Doctors are striking.
Protest tents are popping up like mushrooms in the parks.
The price of gas, electricity and temperatures are rising.
With so many serious issues at once, it was easy to miss a protest meeting
to save the Nature Museum in Jerusalem.
Thousands of visitors drive down this little street leading
to the Moshava Germanit, German Colony parking lot,
and probably never noticed the main entrance to the Nature Museum.
This old Armenian house and sprawling grounds are home
to the Nature Museum in Jerusalem,
where thousands of children have been exposed to nature and animal life.
In spite of the heat, a crowd gathered in the afternoon on July 26, 2011
to protest its threatened closure.
Professor Ariel Hershfeld was the first of several speakers.
City council member Meir Turgeman, who grew up in the neighborhood,
was the last speaker and called for the city to listen to its residents.
It was hard to gauge the attendance at the protest, as the many activities,
entertainment,
and animals provided constant distractions.
The soft music of this protest was quite a contrast to the loud demonstrations.
Will Shalem College get the grounds for its new campus?
The grounds of the Hanson Hospital are near by and could be restored
to offer a new and improved neighborhood Nature Museum.
There was mumbling in the crowd of another Holyland
where the interests of business and money
win over the interests of the people.
More photos are posted on The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook page.