politics – Page 12 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

BDS in Jerusalem

March 12, 2013rjstreets

Sorry I do not know any BDS, Boycott, Divest and Sanction folks,

so I can not ask them how boycotting Soda Stream

and putting hundreds of Palestinian workers out of a job

is good for anyone.

I can only assume that they are simply anti-Israel or ignorant,

as they would hurt those that BDSers are supposedly are out to help.

What I do see in Jerusalem, Israel, is that

Arab girls shop.

That is not new or news

and certainly everyone here knows that

Arab women shop.

But the biggest change in the last two years

that I have seen

is that now

Arab males shop.

Not just for cell phones,

or candy,

or food

in the supermarkets,

or in the shuk, Machane Yehuda Market,

or in a bakery.

They walk the Jerusalem streets while shopping with women

and girls,

and they carry those bags home too.

Especially in Mamilla Mall,

groups of young Arab men

can be found every day

and at night.

I have been asked what this means,

I am really not sure.

However, I do see that BDS in Jerusalem, Israel

is not boycott, divest and sanction,

but more like Boys Do Shop!

Time to add another pin on the BDS Fail Map

this time from the heart of Israel.

No Harlem Shake, but 12 Favorite Signs

February 20, 2013rjstreets

Though most everyone seems to be doing the Harlem Shake,

we have not seen anyone doing it yet on the streets of Jerusalem, Israel,

so decided to share a few favorite signs instead.

Signs are an extremely important form of communication

in many neighborhoods.

Notices of the death of revered former Supreme Court judge Menachem Alon

and renowned thinker David Hartman were prominent this week.

1. This misspelled sign from last year is still a favorite.

2. No words needed here, but here’s hoping there are better directions for

the Jerusalem Marathon that is to run next week on Friday, March 1.

3. Do you really think a motorcycle will not go on a foot path because

of this sign if the riders think they have enough room to get through?

4. The first time seeing the signs at the tax offices can cause a panic attack.

The Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency met this week.

5. But how many people remember this United Palestine Appeal sign?

6. There are new street signs on “The President’s” Street.

7. But there are other Presidents’ streets in Jerusalem, these

8. two are named for US presidents honored on February 18 in the US.

9. A favorite sign this time of year is this street named for Queen Esther.

10. Here is a sign for the new exhibit at the Israel Museum on King Herod.

Arab violence has increased outside the Jerusalem area.

The new government still is not in place, however,

it is interesting that the Israeli press (not a Purim joke)

11. has reported that this pistachio ice cream is the Prime Minister’s favorite,

and he requested NIS 10,000’s worth of it in this year’s budget.

12. Purim is a few days away, so will end with an all time favorite sign

as the bus soon will say “Happy Purim.”

Israeli Election Top 10 Observations

January 21, 2013rjstreets

With only hours to go until Israeli elections, many are still undecided,

but at least we now we are down to only 32 parties to select from.

With so many parties and candidates it is impossible to keep track,

so we decided to share just a few pre-election observations.

1. A “Bibi is a strong leader for Israel” poster is up in the spot

where Tzipi Livni was hanging just a couple of weeks ago.

2. Bibi is good for the rich,

according to Shelly Yacimovich of Labor banners.

3. Zippi Hotovely is one of our favorite candidates,

she was often available to speak and so easy to photograph.

4. In September, Jeremy Gimpel was campaigning for Anglo votes,

an old video comment got him roaring into the headlines this week.

5. Shas MK Eli Yishai took time out to meet with a group of AMIT

supporters from US in his office even though they can not vote.

6. Chief rabbis are allowed to give brachot, blessings in person,

but a brachot ‘phone app’ before elections was ruled against the law.

7. A large banner for Naftali Bennent could be found in German Colony

and a small green and blue sticker on this graffiti nose on Jaffa Street.

He is gaining popularity, but is he everyone’s brother as his ads read?

8. This is an old Moshe Feiglin sticker.

Interesting that he has kept a low profile this week.

9. So tomorrow is the time to decide which letters to put in the ballot box.

Not going to bore you with all 32 letter combinations here,

I will leave that for someone else.

Predict what you want, but things can change quickly,

just ask Avigdor Lieberman,

one day he was near the top and the next day out of the running.

In May, Dov Lipman was posing in the Knesset

with MK Amselem and heading Amselem Anglos group.

Today, Dov Lipman is running with Yair Lapid with Yesh Atid party.

And finally, 10. my favorite sign from this week,

a very clever ad for the Jerusalem Theater.

After the election noise quiets, it is time to subscribe for some culture.

At a recent class on Nevi’im, the Biblical prophets, our teacher mentioned,

a characteristic of a prophet is that victory is important over personal glory.

This election session personal egos seem to be a reason to run for office.

Let’s hope that after election day the winners and losers will indeed work

for the good of the people and the land of Israel.

Meanwhile, everyone also has to decide what to do tomorrow,

as Israeli election day is a day off from work.