Sacher Park – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem Celebrates Sports and More

July 24, 2022July 24, 2022Sharon A

The Maccabiah 2022 started with lights, sounds, and fireworks on July 14th.

On Sunday, July 24th the final medal events are being held at the YMCA and in the Malha stadiums. It’s been another Jerusalem Celebrates Sports week.

Over 30,000 people participated in the opening Maccabiah 2022 ceremony held in Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, Israel, on the summer day of July 14th, as Jerusalem cooled in the evening as the sunset.

I remembered that 5 years ago, the Maccabiah joined Jerusalem for a Night Run. That 2017 event began at Jerusalem’s Takhana Rishona, First Station.

This time the Jerusalem Night Run started and ended in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park with three distance routes – half marathon, 10 K, and 5 K.

Not quite the Jerusalem International Marathon, as the finish line for all the runners was in the park. The helium-filled finish was installed shortly before the race times.

The last meters to the finish line were plain grass, not the ramp which has been a feature for the full marathon after the first muddy year in 2011.

Arriving early before dark, I was able to meet the head of the US track team

and a junior runner from Hong Kong.

The starting line was up in time for the race starts – but just barely. There were drums and music as the runners took their positions.

One Ukrainian flag was displayed at the start of the half marathon,

and a proposal marked and delayed the start of the second race.

I went early as it is hard to get good photos of Night Run participants.

It is much easier when runners pose before the start.

And much more fun when you see people you know running again.

The night air cooled the park, which was filled with colors and lights.

Oh yes, Jerusalem streets were blocked again and closed for the Night Run.

As I walked home, both international and local runners kept coming,

seemingly enjoying racing thru the Jerusalem streets to the finish line.

The Night Run was not the only event the Jerusalem public could observe. For the Maccabiah 2022, an ice hockey rink was constructed in the Pais Arena. After Shabbat, the stadium was opened for the final game, Canada vs. the US.

Oh, how different from the 2013 Maccabiah games, also held in Israel,

when we had to travel all the way to the ice rink in Metula, in the far north.

Not exactly the same scale by any measure!

The closing ceremony of the 21st Maccabiah will take place July 25th at the Live Park in Rishon LeTzion.

It will be interesting to see the changes the next time the international Jewish athletes from World Maccabiah return to the Jerusalem streets.

However, not just sports filled the Jerusalem streets this past week.

The Sultan’s Pool, across from the walls of the Old City was full of thousands

of excited baby boomers for the Paul Anka concert on Wednesday night,

and on Thursday night there were 5,000 on hand for the opening of the 39th Jerusalem Film Festival, which goes until the end of July and includes more than 200 films from more than 50 countries and outdoor shows.

Rehearsals for Theater in Motion – Shakespeare in Bloomfield Park in August, went on in spite of the US Presidential visit, street closings, and runners on the roads.

Jerusalem Train Theater, original train under renovation

And preparations are well underway at the new Train Theater to host the 31st International Jerusalem Puppet Festival in August.

Jerusalem new Train Theater near Liberty Bell Park

From that old train car, the new state-of-the-art facility at Liberty Bell Park will host international puppeteers and a long list of family events.

Yes, the Train Theater, the sports and culture, and the facilities have come a long way – and much more.

Isn’t it time you came to see them yourself?

Did You See these Jerusalem Photos?

January 31, 2021January 31, 2021Sharon A

Do you find some days it’s easier to get started than others?

When the Jerusalem winter days are gloomy and cold outside (and in), it takes extra effort to put on boots and jacket (and mask) and get going.

Each day I try to walk a different route to find new images to share.

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One day it was possible to get a photo of the menorah across from the Knesset with no people around it. A Knesset guard stopped me as I walked by to ask where I was going. “Gan Sacher” I told him and he let me pass by.

Day after day, the plaza outside of Jaffa Gate has been deserted. Jaffa Gate is shut and the security personnel at the road entrance check identification.

Stores in Mamilla Mall are preparing to open, but no one knows when.

At Machane Yehudah Market some stores were closed, but others were open.

Along busy Agrippas Street people were shopping for Tu Bishvat treats.

To enter the shuk, everyone had to stick out a hand to have their temperature taken. Oh, how security checks have changed this year!

Young families try to get out of the house when the sun is shining.

Zoom school for young children, week after week, is not going well. Report cards were given out to students who only had one day in a real classroom.

A new sign “Jerusalem is Giving a Shoulder – all of us in Jerusalem are getting vaccinated and continuing to abide by the regulations – together we will win and return to our routine” was also published in print media.

Meanwhile, motorcycle food delivery is a fast-growing business. This lunch was going to someone in an Israeli Financial Office.

But my favorite sighting was the hand over of food delivery to a guard outside Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s Residence.

Did you notice the white tent in the distance of this photo?

In these tents outside the Rose Garden, across from Finance Ministry, major Israeli hospitals joined together to protest their inadequate funding.

January 27, 2021, was International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Yad Vashem conducted its annual event for the International Diplomatic Corps serving in Israel online, featuring a message from President Reuven Rivlin and a lecture entitled “The Path from Mass Shootings to the Final Solution.”

In the past the diplomatic event was held in the Yad Vashem Synagogue.

In 2017, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the international diplomats in the synagogue as part of Yad Vashem’s annual programming.

Last year Yad Vashem hosted the huge international event with kings and world leaders in attendance, shutting down many Jerusalem streets.

