Jerusalem Day – Page 7 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

June in Jerusalem

June 15, 2016rjstreets

Fires are raging.

The sky is hazy.

The flags from Yom Yerushalayim,

Jerusalem Day, are slowly being put away.

The signs announcing dozens of options

for learning on Shavuot will soon be covered over.

The tens of thousands of visitors

who walked the holiday streets have gone home.

It is June,

and summer has arrived in Jerusalem, Israel.

The grasses are tinder, ready

to catch on fire and burn out of control.

But then,

there are desert flowers popping with color,

and the Lions’ Fountain looks tempting and cool.

In Jerusalem of contrasts,

the old Hansen House gates were opened to

Innovation of Amazon this week.

The animals from Design Week were still in its gardens.

I marvel at the changes at every new

technology event hosted at Hansen.

Changes are evident at First Station as well,

with a new sign Life is Beautiful greets on one wall.

While inside the area is being prepared

again to host the annual Hebrew Book Week.

The holidays are over.

It’s June graduation and conference time.

For the first time ever,

the Herzliya Conference opened at Beit Hanasi,

the Israeli President’s House, with international dignitaries

and Israeli political leaders,

and of course plenty of speeches.

I wanted to know

what MK Naftali Bennett and MK Aryeh Deri

were talking about that was so amusing.

Besides speeches and conferences,

there are too many musical programs to list.

And of course,

June is also wedding time.

Time to get ready to go…

Mazel tov

Yom Yerushalayim Jerusalem Day Favorites

June 8, 2016rjstreets

Yom Yerushalayim,

Jerusalem Day is not your usual day in Jerusalem, Israel.

Special holiday posters went up along with Israeli flags.

Some streets were lined with flags

and Jerusalem banners.

It is gone now, but

the flower bed near Marcus Street looked like a flag.

Besides flags,

posters honoring soldiers who serve in the reserves

were posted along some main roads.

The remembrance day of Yom Yerushalayim

is for the military victory in 1967.

From 1948-1967,

Jerusalem was under Jordanian rule.

Access to the Old City and the Temple Mount,

and the Kotel, Western Wall was denied to Jews.

All schools have programs to celebrate

the miraculous liberation of Jerusalem.

The program we attended in Mekor Chaim neighborhood

did not emphasize the military victory,

but the connection of the Jewish people

to Jerusalem throughout history.

On Jerusalem Day,

the Tower of David is open to the public.

Live music greets the citizens of Jerusalem.

It was really hot this year.

Security officers tried to cool off by standing in front of the fans,

before Mayor Nir Barkat’s fans came

to pose for photos with Mayor and his wife Beverly.

But the biggest annual event on Yom Yerushalayim,

is the Flag Procession and Dance, called Rikudegalim.

The crowd on King George Street dancing

seemed smaller this year.

Maybe it was the heat,

or people were scared away by misleading media hype,

or perhaps people were at other programs.

The mobile library in Gan Haatzmaut,

Independence Park, was not busy.

Seeing long-time friends dressed in blue and white

is always a Jerusalem Day favorite.

The boys with Israeli flags in front of Heichal Shlomo

were as loud as ever and were not slowed down by the weather.

Security was obvious and everywhere.

Hundreds of young people in yellow vests,

helped with crowd control.

The media,

waiting for trouble at Damascus Gate,

were bored from this clearly non-violent event.

The chief of Israeli police was there too.

Posing for a photo with one of the boys marching,

not headline-worthy.

So to see for myself what really was happening,

I walked the whole parade route.

Oh, they were loud, singing such things as

Am Yisrael Chai and Ivdu Et Hashem B’simcha.

One young fellow tried to shake hands

with every security person he passed and say thank you.

This little girl had a perfect view

but I have no idea what she was thinking.

The crowd just kept coming and coming,

it was getting late, and I was getting tired.

Tens of thousands of people were on the

Jerusalem, Israel, streets all day.

There was no violence.

There was dancing in the ancient Roman Cardo.

50 years ago one could only imagine

Jews singing and dancing in the Old City.

As I went home they were still coming.

Bands played music late into the night

in multiple locations around Jerusalem,

but no one could go to all of them.

If you want to see more of Yom Yerushalyim

Facebook photos are HERE

Jerusalem Day Celebrations

May 19, 2015rjstreets

The date has passed.

Most flags are removed.

Commentators have spun stories with their biases.

The main stream media focused on a small group.

However,

Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day,

celebrations in Jerusalem, Israel,

are always like no where else in the world.

Today Jerusalem has a flag,

and an official pin.

The ancient Tower of David,

is always impressive.

In the morning of Yom Yerushalayim,

Mayor Nir Barkat and his wife Beverly

greeted the public inside the gardens.

While a live orchestra played music

and visitors sat and enjoyed their program.

Hundreds of families took tours of Yemin Moshe.

Thousands of young people gathered in Gan Sacher,

Sacher Park to march with Israeli flags to the Old City,

to the Kotel, the Western Wall.

Tens of thousands of people, singing, dancing, and

celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.

This year other events were planned,

as this one for families at the new First Station.

There were prayer services,

and official invitation only ceremonies.

A free concert was held at Kikar Safra, Government Square.

Once again the annual “White Night” celebration

blasted until 4 am from Gan Sacher.

I do not appreciate that one!

In schools and kindergartens there were special programs,

with art projects songs, and even bubbles.

The main stream media missed hundreds of thousands

of people who were not news worthy.

For those who find Jerusalem Day objectionable,

please remember,

in 1965,

no Jews were in the Old City.

Under control of Jordan from 1948 – 1967,

no Jews could enter ANY of the gates.

In 1965,

this was as close to the Kotel, the Western Wall,

American Jewish tourists could get.

Photos were taken from across No Man’s Land,

safe from Jordanian sniper shots.

Yom Yerushalayim should be appreciated every day.

Our friends have posted on a bench by their home,

a short passage from the Prophet Zechariah,

on his vision for the future,

Jerusalem will be full of boys and girls

celebrating in her streets.

And that is what was really happening

on Yom Yerushalayim,

on the real Jerusalem streets.