Time Flying by in a Hot August in Jerusalem

Time is a strange thing.

It seems to go too fast or too slow, depending on the situation.

Jerusalem, Israel, is in the midst of an August heat wave. However, as the sun goes down, some nights have cooled off as usual.

But one night the humidity hit 82%. For Jerusalem, that high humidity is usual and was not appreciated as I walked home.

Still much has been happening on the Jerusalem streets for summer fun.

Jerusalem streets are covered with everything from colorful fake balloons

to candy canes and much more for tourists to admire and photograph.

Surprised to see lights on at night in the one-day-to-be Knesset Museum.

The Museum of Tolerance was dark one night

but opened with a photography exhibit during the day.

In 2021, the Jerusalem Foundation, with the support of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation, created SidraTarbut, CulturEvents, a summer festival blending together film, dance, theater, and music.

Over the months of August and September, Jerusalem is to have 40 days of events and artistic offerings throughout the city offered free of charge or for a small fee.

The initial impetus for the series was the economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the success of SidraTarbut in the summer of 2021, the Mandel Foundation decided to support the festival for another two years. 

Performances and events are adapted to neighborhood residents, taking into consideration each community’s interest. It ends with Selihot in 10 Jerusalem neighborhoods and a special Selihot at the Tower of David on September 21, 2023.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation announced 17 special Selihot times, and if you can’t attend in person, they will be available online live. They also posted photos of the first night with thousands attending Selihot.

Evenings are when most Jerusalem summer events happen.

RAAMSKATE by the always unique and creative Mystorin Theatre Group is to be in the Liberty Bell Skate Park on August 22, 2023, at night.

In Bloomfield Park, Julius Caesar continues as on opening night Shakespeare. Theater in Motion moves each night in the same park.

The Jerusalem Street Orchestra, however, changes locations for each performance, with the second evening performance in Zion Square.

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The orchestra, excellent though not professional musicians, is conducted by Ido Shpitalnik and entertained a large appreciative crowd in Zion Square.

A video better to show what was happening in Jerusalem at sunset.

Monday nights in August and until September 11th, are for Israeli dancing outside the Jerusalem Theater, again a video seemed better than photos.

But as someone asked – where are the young people?

Do they know the dances? Are children taught them now?

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Hansen House has a new exhibit that is said to be good for children, I went to check it out but it closes at 6:00 pm, too early for me when it’s so hot.

To really keep cool on these hot days, there is ice skating at First Station.

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End-of-summer event signs are up, including a Night at the Tower of David.

Jerusalem Theater is again to have an End of Summer Festival August 29-31.

Oh my. The signs are up a Beit Avi Chai for welcoming Kitah Aleph students. Time to buy school books and clothes and new shoes again?

The beginning of the month Elul means some students are back in classrooms. The end of August means the new school year is approaching for all, for some not soon enough, and for others too soon.

I am waiting for this heat wave to end and to be able to walk during the day to see what else is happening on the Jerusalem streets.

See How Summer Starts in Jerusalem

In Jerusalem at the end of June, the multitude of end-of-school-year events slow down, and the trips to the airport increase, as Israelis head overseas and tens of thousands of tourists arrive to fill the Jerusalem streets.

The weather is still not too hot.

This is the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens in the evening with cool breezes, and even lilies in the pond are a tourist attraction.

The bright flowers are blooming all around the Jerusalem streets,

even the weeds are colorful,

with bursts of purple before the summer heat arrives.

The Botanical Gardens has become a popular venue for events, this night was to hear Col Richard Kemp. He said as a child he was taught right from wrong and with his military experience he speaks out about Israel’s military being unfairly criticized by too much of the world.

Walking into this area one encounters roadway construction.

I will spare you many photos of random road closings for road work,

and stay with the sweet things happening now that it’s summertime.

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First Station has been busy with public musical performances.

And the annual Shavuah HaSefer is thriving in the First Station location.

Hebrew Book Week attracts all ages, from families with babies to one older gentleman I saw walking pushing a walker for support and a helper following with a shopping cart to take his purchases home.

Authors come to sign their books.

I knew two authors the night I came, Michael Eisenberg and

Rabbi Reuven Ziegler. Notice the sign?

Hebrew Book Week is also for bargain hunters.

At Hansen House, the annual Design Week has started – “Lies & Falsehoods.”

Inside the old stone building the new technology amazes.

But did the courtyard ever look as nice as this?

Indeed, it is hard to know what is true, what is an illusion, and what is real.