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This section of Gan Sacher, Sacher Park was covered with white security tents last year for the dedication of the “Memorial Candle.” At the beginning of last week, they were again at work on the monument.

But by January 27th, the site finally appeared completed.

The Memorial Candle monument commemorates the heroism of the defenders and residents of Leningrad during the years of siege in the war against Nazism.

An explanation was added in multiple languages with stones at the bottom.

The monument was placed in the park in view of the Israeli Supreme Court.

During World War II, from September 8, 1941, until January 27, 1944, the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) was under military siege by the German Nazi forces. Some 490,000 residents and defenders of the besieged city died, including tens of thousands of Jews.

The top of the “Candle” was cleaned and polished this week.

In memory of the Jewish soldiers in the Red Army, and citizens who died during the siege of Leningrad, flowers were placed at the base.

Also, on the night of 27th the holiday of Tu Bishvat began.

After a warm winter, there were signs of spring in Jerusalem.

I assume this location would be hard for most people to figure out?

The green roof of the Jerusalem Bird Observatory was looking good again.

The former President Hotel on Ahad Haam Street was finally, after over a decade in disrepair, going down, on a wet gloomy day.

While the lights were on again at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

No doorman was outside, but inside the door, there was a “Disinfection Stop.” Not only a guard at the entrance but also large bottles of sanitizers.

Fresh flowers were in the lobby, but no guests were visible inside.

Also the Prima Kings Hotel had lights on and signs of life inside and out.

What a week it was. Warm, and cold and wet outside. But unlike in the past, much of the action could be viewed from inside at home.

The Jerusalem Symphony performed online Tu Bishvat broadcasts on January 27th – here is a link for one.

KKL-JNF produced a special celebratory tablecloth kit, with unique games and activities for use with its online celebration. The kit was distributed in numerous countries and in various languages for Tu Bishvat.

There was even an online Israeli Earthquake Conference held this week.

What next on the Jerusalem streets?

You never know what you will find.

However, this man was fly-casting in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park last week.

More on the park next time, there is plenty changing there for another time.

Jerusalem’s planning to be ready in the spring to welcome back visitors.

The week of Tu Bishvat, blooming trees, new growth, and hopes for the future from Jerusalem, Israel.

Take care and stay well out there, hope to see you soon Jerusalem streets.

Jerusalem Moving Outside: Summer in Sacher Park

July 5, 2020Sharon A

Jerusalem, Israel.

The sun is shining. The hot days of summer are here.

Many people on my street went away for a holiday weekend.

Life appeared to be normal, except for a few masks.

Moving outside is now the “in” thing to do.

New signs were posted for summer under the stars at the Kahn Theater and the Jerusalem Theater.

Cultural events were stopped and theaters have been shut for months.

However, construction and road work accelerated under corona closings.

The Jerusalem municipality gardening crews planted new roses.

One of Jerusalem’s largest public outside green spaces is Gan Sacher, Sacher Park.

One entrance to the park has a protest sign against building in the “White Ridge,” west of the city, proposed much needed new housing in the green Jerusalem hills.

This is one location that has greatly improved over the past few years.

The entrance before renovations often had signs posted. But oh that path!

This was the way the path looked before,

and this is the same path now divided for walkers and cyclists.

Gan Sacher is being well-watered and the grass is green.

Enough space for almost private exercise under the trees.

Even this rock near an entrance was cleaned up!

I went back to find a photo of before, yes it was that sad looking.

I passed two Arab women wearing masks on the walking path.

Masks are not required for exercise.

But police are giving out fines for those not wearing masks in public.

The restaurant in the Gan Sacher was busy. People were eating in the open covered area and a few couples were sitting outside. Seems those seats and steps which were hard to understand in the past are brilliant for our new reality.

At this time of year, the playground would be filled with children.

Lately, the play equipment in Gan Sacher stands empty.

Notice the steps are gone. It will be interesting to see the results when completed.

Lights on were on in the building with restrooms, but no landscaping around.

Passover 2019 there was green planted all around.

I stopped going inside to check, as every time I found it clean.

I remember how thrilled to see when this was being built.

The situation before was Outrageous!

Progress and changes in Gan Sacher over the years, included the picnic area.

February 2018 this was a new picnic area near the play equipment.

Those tables and benches looked sturdy. However, those round things near fields?

Guess I was not the only one confused. Were they to be used as seats or BBQ grills?

But now those benches and tables and round things are gone.

There are even newer picnic tables

in several locations along the path inside Gan Sacher.

One area in front of the trees that border the Knesset has also been developed.

Remembering in March 2014, after storms, many of the old trees in that spot were down.

Some trees were marked to be saved. Some were removed.

Trees trimmed have come back to provide shade again.

By the time I came around the park, the women had reached the same spot and were taking selfies.

It was time to walk home.

Not too long ago serious fire here had endangered homes on the streets above.

A few days ago the dried weeds were cut, the area was being replanted.

Today you can see the results of the new landscaping.

In spite of the summer heat, and in spite of the coronavirus pandemic, the Jerusalem park spaces are being upgraded and green.

New activities for young children are planned in the Jerusalem parks.

Broadway shows in New York City are closed until January.

Things may not be coming up roses everywhere but in Jerusalem,

there are new roses on the streets and people are moving on and outside.

After months closed, the door to the Israeli Scouts Moadon was open.

The sounds of children’s voices could be heard again filling the Jerusalem streets.