The Real Jerusalem Streets – Jerusalem, Israel

Did you see another International Jerusalem Winner Marathon?

April 19, 2026April 19, 2026Sharon A

One day, sirens sounded, and people headed to shelters off the Jerusalem streets.

Then, Pesach, Passover, ended with a ceasefire announcement.

Put away the Pesach pots and pans and dishes, and boom, back to normal?!

April weather had been unusually cold.

But the next day, when the sun was shining, people returned to the Jerusalem streets.

Overnight, the blue and white Israeli flags were seen flying in the breeze.

Seeing the new flag on the car mirror was a sure sign of the season of the Yoms.

For Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Martyrs’ and Remembrance Day, the official state opening at Yad Vashem on Monday night was recorded. With the constant missile attacks since Purim, Homeland Security regulations had limited the size of events and the need for adequate shelters.

Hundreds of guests outside in the Warsaw Ghetto Plaza did not happen this year.

The event was broadcast with all the annual elements, but no live audience.

Leading up to Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror, President Herzog hosted families of fallen soldiers at an annual event supported by the IDF Widows and Orphans and Yad L’Banim organizations.

Fallen soldier Moti Shamir’s mother told how he would stand with his Holocaust survivor grandmother for the siren each year. Shamir’s daughter, born after he was killed on October 7, sat on her mother’s lap.

So many new stories with over 350 widows and 900 orphans since October 7, 2023.

Each of the eight families shared stories of their lost son, daughter, or sibling.

They also brought an item to share; one family showed the Herzogs a shirt.

One mother shared a story of a policewoman and a stuffed toy.

Yom HaZikaron begins tomorrow night, Monday, April 20, 2026.

The Michael Levine Base Ammunition Hill ceremony has people sitting outside. This year, it is recorded. There were doubts about the safety of 1000 people seated outside with no adequate shelter.

However, for Yom Hazikaron, there are many smaller community-centered commemorations throughout Israel.

What a week this was with the transition of going back to school after 6 weeks.

The biggest event to end the week was the 15th International Jerusalem Winner Marathon.

The races were originally planned for before Passover and then rescheduled for April 17, 2026.

Decisions were made down to the last tense minute, to run or not to run.

By Thursday evening, thousands had come to Cinema City to pick up their race kits.

Remember, people signed up to run in Jerusalem before the ceasefire was announced.

The marathon EXPO was held at Cinema City, and people were shopping.

It had one new feature this year that was popular.

All the runners’ names were posted on a sign, and they could take a selfie.

Can you see that there were fewer names at the top of the blue row for the full marathon than the other, shorter, much more popular races?

The green section is the 10-kilometer race, which had so many runners that it was divided into 3 start times.

Red was the half-marathon; all registered full runners could participate in that race.

There was no full marathon this year due to the hot weather forecast.

In previous years, the marathoners came here as I went to the starting line.

The barriers left along the street were very different this year.

All start times were moved up an hour, and the first runners took off in the dark.

The air quality did get very bad, and running later was a health hazard.

The entrance used by full marathon runners to enter the park was closed.

The full marathon finish line was empty when I got to the park.

The VIP tents on the side were not open this year.

However, the marathon finish was popular this year. Almost everyone took photos.

Only runners were allowed in the park, not their supporters, due to security.

The organizations’ booths were not allowed to set up in Sacher Park.

Homeland Security had limited numbers and encouraged runners to leave as quickly as possible after their race.

The Remember Roey running group managed to get a small table set up.

This year, many running groups were in memory of fallen soldiers.

Many of the organizational groups were smaller, with international runners unable to come.

Less celebrating, less congregating, and less music – no full marathon, but the races went on.

At the starting line for the 10-kilometer races, it was very crowded.

Thousands of runners lined up and waited for their start.

The enthusiasm was not muted by the weather or war.

Preparing for this marathon was done in a sprint.

Supporters were out at the crazy earlier hours.

All runners at the finish line were winners.

Without the booths, food, and family and friend supporters, runners were filling the park, able to rest after their race.

The 15th International Jerusalem Winner Marathon was held, with tens of thousands of runners participating in the shorter races. Only one case of heat exhaustion was reported.

On the way home, I saw this smiling duo coming toward the finish line.

Remember the first full successful marathon?

A woman was killed nearby by a bomb less than 48 hours before the start.

The same feeling this year.

Relief.

Accomplishment to start and to finish.

Winners all.

More Marathon photos on Facebook

Hope to see you next year in Jerusalem!

What’s new as Jerusalem returns to the streets?

