 2002 and the memorial is visible in this construction fence. In its last restaurant life, it was the site of Cafe de Paris.

Now construction has begun on luxury apartment units.

In one peephole was the image of the future building.

This is an image of how that corner looked in the past, an empty lot in old Jerusalem.

And the old Jerusalem train station has been fixed up as a tourist attraction.

It is now called, Takhana Rishona, or First Station, note this piece of land and the tree.

The Jerusalem cable car line is to be located at First Station.

This cable car line is proposed to take thousands of visitors to the Old City.

No more sitting on buses in traffic? We will see if and when.

In the shopping area of Talpiot, these red shelters were built for passers-by to have a bite to eat,

or perhaps to hang out while someone else shops.

Graffiti has been added in multiple locations to brighten up Talpiot.

But with all the building around Jerusalem, it is the Jerusalem Gateway project which is designed to bring the biggest change.

Roads are closed and traffic has been redirected at the entrance to Jerusalem.

Construction is ongoing and the area looks different every time I see it.

The municipality published images of the new court buildings to be built along Jaffa Road.

With the housing and new business district to be built at the entrance to Jerusalem, the skyline of Jerusalem in the future will look very different than in the past.

At least the colorful umbrellas are again a familiar sight over Kikar HaMusica, Music Square.

The Jerusalem Chord Bridge glows with lights at night.

Lights or flags, Jerusalem is going up and up and out of sight.

Even the Old City walls have a new-age ‘I Love Jerusalem’ sign.

As he ended his speech Stephen Harper said he admired the building and what had been accomplished in Israel in seven decades.

It is a wonder with all the outside and inside forces working against Israel, that so much has been built.

So much is happening on these Jerusalem streets.

Look down. Look up.

Building for the future while preserving the past.