Author: Sharon A

11 New Signs in Jerusalem

Sharon A

It was hard to keep up with all the things happening in Jerusalem this week.

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First, at Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s Residence,

the Sheba Medical Center celebrated 75 years by honoring donors.

The US was represented by Deputy Chief of Mission Stephanie L. Hallett who came with her husband.

Amazing to meet Rachel Heber who now heads Matanat Chaim, the Gift of Life, an altruistic kidney donation organization started by her husband Rabbi Yeshayahu Heber z’L who died three years ago at the age of 55, after contracting the coronavirus. Sitting next to her was Matnat Chaim CEO Sharona Sherman whose family are friends from Australia.

There was a short video on kidney organ donors and recipients.

Seated in the front row with his wife was Dan Levi, a kidney donor, who also spoke during the program. Sheba Medical Center has 10,000 employees, and a group of transplant doctors was included with those who attended the Beit Hanasi event. Hope to hear more of their impressive stories in the future.

New signs line the Jerusalem streets.

Protest signs continue to follow government officials where ever they go.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was the opening speaker at the economic Eli Hurvitz Conference sponsored by the Israel Democratic Institute.

Protest signs were also displayed inside, along with shouting throughout his attempts to deliver a prepared speech.

One of the most positive signs of the conference was when the Head of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron entered the room, he stopped to shake the Finance Minister’s hand.

With a hand in a sling, he stopped and posed on his way out, and mentioned he had lived and attended high school in Maryland.

A sign of the changing times–the old blah cement walls of Talpiot are being colored with bright new murals.

“This wall is also Temporary” is another Talpiot sign.

PICO Kids is in one of those old industrial buildings.

Their end-of-the-year program was based on Innovation for Sustainable projects conceived and built by young students.

Teams presented their completed projects to judges.

Working in teams these young minds and hands are training and building for the future, like this winning project in the clean energy category.

“Why fit in when you were born to STAND OUT” was this sign spotted in Tel Aviv, but the Tel Aviv adventure will have to wait until next week.

One sign of the complicated Israeli road-building progress is at the entrance of new road #16, which goes under Har Nof and saves Jerusalem drivers a huge amount of time.

Another new sign for summer events in Jerusalem city center,

and reading month, was added to the Jerusalem Book Festival signs.

Multiple Jerusalem streets were shut. Barriers with thousands of security watching were out for the Jerusalem Pride Parade. Though I have seen Benny Gantz before, on Thursday afternoon he appeared much taller than those around him as he arrived to speak to the group gather in the Liberty Bell Park prior to the march.

Signs, balloons, and banners at the start of the now annual march that begins at Keren Hayesod Street and goes to Independence Park.

More signs, across the way at Bloomfield Park where protesters against the Pride Parade were behind barriers and watched closely by police.

With streets closed, tourist groups had to walk to their hotels at the end of their day. But it was great to see tour groups back on the Jerusalem streets.

Mamilla Mall, as I took a quick walk thru to get to the Jaffa Gate.

After three years of waiting to see the Tower of David, Jerusalem Museum, I arrived for its opening night.

The new entrance was not ready to use.

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The public one day will come in this door, to learn the history of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, for now, we went through the passageway,

and down the new steps between ancient walls,

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to arrive at the impressive entrance hall gallery.

Here interactive, visual artistic works line the old walls,

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and the keys to Jerusalem are one of a few of the most historically important artifacts on display.

This new Jerusalem Museum needed a short video to give you a sample of the creativity involved.

So many new signs for the future, built on remembering the past.

Hope you can come and see the old and the new on Jerusalem streets soon.

Jerusalem Crowds Arrive for Shavuot and Music in May

Sharon A

As usual, things were happening in Jerusalem, Israel, and on the Jerusalem streets–good things that don’t make headlines.

With the Shavuot holiday starting on Wednesday night, tens of thousands of visitors were arriving from around the world to celebrate.

Shavuot time is also when the end-of-school-year events are held. Universities hold ceremonies for graduates and doctoral presentations.

