Israel Museum – Page 18 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem: Exhaustion in August

August 7, 2012rjstreets

Most of Israel may be on holiday in August, but in Jerusalem

things begin to heat up and not just the weather.

After the three sad weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av,

mourning turns into serious celebrating,

with wedding season and festival time.

During the first week of August,

the Israel Museum hosted a successful Israeli Wine Festival.

Festivals once again range from,

an International Puppet Festival to a beer festival at the end of the month!

Schools are out and summer camps are over,

so it is time once again to keep the kids busy.

Khutzot Hayotser, The International Arts and Crafts Fair,

near the Old City in the Sultan’s Pool, with its

huge stage for nightly entertainment has been held for almost 40 years.

Running from August 6-18 and similar to recent years,

food, local artists’ works and international crafts are for sale.

A relative newcomer to the August festival season is the Balabasta Festival,

held on Sunday nights in August in Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk.

Some businesses closed early,

but others were well stocked.

Balabasta seemed more small child-friendly than it was last year,

with puppet shows,

balloons,

balancing acts,

a juggler and a 5:00pm advertised start time.

By 6:30 pm, the laundry was hung and the alleyways were getting crowded.

I caught a familiar face from last year

as he was coming out of a store,

and he quickly gained new fans.

There was music of all kinds

and art of many types,

culture in Jerusalem is so varied it can be hard to define,

and to take it all in can be exhausting.

It is probably impossible to attend all the Jerusalem festivals,

but if you want to try, here are a few more suggestions and

more Balabasta photos on The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook page.

Watch Out Katy Perry and Justin Bieber

July 10, 2012rjstreets

I am often asked how I decide what to write about.

Some weeks it is easy.

Last week was the funeral of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.

The public is seldom invited into the Knesset Building,

so if you missed the last post check it out.

The problem is there is too much to do in the summer.

It is the Season of Culture in Jerusalem.

The Israel Museum’s popular new exhibit,

‘Chasidim, not all black and white’, has attracted thousands of visitors.

The Jerusalem Film Festival opened with a big event at the Sultan’s Pool.

Plus there were several professional music events held

in outdoor locations around Jerusalem that attracted thousands of fans.

But if you look around the Jerusalem streets as the summer starts,

you will find colorful hand-made signs.

They welcome crowds to end-of-school year events organized by

various Youth movements.

One group in the Talpiot neighborhood, after opening speeches,

featured a girls’ act with colorful hats and ties.

Of course, there were plenty of cameras on hand to record the show.

This Snif Ezra (chapter of the Ezra movement) was celebrating its 30th year,

and there were even more cameras poised for the boys’ turn to perform.

Boys on bicycles showed some of their dare-devil moves.

Mandatory at such an extravaganza are loud music,

a burning sign,

a power-point presentation,

and Israeli flags.

Countless hours of preparation went into this and other such evenings.

The choreography, costumes and music were suitable

for this far, far, far off-Broadway production.

One has to be impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication

of the youth group leaders and their young members.

Ok, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber do not have to worry

about any competition from here yet,

but from the energy and ideas of these young people and others

like Tzofim, Israeli scouts, will come future leaders.

Rain, rain

November 22, 2011rjstreets

At first it was hard to decide what to write about his week,

since threats seem to be coming from all directions.

The death toll is rising in Syria as violent protests continue.

In Cairo there are more casualties and democratic elections seem elusive.

New demonstrations are taking place in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Reports are coming in of CIA undercover agents being arrested in Iran and Lebanon.

And locally, the doctors’ struggle continues

and the light rail drivers still have not agreed on their wages.

In the meantime, a long list of political and celebrity visitors were in Jerusalem.

But the focus of the real streets has not been celebrity sightings,

political strife or the lack of Supreme Court Justices,

it has been rain, and lots of it.

A break in the weather with the sun peeking through was a rare sight this week.

The rain is great for the lime tree at the end of its season,

but does not make for good photography.

The Knesset looks grey in the rain,

while the walls and smoke from the Israel Museum blend into the horizon.

Water filling the streets make it difficult to drive

and traffic often slows down.

Figuring out when and how hard it will rain, how to stay dry,

and how to avoid the puddles

has been a challenge.

But not for everyone….there are those little people who love each new splash.

Prayers for rain have been answered.

After last year’s dry and mild winter, this has been a wet week,

and it is getting colder, making it difficult to stay dry and warm.

While there is plenty of complaining about getting wet,

no one is singing “rain, rain go away” yet.

It was cold enough for a winter jacket, hat and scarf today,

see Tourist of the Week…gotta love the Canadians!