Mike Huckabee

What’s new in Jerusalem for February?

Sharon A

Things in Jerusalem, Israel, are hard to predict and can change in a minute.

In February, we had winter days in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem street covered with snow

In February 2021, the Jerusalem streets and trees were covered with snow.

Other years, we also had summerlike weather.

Oh, the rain and sandstorms come and go with the season.

Abundant sunshine predicted? But, not so much today.

It is much easier to report on what’s new and the colors on the Jerusalem streets.

The cherry trees near the Japanese Pagoda were filled with pink blossoms in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.

Blue lights colored the Jerusalem Theater at night.

Some of the new buildings are also impressively lit up at night.

New buildings and construction are seen everywhere.

New government buildings have gone up near the entrance to Jerusalem.

The Givat Ram Stadium was again the launch site for the Jerusalem Marathon.

The 15th Jerusalem Winner Marathon is set for Friday, March 27, 2026.

The Jerusalem Mayor, Moshe Lion, posed with his new shirt, along with city sports officials and marathon sponsors.

The stadium is located not far from the new Iron Swords Monument

and the new children’s playground near the memorial site is open.

In February in Jerusalem, the flowers pop out of the ancient stones.

I so much prefer seeing the white roses blooming to shoveling snow.

The third Monday in February is when the US celebrates the birthdays of Presidents Lincoln and Washington.

I have looked forward to the annual Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations’ leadership missions in February for many years. The Prime Minister was again the key speaker at the opening gala.

Conference of Presidents Chair Betsy Berns Korn,  CEO William Daroff, and Executive Vice Chair Emeritus Malcolm Hoenlein welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the 51st annual conference.

The Inbal Hotel was filled with delegates and special guests on Sunday night.

This was the only session I was able to attend this year.

The BeSheva media group held its 23rd Jerusalem Conference on Monday and Tuesday at the Vert Hotel.

One thing new this year was Cow Free milk to go with the coffee.

It was not cold, but it did taste like milk.

One of the dozen honorees of the Jerusalem Prize was Rabbanit Esti Rozenberg of Migdal Oz for women’s education.

A highlight of the week was Ambassador Mike Huckabee at a special town hall-style conversation with Paul Gross at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

After brief words, the Ambassador sat and answered questions from the audience. The session was available online.

However many times I hear Mike Huckabee, I marvel at his composure and presentations without notes.

I started taking short videos to remember accurately what he said.

So I will leave you this unpredictable February with his concluding remarks.

At the end of the evening, Huckabee cited hope for the future from the Bible.

Interesting that the following day, at the BeSheva Jerusalem Conference, one speaker’s comments in Hebrew were so similar.

So in English or Hebrew, day by day, hope is key, and we hope to see you soon on the Jerusalem streets.

Favorite photos from one busy week in Jerusalem

Sharon A

You may see headlines of impending doom and gloom, but the real Jerusalem streets have not been this busy in a long time.

Things are so busy that I had to select multiple times where to go and what to do.

Sharing a very brief wrap-up with only some highlights, favorite faces, and photos.

Monday morning – Knesset

The Knesset on Monday morning was full of activity.

The red carpet and flags were to welcome the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama.

At the entrance security, I met Alan Clemmons and Natasha Hausdorff, two advocates who support Israel in legal matters.

They were also on the way to the Official Parliamentary Opening Plenary led by MK Amichai Chikli and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

The 2026 International Conference on Combating Antisemitism- Official Parliamentary opening Plenary was the forum for international delegates to speak.

One dramatic presentation was by Christian Terhes, Member of the European Parliament, when he showed the glorification of martyrdom in the UNRWA text.

The man Chikli was pleased to shake hands with when he entered the room was Flavio Bolsonaro. His name card read: Senator, Pre-candidate for the Presidency, Brazil. He did not speak at this session. But at the main event, he was given the keynote position and launched his campaign. Let’s hope he wins.

The opening conference gala entrance was on Monday night, at the same time as the Jabotinsky lecture at the Israeli President’s Residence. I had to pass on the gala.

Monday evening – Beit Hanasi

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee was the featured speaker, and fans surrounded him before the event started.

The Ze’ev Jabotinsky Lecture is an annual event that was postponed from its earlier date.

The main room was full.

The yellow chair, which had been at all the Beit Hanasi events for two years, was in place.

However, with the announcement that the last hostage was retrieved from Gaza, the Ambassador helped President Herzog remove the chair.

Huckabee gave a proper talk about Jabotinsky; however, removing the yellow chair and his yellow pin stole the show.

I was on my way out to attend a special dinner with long-time friends, as astronauts were waiting to enter to meet the President.

Tuesday morning, Jerusalem International Convention Center, Binyunei Hauma

The full-day conference “Generation Truth” was held at the Jerusalem ICC.

Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Bondi Beach, Australia, gave one keynote in the morning.

Social media stars participated in a morning panel discussion on antisemitism.

At these events, it is hard to stay inside listening and not go outside to see who is attending.

I first became a fan of Fiamma Nirenstein at a Jerusalem hotel many years ago, where she was featured at an event about antisemitism. I told her I remembered where she was sitting on the panel when the late Robert Wistrich warned of antisemitism becoming mainstream in Britain.

Gad Saad and his wife, I saw at Beit Hanasi. I was glad to be at his keynote talk as I had followed him as a fan online.

Flavio Bosonaro from Brazil gave his talk in English, but it seemed aimed more at the Brazilian presidential campaign.

The panel ‘Algorithms of Hate’ focused on social media.

The Mike Huckabee interview with Alex Traiman, JNS Jerusalem editor, was another favorite.