However, my week began with a somewhat smaller-scale end-of-year event in the Hinnom Valley across from Jerusalem’s Old City.

Led by student guides, we left First Station, crossed the road, and went up the hill using those not-quite steps on the right side of this photo.

I had wanted one day to climb up to the lookout spot called Givat HaTakanah, Bible Hill, a popular photography venue. Here we were with costumed students leading the way and making dramatic presentations for their families on the history of these historic sites.

Going down a less steep path we arrived at one of the most fascinating sites near the Begin Center, Ketef Hinnom again, but with a younger guide.

In this burial area from the First Temple period, the finds included silver amulets engraved in old Hebrew with the text of Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing.

Walking thru the valley, one can see the bucket attached to the wire across, where food was sent to the Old City under siege in 1947.

Walking further, here is a closer look at the suspension bridge shared two weeks ago. The end-of-year party with loud music, ended hours later, but I had already gone home.

Only in Jerusalem can the past and present and future come together on-site, not just a story acted out on a stage.

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This week there was more music at Beit Hanasi, as the Israeli President accepted credentials from new Ambassadors to Israel.

An Israeli artist born in the USSR, Moshe Tamir, made these woven tapestries, a triptych, which were recently hung in the main hall – from the left, a menorah, Jerusalem, and tablets of the Ten Commandments.

After presenting credentials, each delegation met privately with the President in off-the-record sessions. The Ethiopian women had such beautifully embroidered garments, I thought I would share one view.

At the repeated official ceremonies, the IDF band had a lot of music to prepare. Here’s a short video with some of the music and flags.

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These red and white flags were also up this past week. Not for an official arrival of a President, but for the elaborate Georgian (as in the country, not US state) Day celebration held in Jerusalem at the YMCA.

At the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan, President and Michal Herzog are off this week for a state visit to Azerbaijan, a Shiite Muslim country bordering Iran.

During the visit, there is to be a signing ceremony for a cooperation agreement in the field of health between the State of Israel and Azerbaijan.

Time to stop negative Israel is isolated and doomsday headlines?

Also this past week, at a venue near the Old City walls, was a special pre-Shavuot event for women.

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‘Find your Waze, From the A for Anxiety to Aleph of Anochi‘ was the headline for a talk by Michal Oshman. You can find her Ted Talk online, she shares quite a personal journey and story.

Pianist Okana Yablonskaya was a highlight of the program with her exceptional musical interludes in the program.

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Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan Nahoum was a guest speaker. I found it interesting that Leo Dee’s father knew Fleur’s father and uncle years ago.

And Rebbitzen Chana Canterman of Chabad Talbiyeh who organized and hosted the program, knew Lucy Dee from when she was a girl in London.

In his remarks, Rabbi Leo Dee mentioned the need for “two” – one example, the piano alone needs the hands for beautiful music.

The evening was dedicated in memory of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee hy”l.

As Rabbi Dee spoke his father and daughter held hands.

These events were held prior to Shavuot, when bakeries were busy, not only with preparing cheesecakes but sweets by the thousands.

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I even made time to do a little baking of my own.

Three years ago with the pandemic, the Jerusalem streets were too quiet.

It’s so good this year in Jerusalem, people arrived from around the world over the holiday weekend, and over 100,000 gathered at the Old City and the Kotel, Western Wall.

Once again people filled the Plaza and the air with musical sounds of song.

See Yom Yerushalayim this Week in Jerusalem

Sharon A

In Jerusalem, Israel, the Israeli flags were flying,

blue and white flags along Jerusalem streets,

on rooftops,

and large ones from buildings and light poles prior to Jerusalem Day.

Yom Yerushalayim, the Jerusalem Day 56 signs were posted. Events lasted longer than just a day, with celebrations galore, including live music at Kifar Safra on Wednesday night for hundreds, open to the public at no charge.

Israeli Ethiopian memorial in cemetery on Mount Herzl

 The day of Yom Yerushalayim officially beings with a state ceremony for the 4,000 Ethiopian Jews who perished on their way to Israel, at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery near the monument built in 2007.