To close the week, the Nefesh Be’Nefesh Campus in Jerusalem hosted a Shuk Olim on Friday morning. Various immigrants to Israel have started businesses and they were provided with tables to share their wares. Muffins went by the hundreds. Candy, tea, whiskey, honey, and beer, even corned beef was available besides artwork and jewelry and more, and the best herring I have had in a long time

And the Jerusalem Food Trucks are to be back in the Hinnom Valley on Tuesday-Thursday nights in July and August.

June 29-July 1, a marathon of tours is planned, not just inside, but starting at the Tower of David, the New Jerusalem Museum – tours include meetings with the communities and neighbors adjacent to the museum, men and women of different religions and cultures.

Food, music, and summer fun in Jerusalem, Israel.

Come and see for yourself what’s happening on the Jerusalem Streets.

In Jerusalem Take a Walk: Hard to Believe What’s New

We feel it on the streets. Traffic. Tourist buses. The arrival of friends and family. International conferences convened again.

The skies in Israel were opened and in 2022, 2.675 million tourist entries were recorded, as opposed to only 397,000 in 2021 and 831,000 in 2020.

There are many changes for you to see on the Jerusalem streets.

On President’s Street in front of Beit Hanasi, the President’s Residence new outdoor photos of the beauty of the landscaped gardens have been posted.

Old hotel in Jerusalem valuable property derelict

Remember the long-abandoned former President Hotel building?

And how sad the sign became?

Finally – work is being done on Ahad Haam Street to restore its dignity.

The construction fence has been up for the new hotel/residence next to it,

but now construction work is visibly underway at last. The Jerusalem skyline continues to change as buildings go up and up.

This is not Azza Street next to the old Paris Fountain. One sign went up.

However, it soon came down when someone realized the mistake.

For 15 years, I have walked on Azza Street almost daily, including when they were redoing the sidewalks.

Finally, the sidewalks were completed and the street was paved.

Who remembers this space empty for weeks–or was it months–in 2018?

And here, when the long-time bookstore and framing store had to move.

Construction started, and last year was finally progressing.

Today on Azza Street the shell is looking near completion with the bottom stones resembling how they looked in the old structure.

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One spot on Azza was paved and space was cleared to replace the cement bollards in front of Netanyahu’s Jerusalem property. There are more of those cement barriers today.

I decided not to walk on my usual side of the street on Wednesday to avoid the newest security measures.

Then the next day, the sun was shining, and I thought it a great time to walk. However, this time the sidewalks were blocked with work vans on both sidewalks, and people had to walk in the road. You will not see that,

because this happened. I was detained by security!

Only once before was I forced to delete a video. As a newbie to Jerusalem, I took a photo of the US flag on Agron Street – not the building, just the Stars & Stripes blowing in the wind against a blue sky. A security person came across the busy street and made me delete the image of the flag.

In over a decade of work, I have been scrupulously careful not to show faces of security, IDF, Arab women, children, and people I know who could possibly be on a date.

Of course, my photos would be more powerful with facial expressions.

Go a few more meters on Azza Street, and there is the entrance to Balfour Street near the Prime Minister’s Official Residence – two years ago it was covered with 5 levels of security.

For the past few months, the public has been able to use Balfour Street again. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Residence has been empty for over a year and serious construction work has not been apparent. Interestingly there are no longer flags on the poles over the residence.

I like being able to use my shortcut again. We will have to wait and see how long it will last.

On Shabbat, I walked on Azza Street to the Great Synagogue. Hard to believe, it was my first time inside in three years! BC – Before Covid – I went every few weeks.

Jerusalem Great Synagogue for Selihot

It seems I am not the only one to slowly return, as the crowd was smaller on Shabbat compared to this photograph in the past.

And then there’s the new National Library! I have been watching the construction of the roof for years. Hopefully, we can tour inside soon.

Sometimes we have to wait to see results, sometimes a very long time.

Also, this past week we attended the Melbourne, Australia Mount Scopus College Foundation Reunion event in Israel. It was a gala and a fun evening. As with most Scopus events, there was a program with speeches and entertainment. This evening included greetings by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, began with two digeridoos and concluded with an Idan Raichel concert after an elegant dinner!

The last time we saw Jonathan was in July 1997. He was lying in an Israeli hospital bed bandaged from his nose to his toes. I found his rendition of Waltzing Matilda moving enough to share it with you. You need to watch the video on a larger screen than a phone to understand why.

For all non-Aussies out there, I added the words and meanings at the end.

On the Jerusalem streets there is always more.

And now “More Than One.” A new arts festival is happening in multiple locations in Jerusalem until February 25, 2023.

When are you coming to see for yourself on a Jerusalem Photo Walk?