Jerusalem photos – Page 153 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Waiting for Windmills and Romney

July 26, 2012rjstreets

It is summer holiday now,

the Knesset is out of session until the middle of October.

In Jerusalem, Israel, when one says after the holidays,

it usually means a wait until after all the Jewish fall holidays,

not just two weeks in the summer.

We have waited a long time for the Montefiore Windmill

renovations to be finished

so that it can go into operation as a working flour mill again.

At the beginning of the week it clearly was not finished.

After all the waiting the Windmill finally got its blades,

but the main dedication will have to wait until the end of August.

I got to hear Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

when she was in Jerusalem, Israel, 10 days ago.

Gee, we were waiting then too.

US presidential candidate Mitt Romney is coming soon,

but I have not heard of any chance to hear or see Mitt Romney,

unless you have a spare $50,000 to give him that is.

In the miserable heat this week it was hard to work or think.

It was even hard to find anything amusing,

but these “walking” signs got me to laugh out loud.

Wonder what they are doing now?

We finally got our windmill.

Maybe they can advertise that we are waiting for an invite to see Mitt.

Oh well, the heat wave just broke and there is a cool breeze.

Now that is what we all have been waiting for.

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.

Warning: Traffic Ahead

July 2, 2012rjstreets

Traffic filled the Jerusalem streets last week.

First, there were major international conferences

with motorcades and official limousines and sirens.

Vladimir Putin was in Jerusalem for only one day,

but he caused a traffic mess of presidential proportions.

The Russian flags welcoming him to Jerusalem were still flying after he left.

Schools held countless end-of-year performances for families,

making driving unpredictable and parking sometimes impossible.

The usual was bad enough, but wait–it got worse.

The Promenades of the Tayelet are perfect for views

of the Old City Walls.

In May,

smoke could be seen from several fires below the Tayelet,

but they did not spread.

Recently, however, there have been multiple fires in the area.

Last week the main Route #1 into Jerusalem was shut down

while firefighters worked to put out fires and

thousands of people were stuck in traffic for hours.

There have also been less serious fires that do not make the news.

Traffic came to a stop for one such fire near Kiryat Gat,

while planes circled above.

We were able to turn around and take another route back to Jerusalem,

so I do not know how long it took to re-open the road.

The funeral for former Prime Minister Shamir is later today,

and it could be a traffic disaster of Prime Ministerial proportions.

Major construction on Route #1 is scheduled to start soon,

so we are in for years of serious traffic nightmares.

Bad traffic situations ahead seem to be a certainty,

but surely we can put an end to some of the dangerous fires.