See Jerusalem a City of Contrasts

The Talmud teaches that there are two Jerusalems–Jerusalem above and Jerusalem on earth below.

This week more than ever the contrast of what’s happening on the Jerusalem streets was extreme.

Life continues even as people wait anxiously for the news of hostages released from Gaza.

The new buildings tower and grow above the streets.

While the light rail track construction has wreaked havoc on the streets below.

There are protests across from the Knesset to release the hostages.

There is also a “Tent of Heroes,” which remembers the soldiers who fell in battle. This morning, a young widow with three children spoke of her husband who was killed in Gaza by an RPG a year ago.

The slide show in the background showed the faces of others who lost their lives this past year. It is hard to watch, so much lost talent and potential.

The poster on the side of the building had an offensive adjective above “WAR” which was edited out rather quickly with white cloth.

I had time to take multiple photos of it as we sat in traffic at night. All day the Jerusalem streets were blocked due to the multiple protests near the entrance to the city.

Finally, renovation work on the Wohl Rose Garden has resumed after a long break.

Even the grounds of the Monastery in the Valley of the Cross are being landscaped after years of neglect.

First Station is to undergo a major renovation. Now most of these stalls wait for tourists to return.

The US Ambassador moved out. The new one should arrive and present his credentials soon.

New community projects are moving along as buildings are renovated.

Look up and Jerusalem, Israel is thriving despite over a year of war.

Today, as I walked along the Israel Museum, the Knesset was getting a power wash, flowers were blooming in the park, and a Muslim man was praying under an Israeli flag.

But, look up and see the yellow ribbon calling for hostages to come home,

and below on the park grounds, the face of one murdered, but not forgotten.

Some of the Armenian gift shops were open again.

But, other shops closer to Zion Gate are still shuttered.

The Armenian parking lot was full,

but the roads near it were empty,

missing the cars

and the crowds for this time of year.

However, the stickers remembering fallen soldiers fill the metal doors of Jaffa Gate.

A few tours listen to the history of the stones and destruction of old.

There are people at the Kotel, Western Wall,

on these sunny warm winter days,

where the Western Wall Heritage Foundation is doing work again.

Digging up the Plaza to work underneath the stones.

Fewer holiday visitors make taking photos easier.

But I would rather see the plaza outside of Jaffa Gate filled with tourists.

I am certain the shops in the Old City would like to see those tourists back.

Even in these days of extreme stress and war, the Roman Cardo pillars stand to remind us of the past.

The dome of the Tiferet Israel Synagogue rises above the Old City to remind us of rebuilding for the future. The last synagogue destroyed by the Jordanian Legions in 1948 is finally nearing completion.

The birds are singing. The sun is shining.

Next Year in Jerusalem – we’ve been saying it for a very long time.

Check out Jerusalem’s Week of Ups and Downs

Check out Jerusalem’s Week of Ups and Downs

On the Jerusalem streets it was another week of a prolonged war that no one wanted.

The number of fallen has sadly gone up to almost 800, and the injured are too many to count accurately.

When there is a short time to “get away from it all” the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens is a favorite destination to check out the change of seasons.

Every autumn the pond is cleared of the end-of-season lilies.

These remains on the top of the surface, this caught my eye for a close-up.

Friends in the Northeastern United States are sharing amazing fall colors photos, this is the best I could find at the end of the season in Jerusalem, Israel.

The lookout at the Bird Sanctuary has a new big sign, but bird migration season is ending. If you look up through the trees, you will see the new Jerusalem skyline is filling with towers over the Jerusalem streets.

And oh those streets! You better look down as you walk. Digging and changing in too many locations to share – sometimes fixing them and then changing them a month later.

I am certain the driver of this car was not happy to end up on top of the flower bed.

At Cinema City if you look up above the Israel flag, the white umbrellas have hostage posters on them.

I have avoided the hostage protests on the Jerusalem streets, however, this week there were four of them.

One across from Cinema City has been featured here before with the faces of fallen soldiers at night.

Across from the Knesset, this has been going on for a year, against the government’s handling of the war.

This one near Paris Fountain has counted the days as they advocate for the hostages to be released.

A new one this week on Rechov Azza, not far from the Prime Minister’s home, blocked the street with white umbrellas and people wearing white clothing.

Everyone is war-weary and worried about the hostage situation. I was glad I wore black clothing that day so police let me walk by the barricades.

Our municipal bomb shelter is getting an upgrade and the door was open. Happily, it was not needed.

Meanwhile, groups are arriving and being welcomed. Supporters, families, and volunteers are here.

New signs are up for Jerusalem events. The Piano and Arts Festivals took place this week.

And a new sign with sadly familiar faces, Iris Haim and her fallen son Yotam- “Together we will be heroes.”

As the full moon wanes and the calendar looks to the month of Kislev, the Hanuka donut season has arrived and the calorie counts go up, as the waistline grows.

And yes they were as good as they look.

It was a week of lows and highs, and time goes on…

as we wait to see what will happen next on the Jerusalem streets.