Jerusalem Theater – Page 4 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

After Jerusalem Blizzard 2015

January 12, 2015rjstreets

Last week it was exhausting waiting for the snow to start.

School was closed, then opened, then closed.

Supermarkets ran out of chicken and yeast.

It snowed a bit and then stopped.

It rained and rained, it poured.

The heaters do not work when it really gets cold,

but we waited for Jerusalem covered beautifully in white.

Finally, around 4:00 pm on Friday,

the snow began to fall,

and so heavy the Knesset could not be seen.

The Israel Museum blurred into white.

But Shabbat was starting,

and the camera was put away,

so you will have to believe me that on Friday night and Shabbat

we saw some of the most gorgeous scenes ever.

There was no wind and the snow stuck to all the tree branches,

for what would have made classic photos.

Then,

all that was left on Sunday was the remnant of this poor old snow man,

I assume those carrots were his/her nose.

But not only do heaters not work well in the cold,

as usual there were water problems with parts of the dood freezing,

so seeing someone working on the roof tops was common.

We only lost power for a few minutes and had

running water all Shabbat, though it was soo cold.

But then the sun came out,

and Pollyanna time.

Along with the tragic news from Paris, France,

girls from Beit Shemesh were excited to be at the Jerusalem Theater

to rehearse for their show “Pollyanna.”

Blizzard of 2015 did not happened,

feeling still like a bear coming out of hibernation,

but back to “normal.”

After Jerusalem Snow of Century Clean Up Time

December 19, 2013rjstreets

While the rest of Israel and world goes about its business,

in and around Jerusalem it is not back to normal yet.

Snow and fallen trees are piled higher than a bus stop.

This is just #blizzrael – Blizzard – Israel – Unreal.

If you have lived through a large snow storm,

then you are familiar with these grey piles of plowed mess on street corners,

trying to walk around them,

and sharing the space on the cleared streets with slow traffic.

But this is Jerusalem, Israel, not Boston, Buffalo or Brooklyn,

so there are plenty of palm branches on the ground too.

Another difference, people here do not leave a piece of furniture

on the street hoping to save their parking spot.

Most of the pretty white images from yesterday are gone.

There was one pretty scene in front of Beit Hanassi, the President’s residence,

I guess the President’s staff gave up on clearing the sidewalk,

hoping the sun would do the work for them.

It was warming up finally,

and this man was out in shorts.

The Jerusalem cats were back in their favorite spots,

but the Paris Square Fountain was not flowing.

I have dozens more not-so-pretty photos of mountains of snow,

but I won’t bore you with so many of them.

The clean up equipment was out,

only I always seem to find them on a break.

It is still a great time for tree-trimmers who work with large chain saws.

Along with the sounds of cars honking in blocked traffic,

is the welcome sound of buzzing of chain saws.

Just look at the amount and size of some of timber that was cut

and left in front of the Jerusalem Theater.

Now is a good time to collect wood for your fireplaces.

With so many scenes like this one on Emek Refaim Street,

and these dangerous snowy and icy walkways,

it is no wonder that a few guys’ crazy idea to run to Eilat,

doesn’t seem so crazy anymore.

That is confetti not snow, as the runners

left First Station at the start of their 36 hour, 360 km relay race.

Good luck guys!

We finally got full power back after a week,

so as long as it lasts I am going to

keep my feet dry

and hibernate.

8 Things to See Now on Jerusalem Streets

October 29, 2013rjstreets

Israeli Apartheid?

got the most views in one day for a RJS post.

But, 15 Real Photos of Arab Girls is still going strong

and will soon go over 100,000 views.

Too bad all my numbers are not that impressive.

So what is there to see in Jerusalem, Israel, now that the holidays

and municipal elections are over,

and the campaign signs are slowly coming down?

1. Street art can be found in parking lots

and lines so many streets,

but contemporary art in Jerusalem has a new home.

2. The Jerusalem Biennale, which runs from September 15-October 31,

had its opening in the galleries of the renovated Templar houses on Emek Refaim Street.

3. For the week of October 17-24,

there was Manofim, multiple exhibitions of contemporary art in Jerusalem.

Art critic and art history expert, Gideon Efrat,

gave a talk at Mishkenot Sha’ananim as part of the annual Manofim events.

One woman was sketching during the program,

which was great to see at an art lecture.

Manofim took place in many neighborhoods around Jerusalem,

but I was surprised to find this sign left at the Jerusalem Bird Sanctuary.

Art, art and more art is not what you think of first in Jerusalem,

but I have written before about the galleries in the Jerusalem Theater.

4. Israeli artist Yitzhak Greenfield’s students opened a show at the theater.

People of all ages came to see their work.

Displays are constantly changing and open to public at no charge.

But there is more than art.

5. The Cinema City signs are up,

now everyone can see where the new theaters are located.

6. See and hear, another Oud Festival starts soon.

7. See and learn on Azza Street from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm,

Einstein on Azza is coming on November 1.

Professors from the Hebrew University will give free lectures, along with live performances.

There is so much more, but the last for today.

8. The Jerusalem Knights Festival will be held

on four consecutive Thursday nights starting October 31.

I saw the very first Knight night and wrote

who could imagine that the Crusades could be so much fun?

You may hear in the news about protests,

but how about these other events that are happening now?

There is a big problem though,

with so much to see and do,

how does one see a fraction of the things that are going on?

Now If I could just get people interested in seeing some of this good stuff

and not just looking for Arab girls….