April 12, 2026April 12, 2026Sharon A

Over and over.

The Real Jerusalem Streets has used the expressions “roller coaster” and “highs and lows” to describe the emotional changes that happen in Jerusalem, Israel.

This week, a new word was repeated over and over: “whiplash.”

It was used to describe the extremes of war one day and back to “normal” the next.

One day, life was filled with the beautiful flowers and meals of Passover.

Shelters were needed much too often because of Iranian and Hezbollah missiles and rockets.

And the next day, we could again walk and appreciate nature without looking out for sirens or falling missile fragments.

One day, the doors were locked at the Museum for Islamic Art. The gates were chained shut.

The next day, after 6 weeks, schools in Jerusalem were to open again.

On Friday, after baking challah, it was time to walk again to see what was happening on the Jerusalem streets.

One back-to-normal street scene was flowers being sold for Shabbat.

Young people were riding bikes in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park, in the afternoon sun.

Picnics and families were at the Gan Sacher children’s play area.

A new sign was up for the Jerusalem Winner Marathon, rescheduled for Friday, April 17, 202.

The security fencing around the park was going up.

The finish line for shorter races was up over the Jerusalem street.

People were walking and running again. Training preparations for this marathon are more like a sprint than the usual long marathon prep.

Around the Knesset, Israeli flags usually go up after Pesach, the Passover holiday.

This year, marathon posters and flags are also on the Jerusalem streets.

Tomorrow night is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day. This year, April 13-14, 2026. The program was recorded, so no question about whether to go to Yad Vashem this year – it will be closed on Monday night.

Next week is Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day, followed by Yom Haatzmaut, Independence Day on April 20- 21, when the annual extremes of mourning and celebration become a rollercoaster of emotions. What will be with the fragile 12-day ceasefire by then is anyone’s guess.

The Yom HaZikaron ceremony I usually attend on Ammunition Hill is also being recorded. No one wanted to be responsible for 1,000 people out in the open with not enough time to find shelter if this fragile ceasefire fails.

However, the first spotting of flags on a car as Israel approaches 78 years.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem is preparing Gan Sacher for thousands of people on Friday.

Not sure how many will come from overseas this year. But if it rains, the new walkway will be appreciated.

The Passover seder ends with’ Next Year in Jerusalem’.

Hope to see everyone soon in Jerusalem.

Passover 2026 under missile fire, remembering years in bomb shelters

April 5, 2026April 5, 2026Sharon A

How was this Pesach, Passover, different than all other years?

This year in Jerusalem, we organized for the holiday between alerts, sirens, and seeking shelter from Iranian and Hezbollah missiles. The cluster fragments spread far and wide, causing damage; not all of them were reported. Thankfully, most people followed instructions and were not killed. However, many were injured running to shelters.

As of after Shabbat, according to MDA, 1,226 people were injured on their way to shelters, and 3 were killed; 26 of those injured were involved in road accidents after stopping on the side of the road during the siren.

We were able to host some of the family for lunch without having to go to the shelter.

Though later in the day, there was a siren loud enough that we did go, and left only after the booms stopped.

It reminded me of a visit to southern Israel in 2012 to photogragh a solidarity mission.

As the US rabbis spoke with the rabbi of a small Israeli moshav under rocket fire from Gaza, a red alert was sounded.

We all crowded into the family safe room. It was the bedroom of the youngest children, so they would not have to be moved when the alerts were sounded in the middle of the night. The twin girls were used to the sounds and sights, but not so many people crowded into their room. The mother announced where the rocket landed after hearing the boom. We exited the safe room and continued with the meeting and tour back to Jerusalem.

As we sit in our shelter, hearing the booms, we are becoming used to the sounds and guessing the proximity. One should question that this has become a new “normal” of life.

Jerusalem has been “lucky”?

The number of missiles launched from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon to northern Israel, including Tel Aviv, has not stopped, day and night.

We got through the seder without interruption and walked home safely.

The Passover table was ready for the Pesach seder, with “Vehi Sheamda” (והיא שעמדה), the song from the Passover Haggadah, sung during the Seder to represent Jewish survival and faith. It states that not just one, but many enemies in every generation have tried to destroy the Jewish people, yet God rescues.

This year, with cluster missiles and ballistic missiles from the regime in Iran, gatherings have been limited to 50 people and must be near a shelter. The annual large Birkat Cohanim, Priestly Blessing, was limited to the covered space of Wilson’s Arch, next to the Kotel, Western Wall plaza, which was empty as it has been for over a month during this current war.