politics

Jerusalem City of Fire

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It is said that Hebron is a city of earth, Safed a city of wind,

Tiberias a city of water  and Jerusalem a city of fire.

A common sight in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park is a fire for a family picnic,

 usually there is also plenty of smoke.

The weather has been hot and dry enough for fires,

but thankfully there have not been many in Jerusalem,

The Knesset might look calm, but Israeli politics offers plenty of fire.

This has been a week of protests, to name just a few:

a demonstration against the separation of men and women on public buses 

and the same morning,

thousands of people came to protest against a new building freeze.

On the plaza outside the Prime Minister’s Office electric generators

were fired up in a protest tent.

The protesters using  the slogan, Yes you can!  say “No”.

A tent set up by the Gilad Shalit family supporters attracted a large crowd 

at 1000 days after his captivity.

What  began as a simple tent, near the Prime Minister’s official residence

now receives a constant stream of visitors.

  The tent is equipped with a full kitchen and gets restaurant-size deliveries.

It has been fitted with plastic and heaters ready for the winter’s cold weather.

The newly-installed floors need washing, 

and the protest tent has taken over the entire  corner.

International visitors still demand his release on humanitarian grounds,

but the days just go by.

The fruit and vegetable growers are on strike. 

Supplies could decrease by the end of the week.

Farmers are demanding more legal foreign workers to help them work.

There could be shortages,

and you can bet that prices will go up for the holidays.

The fires have started heating the oil for sufganiot.

Chanukah is next week,

 then Jerusalem will be a city filled with fire from holiday candles.

To everyone in US:  Happy Thanksgiving!

Too Darn Hot

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Tel Aviv was recently rated by the Lonely Planet tour guide

as the third “hottest” city in the world

 with “more bars than synagogues.”

Jerusalem might find it hard to compete in that category.

However,  at the end of the ALYN Wheels of Love charity bike ride,

it was so darn hot that most of the bikes

came into Jerusalem in the back of a truck 

with only some of the riders on the back of their bikes.

The entertainer dressed in the monkey costume,

certainly had to be too darn hot.

The weather is not the only thing in Jerusalem that has been hot of late.

The route of the security fence 

and the construction of a fence near the village

of  al-Walejeh, Walaja,  has been hot news.

 Everyone has heard the expression “land for peace”,

even though it was so darn hot,  the Real Jerusalem  Streets

went to see what some of the “land” really looked like.

A large group met our guide in the new train station at Malcha,

which was very quiet on Friday morning.

  Although some  t-shirts displayed political statements,

we were a diverse group,

with plenty of cameras.

After parking our cars along the road,

the climb began up in the Nachal Refaim, Refaim Creek area.

Several times we stopped for lectures on the nature of the area.

Archaeology and antiquities of the area were also stressed.

The car ride had been only a few minutes long, after a brief walk,

 Malcha and Jerusalem were in full view.

 A military jeep on patrol arrived as soon as we reached the flattened area.

 

A man from the village walked to us along the proposed fence route.

He led us to an old olive tree for shade– finally a cool spot.

We were  told among other things,

how a fence will make it hard for him to visit family graves.

These were the only signs of people living in this area,

other than a couple of boys who wandered

around while we were sitting under the olive tree.

From the road the land looks like most of the land of the West Bank,

but from above, as a train passed, it was hard not to think

of how much damage terrorists could do from such a strategic spot.

 

Finally we drove toward the village.

Al-Walaja sits on a mountain top. 

Some beautiful new homes are constructed along the fence route,

but collecting the garbage would vastly improve the site.

As it was too darn hot and too darn late,

by this time the group had dwindled to a few cars.

We did not follow this woman to hear more about the fence.

  Near al-Walaja is Har Gilo, 

where Israelis live behind barbed wire with an electronic security gate.

Near the top of the mountain there were some beautiful views.

The village wants the fence route to go along the road,

not on the top of the hill.

 This tour was intended to encourage people to demonstrate 

at the Israeli Supreme Court on Monday

in support of the villagers of al-Walaja against the fence route,

which was first approved in 2006.

On Monday morning there were big banners,

but by 9:25 am only ten people were in the protest.

Too darn hot?  

The court postponed a final decision for another 40 days.

 On Monday, as on most days in Jerusalem,

the really “hot” spot was the Kotel, the Western Wall.

There were thousands representing many religions from the around the world.

Tel Aviv may have lots of  bars, 

Jerusalem has The Wall.

 

Hot and Busy

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While it is hard to avoid the Flotilla and Dubai-related news headlines,

the real Jerusalem streets are hot and busy.

Across the city, proud families pack in hot,

crowded rooms to watch end-of-year school performances,

and graduations from all levels of education crowd the calendar.

School is out soon, and parents are busy organizing the children for summer activities.

  Want to forget the heat at the beach?

A new beach opened

in Jerusalem in the Liberty Bell Park.

Beach is hof yam in Hebrew, this volleyball court may have sand,

but there is no water in sight.  To get away from the heat,

 these kids seem to have found a better solution.

The streets are filled with kids out of school

and tourists and visitors.

 A regular scene at the Kotel, the Western Wall, but especially this season

is a bride and groom coming for photos

where total strangers normally join in the celebration.

Traditional Jewish weddings include the breaking of a glass

to remember Jerusalem.

Monday morning a police officer was killed by terrorists in an ambush

not far from Jerusalem. He was to be married in September.

Instead of wedding arrangements, the family had to arrange a funeral.

The international media may have been too busy to pay much attention,

 but Shuki Sofer will be remembered,

in Jerusalem strangers come together in celebration and in mourning.