culture – Page 83 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem International Arts and Crafts Festival

August 6, 2013rjstreets

Once again at the end of summer,

there are lots of festivals on the streets of Jerusalem, Israel.

One of the most impressive is

חוצות היוצר ירושלים

Khutsot Hayotser, the International Arts and Crafts Festival,

which may be hard to transliterate from Hebrew,

but it is hard to miss, right across from the walls of the Old City.

This event has grown for the last 40 years.

At least once a year the Arts & Crafts Lane comes alive.

There is an Israeli Pavilion with 200 Israeli artists and exhibits,

Thousands fill the festival grounds

and some entertainers really stand out.

Mayor Nir Barkat was there on opening night and posed with potential voters.

Making the rounds, he stopped by Hadassah College’s Neverland booth.

Each night of the festival a major Israeli musical performer stars,

and last night Barkat introduced Shlomi Shabat to the Sultan’s Pool audience.

No Israeli event would be complete without food.

It was hard to push your way through the crowded main food court.

Families found places to sit, eat, rest and listen to music.

The International Pavilion had booths from Asia,

South and Central America, Europe, Africa and United States.

Bulgaria had a prime location, but their stuff still was still stuck in customs.

India was well represented.

The nice lady of South Korea had a variety of fans.

Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Guatemala,Turkmenistan and Madagascar,

Angola to Zimbabwe and more: so why not Canada?

Popular African musicians were among the many international entertainers.

This huge event will host tens of thousands of Israelis from August 5-17.

The Israeli news Channel 10 was there live for opening night.

But as usual,

no matter how large or how many people are out on the Jerusalem streets,

if there is no violence,

it’s not worthy of the mainstream media’s attention.

August Summer Festival Time in Jerusalem

August 5, 2013rjstreets

During August in Jerusalem, Israel, the weather gets hot during the day,

and lots of people travel north or leave the country.

But there is so much to do in the capital:

the annual Beer Festival,

the International Puppet Festival and Jerusalem Klezmer just to name a few.

School is out.

Summer camps are over.

Keeping children happy and safe occupies most everyone,

and that includes parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the office staff.

Free admission and special activities for kids at the Israel Museum in August

brought out thousands of families.

This optical illusion was so much more impressive from the front.

These performers at first looked like a statue,

but this really needs a video to do it justice;

they were impressive no matter how you looked at them.

Keeping track of who you came in with was a problem with the large crowds.

This percussionist was working hard.

His loud music and great rhythms kept everyone’s attention,

and some had a better view than others.

Not all acts were loud, this mime didn’t make a sound,

and had his audience quietly participating, but with lots of oohs and aahs.

Mirrored reflection was also quiet and a great photo op.

Any day at the Israel Museum,

the distinctive dome of the Shrine of the Book is impressive to see.

But at least one night this week the kids will be left at home,

as the museum hosts its popular Wine Festival.

I got to the Maccabiah Opening, but this year missed the street ball in Kikar Safra.

There is still plenty of time for the miniature trains, as they did not open on schedule.

If all this is not cultural enough for you,

how about Shakespeare in the Park?

Richard III will be presented in English in Bloomfield Park, (near the Windmill).

Who has time to go out of town

when there are so many events happening in Jerusalem?

Where is Cinema City in Jerusalem?

July 30, 2013rjstreets

When Jerusalem, Israel is involved

there seem to be few things on which everyone agrees.

But one thing that is obvious to all,

is the number of major construction projects,

with their huge cranes towering in the skyline.

The elections for Mayor of Jerusalem, are set for the fall.

For weeks, current Mayor Nir Barkat has had campaign workers out on the streets.

Streets, where recent roadwork has kept residents awake for nights on end.

Even on a very busy week, some invitations are hard to refuse.

So when I was offered a chance to see some of the new Jerusalem venues

on a tour led by the mayor himself, well, that went to the top of my must-do list.

Finally a chance to find out the answer to what everyone is asking,

where is Cinema City?

The first stop was the new Cinema City complex.

Deep under ground Nir Barkat

spoke to journalists in front of the space for one of the movie screens.

These seats were so comfortable that it was hard to get up and get going,

and hard to believe that there is another theater with even better chairs.

The large multiplex theaters are all built underground,

and the largest auditorium is to seat 6,000.

Photographers were allowed to take many photos of the mayor,

but not of all the construction areas.

It’s hard to believe that this will open at the end of this week as planned,

or even Sukkot time as now anticipated.

I wonder how long it will take until the high speed train comes in to this station.

The bridge to parking garage has been ready for years,

but mostly used to hang protest signs.

These banners, from March 2010, say “Netanyahu stand strong.”

Then, we were off to Teddy Stadium,

where the massive set of the Maccabiah Opening was being taken down.

The newly enlarged stadium was being redone for Maccabiah 2013 Closing ceremony.

The VIP section looked so very different in daylight.

Stop three on the tour was near by,

the new sports arena, still under construction,.

(Pais has nothing to do with peace,

but is transliterated Hebrew word for lottery.)

How often in Jerusalem do you see hard hats at any construction site,

certainly not with popsicles and a talk by the mayor?

This arena was so large,

that it was impossible to get it in all one shot.

There were three buses on this tour,

and Mayor Barkat was our personal tour guide to the last stop at First Station.

As the sun was beginning to set

on the roof top of the Old Train Station, the tour concluded.

Mayor Barkat has initiated massive building and sports projects,

and major events to draw young people and tourists to Jerusalem,

he wants to be re-elected to see his vision for Jerusalem continue.

How ironic that on the very same day of the tour,

a challenger to the mayor launched his campaign.

There was Moshe Lion up on the side of this building, bigger-than-life.

It’s not clear what will happen next in this mayoral campaign,

but one other thing that is for sure:

a lot of money will be spent.

(Full disclosure, I have a friend who is a friend of the Mayor’s mother-in-law.,

but it was another friend who got my name on the list, thanks Lisa)

UPDATE: since many could still not figure out where Cinema City was:

four more photos from different angles.