Shavuot is the Jewish holiday,
to remember Moshe receiving the laws.
It is a time filled with beautiful flowers,
piles of first fruits
and cheese cakes.
חג שמח
Happy holiday!
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Jerusalem: Parades, Runners and New High Flyers
Many were worried that the three-day (Saturday night through Monday)
Lag B’Omer celebrations with their smoky medurot, large bonfires,
would cause worse air quality than the usual holiday pollution.
But thanks to Israeli basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv
playing in the Euroleague Championship basketball final,
so many people came inside to watch the exciting game
that there seemed to be a lot less smoke this year.
Maccabi Tel Aviv won in overtime!
The team has already been to the Prime Minister’s office
and is invited for a special reception today in the President’s House.
Lag B’Omer and International Museum Day were celebrated on Monday.
Thousands of school children on school holiday filled museums
which had no entrance fees in honor of Museum Day.
We had a great time in the Bloomfield Science Museum as always,
with lots of new exhibits and activities.
Lag B’Omer gatherings and parades Sunday in the Rechavia neighborhood
and Monday in Teddy Park near the Old City were just two of many events.
There was one unique event on Monday afternoon.
In a first-ever Run for Peace,
Australian ultra-marathon runner Pat Farmer (in the blue shirt)
and a few of his supporters arrived at the end of his 1500-kilometer run from Lebanon.
After running around 80 kilometers a day,
athlete Pat Farmer’s advice was to “put one foot in front of the other.”
Following a small press conference at Jaffa Gate,
Australian Ambassador Dave Sharma told another gathering in honor
of Farmer at the King David Hotel how proud Australia is
to support sports and all efforts for peace.
All was not sports and parades.
The week-long International Writers Festival opened in Mishkenot Sha’ananim.
But the real action was found outside,
just down the road from these two venues.
People were in the air, flying high
after Mayor Nir Barkat cut the ribbon of the new Skate Park Jerusalem.
The large rink is located in a section of the Liberty Bell Park.
Though some may not think of this as popular sport,
hundreds of people from all over Israel came for the opening,
children with skate boards tucked under their arms,
and others watched as the best riders from all over Israeli showed their moves.
While the runners raced along the Jerusalem streets without getting a second glance,
and the parades stopped traffic for a bit,
this Skate Rink is really something!
Additional photos: Peace Run and Skate Park
19 Favorite Scenes this Week in Jerusalem
Raining, pouring weather in Israel in May
is most unusual, but it started last night.
Too bad that I missed getting a photo of lightning over the Knesset,
or little children splashing in puddles this afternoon.
But this was such a colorful, event-filled week it was hard to keep up,
so I decided to share just a few favorites scenes.
The weather had been warm and summer-like last week,
perfect for the many groups of children on school trips to see Jerusalem.
The planes for flyover air shows are such a favorite that I did a whole blog post on them.
What a spot for a show, in the Jaffa Gate plaza of the Old City,
with the King David Hotel as backdrop
The flags inside of Tower of David Museum fly all year.
But this week there were lots more flags to be seen,
my favorite decorated car was this one.
The Jewish Agency Building was one of many draped with long flags.
However, I hate to see so much water being used for cleaning
when getting ready for holiday ceremonies.
Back to Israeli flags,
these Arab women walked under rows of them.
It was nice to see one hanging in a new Jerusalem yeshiva.
While down the street,
I met these two Kurdish women.
They are in Israel with their children who are receiving life saving medical care.
It is always a favorite to share that kind of under radar story.
By day there were various flags flying,
by night for Yom Ha’aztmaut, Independence Day
this sign warns of street closings.
The all night parties and fireworks were really something else.
Not just Israeli flags,
but Jerusalem flags are also lining major streets.
I loved this warning in hotel lobby,
that things will be closed on Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day
On our first time in Israel for Yom Ha’atzmaut our tour bus drove
for hours looking for somewhere to get food.
I never understood how that could have been so poorly scheduled,
everyone in Israel should know about these closing times.
Blue and white flags and cars fill on the streets,
and people and smoke filled Gan Sacher, Sacher Park and other green areas.
Some people know how to stake their claim to a picnic spot.
The blue and white plastic hammers keep getting bigger.
This dog was dressed in red, white and blue.
It felt like US July 4th Independence Day, hot and muggy,
so no idea why he needed to wear anything.
Grilling meat went on all day,
at just this one mangal BBQ over 250 pounds of meat were consumed.
The photo of a girl in Gan Sacher in a “GO VEG” tee-shirt
came out good, but not many were paying attention to her advice
and this is getting too long.
It has cooled off and I had better get going,
after the violent weather, the sun is starting to come out.