Jerusalem, Israel – what is really happening
The New Year holiday season is over,
and a new month begins.
On the Jerusalem, Israel streets
you can see and feel the changing seasons.
I had trouble deciding on one Shabbat Shalom
and Chodesh Tov photo.
The suffganiot, Chanukah donuts are out!
But the steps of Yemin Moshe are always beautiful.
From Jerusalem, Israel,
שבת שלום
Shabbat Shalom
חודש טוב
Chodesh Tov
What a busy holiday season!
It was impossible to do everything I wanted,
however, here are some of my favorites
from the week of Sukkot.
I love that there is a sukkah outside the Jerusalem Theater.
Since getting painted a few years ago,
this sukkah has become a local landmark.
This one was at Beit Hanasi,
the Israeli President’s Residence, but
the official Sukkah Open House featured
this one with a population map of the world.
Made of Israeli flowers, fruits and vegetables,
it was so colorful and a perfect set for this TV reporter,
before the public arrived to pass through.
Sukkot in Israel is an agricultural festival.
These varieties of avocados were one of the many
agricultural products that were featured.
These musicians were floating on giant swinging triangles,
and giant bubbles were also part of the entertainment.
But the real crowd pleaser seemed to be
when President Reuven Rivlin did a walkabout.
Cameras and families crowded around
as he made his way through the gardens.
The skies were already grey at the time
and the photos a bit dark,
but I was able to leave
before the rain,
really hard rain, the first of the season.
Who would have imagined?
The streets filled with water.
People disappeared from the streets and sukkot,
as the water poured down.
The atrium sukkah at the Waldorf-Astoria was dry,
since the windows above the schach were closed in time
to keep the large dining area dry and pristine.
This simple sukkah standing alone
and all these on the side of this building,
are a few new ones to add to past favorites.
The Kite Festival at the Israel Museum
has become an annual holiday event.
Again a sukkah for visitors’ use was set in the
Billy Rose Sculpture Garden near
the blue ‘Trees” of Menashe Kadishman.
In Gan Sacher, Sacher Park,
a sukkah was up for use in the park for
the annual Jerusalem March.
The weather was perfect that day,
while umbrellas
and more umbrellas lined Yoel Salomon Street
as a popular display for visitors.
The Women Wage Peace rally to be held
in Independence Park got rained out,
the park was empty from the morning’s heavy rain.
New at First Station for this holiday season,
were the SheSparks displays of quality gifts.
Watch out for more from these talented women.
Song and music and dancing,
filled the Jerusalem streets in too many locations to mention.
One of several Thursday night musical events
featured Shlomo Katz and the Solomon Brothers
at the community center on Emek Refaim Street.
Thousands crowded to sing along,
to dance and watch the dancing.
Just a taste of what was happening in Jerusalem
this past holiday week.
Now back to “normal.”
The 60th International Jerusalem March
took place during the intermediate days of the Sukkot holiday,
the Feast of Tabernacles, and again this year was a huge event.
Flags from 60 countries flew from the flagpoles
and small ones were given out to spectators.
Major streets were closed for the 60,000 participants.
The starting point in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park,
was colorful, and not just because of these clowns.
Thousands of Israelis came
and gathered in the central Jerusalem park,
to join in the parade,
and to see the international visitors.
The weather was sunny and warm,
a perfect time for an ice cream treat.
Here is the banner of the United Nations for Israel.
There were shofars blowing,
matching hats,
and more distinctive headgear,
entertainment for children,
and of course, selfies.
Thousands walked and watched this March for Zion,
singing love from Philippines,
waving Israeli flags,
or carrying a Jerusalem flag as a banner.
This group from China,
besides distributing a flag or candy treat,
gave this woman a pearl necklace.
One marcher’s costume had a US-Israel theme,
while right behind him came
this woman spreading her golden wings.
The enthusiasm and colors,
the flags small and
large, were everywhere.
There were Biblical banners
and Israelis flags, from countries far and wide
including Indonesia.
The love for Yerushalayim,
50 years of a unified Jerusalem,
overflowed,
as tens of thousands marched out
of the park and through
the streets of Jerusalem, Israel, on Tuesday afternoon,
ending at First Station.
What a way to celebrate a beautiful day.