Shavuah Hasefer

See How Summer Starts in Jerusalem

Sharon A

In Jerusalem at the end of June, the multitude of end-of-school-year events slow down, and the trips to the airport increase, as Israelis head overseas and tens of thousands of tourists arrive to fill the Jerusalem streets.

The weather is still not too hot.

This is the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens in the evening with cool breezes, and even lilies in the pond are a tourist attraction.

The bright flowers are blooming all around the Jerusalem streets,

even the weeds are colorful,

with bursts of purple before the summer heat arrives.

The Botanical Gardens has become a popular venue for events, this night was to hear Col Richard Kemp. He said as a child he was taught right from wrong and with his military experience he speaks out about Israel’s military being unfairly criticized by too much of the world.

Walking into this area one encounters roadway construction.

I will spare you many photos of random road closings for road work,

and stay with the sweet things happening now that it’s summertime.

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First Station has been busy with public musical performances.

And the annual Shavuah HaSefer is thriving in the First Station location.

Hebrew Book Week attracts all ages, from families with babies to one older gentleman I saw walking pushing a walker for support and a helper following with a shopping cart to take his purchases home.

Authors come to sign their books.

I knew two authors the night I came, Michael Eisenberg and

Rabbi Reuven Ziegler. Notice the sign?

Hebrew Book Week is also for bargain hunters.

At Hansen House, the annual Design Week has started – “Lies & Falsehoods.”

Inside the old stone building the new technology amazes.

But did the courtyard ever look as nice as this?

Indeed, it is hard to know what is true, what is an illusion, and what is real.

To close the week, the Nefesh Be’Nefesh Campus in Jerusalem hosted a Shuk Olim on Friday morning. Various immigrants to Israel have started businesses and they were provided with tables to share their wares. Muffins went by the hundreds. Candy, tea, whiskey, honey, and beer, even corned beef was available besides artwork and jewelry and more, and the best herring I have had in a long time

And the Jerusalem Food Trucks are to be back in the Hinnom Valley on Tuesday-Thursday nights in July and August.

June 29-July 1, a marathon of tours is planned, not just inside, but starting at the Tower of David, the New Jerusalem Museum – tours include meetings with the communities and neighbors adjacent to the museum, men and women of different religions and cultures.

Food, music, and summer fun in Jerusalem, Israel.

Come and see for yourself what’s happening on the Jerusalem Streets.

Jerusalem in June: Tourists, Books, Sports, and Much More

Sharon A

It’s the middle of June in Jerusalem, Israel.

Too many events and conferences and good things to keep up!

Jerusalem’s Rivlin Street was brightened with new decorations for summer.

The colorful umbrellas were back. But did anyone really expect it to rain?

Near the newly opened Museum of Tolerance, there were tourists from Africa

and another large group from Japan arrived in their buses.

This is the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem illuminated at night – the sign says Treasures of the Ancient Near East – the Lands of the Bible.

People of the Book.

It’s the annual Hebrew Book Week. Shauvah HaSefer was held in Liberty Bell Park and is now going strong in First Station.

The National Library published data from 2022, three of the items were:

  • 6,971 books were published in Israel in 2022
  • A record number of 2,004 prose and poetry books were published
  • Women writers comprised 60% of all authors

June is the season for universities to give out degrees and for their Boards of Governors to meet. At Hebrew University the closing event was the groundbreaking after the long-planned Einstein House.

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 In 1923, Albert Einstein attended the inaugural ceremony of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was one of the original founders. He donated his archival materials to the Israeli university upon his death in 1955, and an estimated 80,000 documents have been stored in a Jerusalem warehouse.

Prof. Hanoch Gutfreund, President from 1992-1997, attended with his wife.

For the groundbreaking ceremony, President and Mrs. Herzog arrived and greeted donor Jose Mugrabi.

The space near the entrance to the Givat Ram Campus was prepared.

The ceremonial hard hats were in place on the heads of the honored donors, and the architect Daniel Libeskind who stood between HU’s present and immediate past presidents.

And shovels of dirt were dumped.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion spoke at the ceremony.

The ground was broken for the cornerstone. Now how long until it opens?

Near the entrance, outside the university gate

and inside, a few students grabbed photos.

A favorite photo from the night, when at first I didn’t recognize Ido Aharoni.

The man who talked about Israel, Einstein, and branding, in 2007, at the GA in Jerusalem, where the woman next to me said “hasbara – hizballah sounds the same” and was an influence to begin doing The Real Jerusalem Streets.

Presidents and Mugrabi speeches, gala dinner – then there was Einstein.

A shortened version of the brilliant Einstein performance needed a video.

While Einstein House is to go up on the Givat Ram Campus, the National Library is set to leave. On Wednesday there is a day planned for farewells.

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The new Israel National Library has been under construction for years.

Roof of National Library under constructioini

I have been fascinated by the roof construction, with so many layers.

At least I found out what those strange-looking things on the new campus are, the changing positions of the sun form the shapes of Hebrew letters.

