middle-east – Page 13 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Malha Mall Rioters Drown out the Music

March 27, 2012rjstreets

Malha Mall in Jerusalem is a large shopping center, busy day and night.

Typical scenes like this one show no hint of apartheid.

Last week a group of Beitar football (soccer) fans made quite a scene

in Malha Mall that caught international attention.

In no way do I condone their rowdy and obnoxious behavior,

but sports fans have rioted in Canadian and US cities also.

Was the entire country condemned for their miserable behavior?

An Israeli diplomat in Rabat, Morocco had to be rescued from a mob

of tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

I did not hear of human rights activists writing essays against these events.

Once again, an isolated, repulsive incident has been blown out of proportion,

and has drowned out the other sounds coming from Jerusalem:

the sounds of a three-night music festival called “Sounds of the Old City.”

The city of Jerusalem offered free musical entertainment

to bring more visitors to enjoy the beauty of the Old City at night.

Throughout the Old City and Mamilla Mall,

there were also video art displays…

much better for a photo blog than music played in the dark.

It was easy to follow the lights and art

through the narrow alleyways of the Old City.

The Hurva Synagogue in the Rova, the Jewish Quarter, was lit up.

Musical performances were scheduled from 6-11:00pm;

sorry, I only got a program on the way out and missed the shows in the Rova.

Musicians performed inside the Cardo

and out, two of many dramatic backdrop locations.

Shows were also performed in the Christian and Muslim Quarters

and along many of the Old City streets.

Comfortable seats were impossible to find,

but the food for sale near Jaffa Gate was hard to miss.

The crowds grew larger as the night went on.

On the way home, this drum circle near Jaffa Gate caught my attention.

One boy got up and started to dance

to an audience which gathered to watch and included smiling Arab families.

The sounds of music from the Old City went unnoticed by the media,

drowned out by the noise of a few trouble makers.

There was no violence during the festival…so it is not news.

The “Sounds of the Old City” was happening in Jerusalem last week.

What did you hear?

Time for a Break

July 17, 2011rjstreets

Too many things this week are too difficult to understand.

20 Kassam rockets and mortar shells have landed in Israel from Gaza,

while Israel sent hundreds of trucks filled with tens of 1000’s of tons

of goods and fuel into Gaza just this past week.

Activists from around the world fight to get to Jerusalem to protest,

while the world ignores that east Africa is starving.

The murder of Leiby Kletzky z”l in Brooklyn is impossible to comprehend,

as is strapping explosives to a child making her a walking bomb,

as they did in Afghanistan.

When child safety is not a basic belief…it is too difficult to understand.

Time to take a break for something sweeter, perhaps an ice cream

or melon that is now in season.

Or sport,

as dozens of teams gathered in Kikar Safra, Safra Square,

for a basketball derby.

A few young women wore colored team shirts

and possibly a future star could be found in the crowd.

Cyclists were out adding color to the streets.

From Kraft Stadium,

a Woodstock revival filled the air with music and smoke.

The Thursday night audience was colorful…

very colorful!

The heavy warm air of last week brought vivid colors

to the summer skies at sunset,

a perfect time to take a break and just enjoy the view.

After the dark of night…the colors at sunrise were again hard to describe.

From the darkness of last week to the light of another day…

for the refuah shelamah of Tzuriya Kochevet Bat Sarah,

may the colors of sunrise be in your future for many years to come.

Israeli Apartheid?

Israeli Apartheid?

March 8, 2011March 8, 2020rjstreets

Saudi Arabia bans protests, Turkey locks up journalists,

Iran and Libya kill their opponents,

Egypt killed protesters, Syria kills hundreds every day.

Haneen Zoabi, an Arab woman is an elected member of the Israeli Knesset

and has led anti-Israel protests.

Israeli apartheid?

Her actions would never be tolerated in any of the surrounding countries,

but Zoabi’s anti-government pieces are routinely published

in main stream Jerusalem newspapers and supported by the courts.

While Saudi Arabian women are forbidden to drive a car,

in Jerusalem, many Arab women take driving lessons

and sit where they want on public buses.

School girls are not afraid to share the same streets,

no matter what uniforms they wear, and go on to attend Israeli universities

and find work in the medical professions in Israeli hospitals.

Arab women walk alone

through the streets of the Old City

and in all the neighborhoods

around

Jerusalem, Israel

dressed in clothing

of all types

and colors.

Often Arab women shop

in Mamilla Mall,

in the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk,

on Jaffa Street,

King George Street,

and in Talpiot.

They can eat in a street cafe or restaurant

or walk with a male companion.

With young children

or alone,

Arab women are not afraid or forbidden to move around freely.

Israeli apartheid?