Jerusalem Israel military cemetery on Mount Herzl one grave of soldier who died 19 years old

Also during the day, the President and Prime Minister attend a memorial for the victims of the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition at Mount Herzl.

Museums were open and free of charge in honor of Jerusalem Day.

But the main event happens on the Jerusalem streets, with bus loads of people arriving from around the country. This group of students from Petach Tikva started dancing and singing as soon as they got off the bus.

Not just young males participate, but people of all ages and from around the world arrived this year and marched with flags, in spite of dire threats.

The people at the Kings Hotel had a good vantage point to watch the main crowd on King George Street singing and dancing.

Others were down in the crowd recording the thousands participating.

The occasional speakers did not get a quiet audience from the crowd.

This year girls broke thru the security lines to get closer to the main event.

It was not possible to get the crowd in one image, but the wind was great this year for photographing flags.

On King George Street by the Great Synagogue flag waving, singing,

excitement and enthusiasm filled the street all afternoon.

But I had come to again walk the Flag Parade/March/Dance, like this school group from Tzefat, as we started out on Agron Street.

A big Jerusalem flag was hung near Kikar Safra, as we passed Tzhal Square where the light rail trains were not running.

Many Jerusalem streets were closed to traffic, as was the entrance at New Gate, with security posted, checking pedestrians also.

So many Jewish young men, Chabad was out with a tefillin-stand on the way to Damascus Gate to enter the Old City.

The scene at Damascus Gate was more crowded than I remembered.

Many times I have walked with the crowd thru the Old City to the Kotel, the Western Wall, where prayers, music, and dancing are held at sunset.

Security watched from above, and along the route as well.

International photographers were watching and waiting at the usual vantage points inside Damascus Gate.

As hard as I tried, while I found many different t-shirts, I could not find any of the offensive viral images of the walk.

Security had blocked narrow alleyways in the Old City,

along the Via Delarosa route, as we moved slowly along.

Thanks to a much taller policeman offering to take a photo with my camera, the March/Parade crowded in the Old City moved at a schlepper’s pace.

I lost count of the young men who stopped to say thank you to the police, some even stopping to shake their hands.

We passed a memorial plaque at the spot where a Jew was killed on Purim in 1991.

Relief, the light at the end of the tunnel!

Where we emerged to the packed Kotel, Western Wall Plaza where thousands had already arrived and was filled with the sounds of music.

Traditionally, the Mayor and his wife greeted the public at the Tower of David all afternoon but left for the next official ceremony at Givat Tachmoshet, Ammunition Hill, the site of the most important battle for Jerusalem in 1967.

It was getting dark. Jaffa Gate was blocked. People were not allowed to enter, so large was the crowd on Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day.

My summary with the sounds of music during the day is under 6 minutes.

So sad that so many people were celebrating in a positive way, and the few negative images got viral coverage.

However, there’s more of what you did not see –

New trees were planted along the Jerusalem streets this week, and too many flowers to count – the Mayor is running for re-election in the fall.

Signs are up for Jerusalem Education Week,

Festival Musrara Mix 23,

and the Jerusalem Arts Festival.

Not only the many varied Jerusalem Festivals are back, but so too are international conferences. A favorite topic this week at the Inbal Hotel was the International Sleep Disorders Academy Congress.

Earlier in the week, the David Citadel Hotel hosted a Declaration Day event.

The walls of the Old City were illuminated for Yom Yerushalayim 56.

The new fountain in France Square had blue and white lights at night.

The new lighting on the old Heichal Shlomo and Great Synagogue was bright as King George Street quieted down, and the music and dancing, and celebrations for Jerusalem Day moved to other locations.

Enough for one day for two big old bears!

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Now is the new month of Sivan and time to prepare for Shavuot, when again thousands more people are to fill the Jerusalem streets.

Come see what’s really happening for yourself.

Next year or this year in Jerusalem!