Dinesh D’Souza, on the left, and his wife were also at the Knesset.

Dumisani Washington, Lee Trink, Seth Dillon, Karyes Rhea, and Ruben Baumgarten are just a few names of impressive guests.

Not an internet or international star, but the man who gave me his chair at the crowded buffet lunch.

There could be much more about the conference.

Wednesday was a day focused on the funeral of Ran Gvili

Thursday night – Friends of Zion

I want to end with a special event at the Friends of Zion, where President Herzog opened with a video to commemorate the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. There were 6 candles for 6 million Jews murdered.

But also the movie ‘Quezon’s Game’ with the Philippine Embassy and Ambassador Aileen S. Mendiola.

Mike Huckabee was a guest, not a speaker. He rose to greet George Lewenstein, one of the Jews saved by Quezon, who spoke.

The story of how Manuel Quezon rescued 1200 Jews from Germany was new to me.

For those of you who are still reading here. Look it up, Manuel Quezon.

The movie is parallel with history. Not sure how comfortable the US staff were with how the US immigration policy worked to keep Jews out. The Philippines was a US territory at the time. Quezon went into exile in the US.

He had wanted to save 10,000 Jews, but only managed to get 1200 Jews to safety before the Japanese took over the Island. That is another chapter, and this is getting too long.

“He who saves one life saves the world entire.” Am Yisrael Chai

Checking out Jerusalem streets before Hanukkah

Sharon A

The week before Hanukkah was a busy one in Jerusalem, Israel.

There is a general sense that things are returning to “normal” on the streets of Jerusalem.

Even as the horrid news comes from Australia, we must keep sharing the truth with the world.

Check out only some of what was happening:

  1. The Jerusalem Theater held the final event of the Ambassador Summit 2025.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee was the highlighted speaker. He is always popular with his audiences.

One panel featured the mother of a fallen soldier and Israeli officials discussing the war in Gaza and the aftermath of October 7.

Fleur Hassan Nahoum, Caroline Glick, and the father of Yaron Lischinsky spoke of the global impact of antisemitism on another panel.

A buffet dinner was ready for the 1000 Christian leaders before they headed home. Hopefully, they will share the truth they witnessed and return with their followers in tour groups to see the real Israel.

What timing. Last week, the first person I met from the Ambassador Summit was artist Hooman Khlili.

And there he was being interviewed by Jodie Cohen of Newsmax as I left the theater.

2. Monday morning, I was on my way to the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk, when I had to stop

to look at the new towers that have risen over the old area.

Suffganiot, the Israeli doughnuts for Hanukkah, are traditionally fried, sugar-coated doughnuts filled with a red jelly or jam.

The display at Teller Bakery, the first stop, had many more varieties. It was the first time I ever had Trix and blueberry cheese cake doughnuts – and for breakfast. What a sweet start for the “Suffganya Crawl” with Jamie Geller and her Aish production team.

Oh, how very sweet it was!

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They stopped for a few minutes in the shuk to make a Happy Hanukkah video and pose for a photo.

In the Haba bakery stall in the shuk, he was making suffganiot. Only the traditional ones, not rated high, but the least expensive and the freshest if you got one that was straight from the fryer.

It had been months since I was in town on Agripas Street. Helen is a new bakery and restaurant.

The line of customers waiting for service was long and impressively patient.

The items on display made me wonder how many calories are in only looking.

This seems to be the year of the Lotus suffgania. These at Helen were the most expensive of the day. But considered a 10 by Jamie and large enough for two. But not my favorite flavor.

Gagou de Paris had plenty of customers lined up in front of its inviting display cases.

Getting there was not so simple due to all the light rail work going on.

However, taking a photo of the displays was not so simple either. These wild berry suffganiot must have been really good. I did not get a taste to sample. They were gone by the time I reached the back of the store to the tables. Pistachio was still available, salty, not sweet, which was different.

From there, we went to the roof of the new Suzana and Ivan Kaufman Aish Institute for Women’s Education, also on King George Street. Of course, I had to get a photo of the view from the roof first.

There, we had more samples from other artisan bakeries, and one non-dairy cream was surprisingly good.

3. I was off to the Old City and the Tower of David.

The Roladin suffganiot are well known for their inventive varieties each year, as these in Mamilla Mall.

This time of year, it is hard not to find suffganiot.

The plaza outside Jaffa Gate was too empty given the pleasant weather.

But the tourists are arriving.

People who have not been to Jaffa Gate recently will be surprised to find it covered with stickers. The friends and families of fallen soldiers have made stickers to share the names and faces of those lost.

The big archeological news this past week, before Hanukkah, was the Hasmonean Wall revealed in the Tower of David Kishle.

Archeologist Amit Re’em has been exploring the space for 25 years. On Monday, he was interviewed by the media as his extensive work was presented worldwide.

In around two years, a glass floor will enable the public to view the site.

4. Ambassador Mike Huckabee was the special guest for NGO Monitor on Wednesday night at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in a discussion with Gerald Steinberg and Olga Deutsch.

He was the first and last speaker I heard this week. Not a problem, I could listen to him every day.

Great timing! The Storm called Byron only brought some rain as we headed home at night.

5. Inside the Jaffa Gate was quiet as three women walked toward the Muslim Quarter.

But the shops are open, and Santas are out, waiting for the holiday tourists.

The Hanukkah lights are colorful over the Jerusalem streets, ready for Hanukkah.

Hanukkah starts at sunset Sunday, December 14, 2025. We have had our share of rain for a while. I hope the week is dry. There are too many tours and events to list now. It’s a family time to celebrate together.

Hanuka sameach bus sign

HAPPY HANUKKAH