Jerusalem church property where HU library was located

How many remember the Hebrew University Library at 44 Jabotinsky Street? The day workers took down the sign and smashed it was the day I started carrying a camera in my pocket, and not in my backpack.

It was a week of books – with a special book launch at the Kosovo Embassy.

“Flower of Vlora” by Anna Kohen on how her Jewish family was saved from the Nazis by Muslims in Albania. I have heard other fascinating stories of how the Muslims in Albania saved Jewish families.

Beit Avi Chai has a cute sign for Hebrew Book Week and a family festival.

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The Knesset was the scene of activity for international media focus.

However, as always much more was happening off the Jerusalem streets.

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The 12th Temech Conference was held at the Jerusalem International Conference Center. Hundreds of Jewish women, hundreds of Haredi entrepreneurial businesswomen, meet each year to network and expand their financial potential.

In the past, when I was their conference photographer and under contract, I could not share the amazing photos I took each year. Invited as media, I feel it’s a positive event more people should know about.

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Sports? The Weight Lifting finals are next week in Jerusalem.

But the big sports news – signs are posted for the arrival of the Under 20 Soccer Players who came in third place in the world competition.

They will get a lot more media attention than the Jerusalem Youth Orchestra who recently came in first in the European competition.

Another busy week ahead as the school year comes to an end, and many more good things happening in Jerusalem.

Hope to see you here soon on the Jerusalem streets!

Summer in Jerusalem: Building, Books, and Paisley

Sharon A

It’s feeling like summer on the Jerusalem streets.

The sun blazes down from a cloudless blue sky.

Walking during the day, shade can be hard to find.

Though with the new construction rising higher and higher above the Jerusalem streets that situation is changing.

Finding a parking space in Jerusalem is more of a challenge. These men had blocked off spots to save at their construction site on a busy street.

On our moving day, a big challenge was finding a spot for the truck to park to be loaded. Out early on the street, I was upset to see broken glass on the ground by the garbage dumpster probably from a discarded frame of ours.

But by 8:10 am, it was gone.

If I hadn’t been out before 8:00 am I would never have known that this man had cleaned up the area. Plus, he seemed surprised when I thanked him.

Cleaner Jerusalem streets and lots of construction will greet visitors to Jerusalem this summer.

The old ivy is long gone, as the Beit Hanasi entranceway gets renovated.

The President’s Residence visitor tours are back. The new red cord seems to be a physical reminder not to walk thru the president’s garden but stay on the path.

The WaterGen machine is a recent addition. I was able to drink 4 kinds of water – made from the air, from the old cooler, bottled water, and from the caterer’s ice-filled cooler. When it’s hot, water is good for you, right?

The garden stage area in the back of the Beit Hanasi garden was being set for ceremonies of awards to reservists soldiers this week, and the next day for three projects from the IDF, the Mossad, the Shin Bet, the Ministry of Defense, and the Israel Defense Industries. 

Reservist one is open to media, but the special Project Awards stay secret.

I went to Beit Hanasi for the swearing-in of the two new Supreme Court Judges. There were more than the usual number of photographers, but much less media coverage. I decided not to get on the floor with the guys.

So I was able to get the 5 newest judges’ reactions to President Herzog’s joke.

The ceremony itself is very brief. The new judge reads a short statement and receives his certificate from the President, the Minister of Justice, and the President of the Supreme Court.

It’s their speeches that fill the time, while their very proud families fill out the audience along with the Judicial selection committee.

President Herzog had connections with not only the newest judge but her family also from their days in New York at Ramaz School. Surprise, the other judge he did not have connections to talk about, that could have been the first time a Herzog was not connected to an honoree.

Here are the women currently serving on the Israeli Supreme Court,

and the two newest Judges of the Israeli Supreme Court are Yechiel Meir Kasher and Ruth Ronnen.

Education and opportunities for women was an RJS feature last week.

This week the popular Hebrew Book Week is back from June 15 to 25.

It is hard to even give away some Hebrew books. Especially encyclopedias, no one will take them, so they get left out for the Jerusalem street cleaners.

The love of books starts with the young. Beit Avi Chai is having special programs for children and families this week. One story session is to be in English for the children’s Hebrew Book Festival.

But much more than books can be found on the Jerusalem streets.

Paisley: A Princely Pattern is the name of the new exhibit at the Museum for Islamic Art, with a purple paisley pattern now featured on their wall.

The 11th Jerusalem Design Week will be held on June 23-30, 2022, at the nearby Hansen House with installations on the street light pole already going up.

The Jerusalem Symphony and the Jerusalem Beer Fest are advertising for July events. Summer in Jerusalem, the holidays are over, but plenty to do.

Or just stroll and take time to notice the flowers in bloom, thriving in the hot summer sun. However, there was little time for that this short week.

After ordering two closets (for those who do not know Israeli apartments usually have bare walls and you need to get something to put your clothes in) I had to stop for a second and get the sign over the exit door.

It says in Hebrew – Go in Peace! under a view of the Kotel, Western Wall.

The end of the school year events and summer weather were mainly what was happening on the Jerusalem streets this after the holidays week.

Hope you can come soon and see for yourself, summer in Jerusalem.