Jaffa Gate – Page 11 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem Knights and Dragons Festival

October 31, 2012rjstreets

A priority for City Hall has been to encourage

visitors to come at night to the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel.

And the current ‘Festival of Knights in the Old City’ has done the job.

Jaffa Gate is the starting point for the ‘Knights and Dragons’ theme,

where a large map of the Christian Quarter route is displayed

and musicians entertain.

Smart families got a map with the 17 station locations,

but does not include the many moving ‘photo ops’.

Last week I went early,

as good photographs are hard to get at these crowded events.

Near the beginning of the route was this colorful dragon head.

A cardboard castle and its defending knight were ready for photo action,

near the real Knights’ Palace.

One lane was dark,

but most were well-lit and many costumes added color.

Actors were ready for the shows to begin.

A barber shop was open under one of the red festival signs,

which pointed to the actors getting ready in Muristan Square.

As I said, smart people took a map.

This was not the first time I got confused at Muristan Square

and headed in the wrong direction,

but this was the first night of Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim ‘Feast of Sacrifice’.

It was so crowded on the narrow paths

that I did not get a photo of the smelly animal being pushed in a cart.

His sad eyes seemed to know he was going to be the feast.

Following closely to an English-speaking tourist group,

I got only this one picture of a candy store.

Finally,

spotting a sign to the Via Dolorosa, I headed out of the Muslim Quarter.

Retracing some of my route, I noticed these smokers were gone,

the lane was dark and quiet for festival visitors.

The actors were in Muristan Square and so was the “EXIT” sign.

I do not know if the free Jerusalem Knights Festival

brought paying customers to shops, but many more were open

than for the first night of the Festival in October 2010.

Back near Jaffa Gate, large crowds were watching gladiators fight

and dancing-girls.

Hundreds of families, many with young children,

seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Many children were on their parents’ shoulders,

as it was very hard to see the performers.

I found a bench to stand on,

but I think this family had the best view.

And as usual, when tens of thousands of people come,

the Jerusalem streets fill with traffic in all directions.

There are still two more Thursday nights in November to enjoy the festival.

If you cannot come and want to see more:

additional photos on The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook page.

Apartheid, Segregation and now: Oppressive Occupation

August 13, 2012rjstreets

Here we go again.

First Israeli Apartheid was the rage,

then segregation became a popular ‘hot’ slur.

Now the Deputy Foreign Minister from South Africa calls on his people

not to visit “occupier” Israel.

Too bad, for if his people were in Jerusalem, Israel,

they could see the “oppression” for themselves.

Syrians are being killed daily by the hundreds,

in Egypt military leaders are being purged after Muslim terrorists

killed 16 fellow Muslims while they were breaking their Ramadan fast,

and violence in Myanmar is spreading to Jakarta and Mumbai.

As the month of Ramadan fasting comes to an end in Jerusalem,

Muslim women were in Mamilla Mall shopping as usual.

On Friday mid-day prayer time, this was the scene outside Jaffa Gate

and inside Jaffa Gate.

At the entrance to the Muslim shuk,

South African Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim,

would have seen the security of the oppressive “occupation”.

Yes, a security blimp was hovering near Damascus Gate,

but all appeared normal on a regular Friday near the Kotel, the Western Wall.

There was no violence or stone throwing,

so there were no restrictions or barriers as people were leaving, though

several men covered their heads with prayer rugs for protection from the sun.

There were no military vehicles on the street below

and people freely went up and down the steps to

and through Mamilla Mall.

Because of past suicide bombers, there is always a security check

to enter Jerusalem malls, but security checks are for everyone.

Suddenly, police closed off Agron Street with red tape,

even Egged bus drivers were stopped and had trouble getting through.

I did not stay around long enough to find out why the street was closed,

but it was not a restriction of Muslims oppressed under “occupation” .

March Madness

March 30, 2012rjstreets

In the United States “March Madness”

is the spring college basketball tournament,

in Israel “March Madness” takes on a different meaning.

With the new threat of millions of outsiders

on a Global March to Jerusalem – the “GMJ,”

Israel is again cast as the aggressor in the Middle East.

Looking through March photos, I found this picture

taken last year as Muslim worshipers were going to pray.

These men were entering through the Jaffa Gate to the Old City.

There were threats of violence on that Friday,

but Muslim worshipers still had access to their mosque.

This is not the picture GMJ paints for the world.

Please let us not forget, in March of last year

the Fogel family were brutally murdered

and a Jerusalem bus bomber killed a woman.

In March ten years ago, the Park Hotel in Netanya was blown up,

30 people were kiled.

The Global March to Jerusalem

joins BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions)

and Israel Apartheid Week

as the newest anti-Israel publicity exploit.

The GMJ organizers must have not have seen what

was really happening in Jerusalem,

so I am sharing again:

This is Apartheid?

Israeli Apartheid? and More Israeli Apartheid?

It is time to stop the madness.