Jerusalem, Israel.
When the rain stopped,
white clouds hovered over the Knesset,
since 1964,
this location has been home of Israeli government.
שבת שלום
Israel Museum
18 Favorites of Sukkot in Jerusalem
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.”
Herzl’s Vision at 120
As the First Zionist Congress ended on September 3, 1897,
Theodore Herzl wrote in his diary,
“At Basel I founded the Jewish State.
If I said this out loud today,
I would be greeted by universal laughter.
In five years, perhaps,
and certainly in 50 years,
everyone will perceive it.”
Exactly 50 years later, on September 3, 1947,
the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine,
UNSCOP, submitted its report which became the Partition Plan.
Herzl’s vision was on its way to reality
with the UN vote on November 29, 1947,
and on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed.
In 70 years, in spite of wars, terrorist attacks, missiles and boycotts,
things Herzl could never have dreamed have happened.
On the tiny, arid, barren hill that Herzl saw
today sits the Knesset building.
Across the road,
is the Israel Museum,
with its Shrine of the Book
housing the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls,
and a host of sculptures on the grounds outside.
For the visit of UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres
a special presentation was held at the museum
near the Archaeological Wing,
featuring five Israeli Start-Ups.
1. HomeBioGas turns organic waste into
clean and usable cooking gas and liquid fertilizer.
2. Sight not only can test blood for malaria,
but its technology enables doctors
to do a full blood workup in the office.
3. Those little plastic pieces in the aquarium,
from Aqwise make waste water clean efficiently.
4. ‘Standing around the water cooler’
not at the office, but at this meeting with
the Secretary-General and the Israeli Prime Minister,
took on a whole new dimension,
with Watergen, which makes water from nothing,
converting humidity in the air to drinking water.
L’chaim, to life.
Remote locations in India and Africa, Gaza,
and drought-stricken regions around the world
could benefit from these Israeli technologies.
5. Innovation Africa has brought solar
and agricultural technologies to remote African villages.
“Our sages said, ‘From Zion will emerge Torah,’”
Netanyahu noted, adding,
“Well, from Zion emerges Torah, software, progress;
I hope with your help. So welcome, Mr. Secretary General.”
Problems in Israel, for sure.
But so much good is happening.
Herzl could never have imagined how far
and what has developed from his vision over 120 years.