Nir Barkat

Jerusalem Night Run

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 December 12, 2011 was the first run of the Jerusalem Night Run.

A sign in Mamilla Mall showed the way to the race starting point.

Maps of the route were posted,

as the run was not around the walls of the Old City, but on city streets.

Runners signed up and received an official yellow race shirt

in a special tent in the plaza outside Jaffa Gate.

A dry, but cold night, cups of complimentary hot tea were really appreciated.

An aerobic warm up to loud music for runners before the race,

got even more attention from the press when a Santa decided to loosen up.

As the last taxi left the Old City and the road was closed to traffic,

a blue carpet was laid to the official starting line.

Mayor Nir Barkat and his wife Beverly were front and center,

 but he was not smiling as he looked at his watch.

The 10 kilometer race was to start at 8:00pm “sharp”.

The runners were ready at the starting line on time,

but had to wait another ten minutes for the race to begin.

Over a 1000 runners ran to the starting line

and down the road on the Jerusalem Night Run.

The plaza area was mostly empty during the run,

 the tent with runners’  backpacks was full.

Most spectators did not hang around in the dark and cold

to watch for the runners to return.

The Jerusalem Night Run was advertised to be a warm up

to the Jerusalem Marathon in March.

Warm up…  now that sounds really nice.

More pictures from the Night Run can be found at this Facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.288863494489796.67021.152997821409698&type=1

Not Tahrir Square

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World media attention is focused on Tahrir Square with its exciting photos,

 by comparison Jerusalem’s Safra Square is downright boring.

A public meeting held in the City Council Meeting room on November 23, 2011,

chaired by Deputy Jerusalem Mayor Naomi Tsur was ignored by the press.

After her hour-long report on waste management, physical accessibility,

affordable housing and parks, transportation and a green Jerusalem,

there was a discussion group for each topic where the public could speak.

Each group then reported back to the full assembly during the last hour,

with an attentive Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat present.

He listened to each presentation,

took extensive notes,

and then responded.

The event was more civil, orderly and democratic than many US town meetings.

Near the end a man came close to photograph the mayor,

followed by a second photographer, otherwise the crowd sat politely and quietly.

Though a short power outage occurred during the mayor’s remarks,

 Naomi Tsur had good reason to smile at the close of the meeting.

After a resident of an Arab neighborhood gave an impassioned speech

 wanting good schools for his children at the housing session, he received applause.

The only noticeable  group missing were the Ethiopian olim,

possibly because of the Sigd holiday that is being celebrated this week .

The mayor used the word “savlanut”, patience more than once in this remarks.

Savlanut is usually needed in Jerusalem,

 a meeting like this one could be one small step in a positive direction.

Additional photos on The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook Page.

Jerusalem Half Marathon

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 Early morning rain cleaned the air and cool temperatures were perfect  for 

the 18th Jerusalem International Half  Marathon 

and 10-Kilometer Run on March 18, 2010. 

The beautiful weather and street closings provided 3,500 runners,

including Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem, ideal conditions for the run.

Not everyone was aware of the race, though;

 drivers got out of their cars to discuss the situation,

some people left taxis to walk to their destinations.

At 10:00 am the lead car started the 10k  race from Givat Ram. 

The first runners came down Burla Street and turned to the park.

It was a colorful day, as runners wore

 red shirts,

lots of blue shirts,

some yellow shirts,

and green shirts.

Whether  going it alone..

or running in the pack,  everyone turned out to run for

 personal satisfaction and sport,

and for Shalva, the Association for the Mentally and Physically

Challenged Children in Israel,

which also had a special 400-meter race for 150 special needs children.

So much positive energy in Jerusalem.

 

In  2011 the first Jerusalem full marathon began,

so this race also became the last half marathon race day.