Jerusalem College of Technology

See Jerusalem a Week of Highs and Lows

Sharon A

Where should I start when it’s too hot during the day to be outside in the sun?

July is nearly over. We have entered the period of the Three Weeks before Tisha B’Av.

This year the heaviness of mourning has been much longer than the usual three weeks.

Take a walk along the Jerusalem streets and one can marvel at the old and new.

The new buildings at the entrance of Jerusalem have risen to new heights.

While the amount of construction on new projects has gone down to new lows.

Students at Jerusalem College of Technology had another successful annual Hackathon.

Activities for children in the park have begun–a wonderful sight to see in the summer.

These talented ladies performed an entertaining show in Hebrew about the deep waters of the mikvah.

The Olympics 2024 began in Paris on the waters of the Seine – in the rain.

A new low in journalism, with reports of chaos and casualties in Khan Younis. Only I watched the live feed from Nasser Hospital all day and they certainly didn’t arrive at Nasser Hospital. I was annoyed enough to write this post on the Elder of Ziyon.

Remembering the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans on the 17th of Tammuz fast day.

New signs with faces of fallen and urging victory over Hamas are posted all over.

Arab buildings are going up quickly surrounding the Jerusalem streets.

This is an amazing sight of the new roads and trees with the train viaduct off on the right.

Remember the old Route #1? Complain about traffic – but the new tunnels have moved mountains.

The signs not only have traffic warnings, but all Together we will be victorious!

The unity of the past few months has splintered even as more soldiers have fallen.

And not only Jewish ones. The death of all Israeli soldiers brings sadness and mourning.

Hezbollah hit a new low–the murder of 12 Druze children on a football (soccer) field with a rocket from Lebanon on Saturday.

But the families of fallen soldiers still hang flags and Am Yisrael Chai in front of their homes.

It has been a week with extreme lows,

the future–who knows,

but until next time – Am Yisrael Chai.

Number One in Jerusalem – Education

Sharon A

The holiday season has come and gone, though Israeli flags and colorful flowers can still be seen along the Jerusalem streets.

Like every year, this small decorated porch rates as a favorite sight.

The Shavuot holiday started as Shabbat ended, making it a two-day holiday celebration for many Israelis. But outside of Israel, it was 3 days long, so no complaints. This all-time favorite image is from a wall mural when the Jerusalem Cinema City when newly opened.

We moved last week. With too much to do, packing, sorting and tossing (can you believe the strap on this bag was so old it disintegrated!) I had to pass up so many events that I will not try and list them all.

But if there is only one place to go in Jerusalem to take a break, the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens would be at the top of the list.

To see the brides posing for their wedding photos in the lush gardens,

and multiple groups attending workshops and meetings, it is hard to remember this was a Jerusalem garbage dump not so many years ago.

Go a bit further up the street (why do all Jerusalem streets appear to only go up?) from the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens is the Hebrew University Givat Ram campus. On top of the hill is the Kfar HiTech, High Tech Village sign.

Across the Begin Highway from the Hebrew University campus is the ever-growing and expanding, Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem. Remember back in 2019 there were so many events it was hard to keep up?

And on the other side of the highway is the growing and expanding Lev Academic Center, Jerusalem College of Technology JCT.

For the one event I attended this week, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion was the featured guest and speaker.

It was the groundbreaking ceremony for the Machon Tal Campus of JCT.

Currently, Machon Tal serves over 2,100 women studying at JCT. 

How good to see the current President of Lev Academic Center Professor Chaim Sukenik and Professor Joseph Bodenheimer, JCT’s fourth president (1993-2009) that evening. 

Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon, the Rabbinic Head of the Jerusalem College of Technology was also at the groundbreaking, important event.

The Machon Tal Hackathon in 2019 was impressive, along with the other Israeli – Jerusalem – innovation labs and startups. The new women’s campus will be the permanent home of future academic excellence for up to 3,000 female students in nursing, computer science, industrial engineering, accounting, and management.

When he entered and the entire time Moshe Lion had a broad smile.

A happy and positive event, filled with smiles was the one piece of “work” I was able to manage this past week.

The new campus is poised to provide increased opportunities for religious women to pursue higher education and attain quality employment in scientific and high-tech industries.

It will enable the opening of an industrial engineering and management track as well as a new nursing program for Haredi women, and a brighter future. More photos HERE

I did not get to the Israeli Education Week events at the Jerusalem International Conference Center I had on my calendar.

Back to unpacking, but I wanted to share this one important education story you may have missed seeing.

Full disclosure, I have known Professor Sukenik and his wife, a long-time friend, for many years.

Who would guess we took Organic Chemistry in college at the same time, our paths diverged, and we would meet up again on the Jerusalem streets?

Hope to see you all on the Jerusalem streets – and for a happy occasion!