tourism – Page 52 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

New Color in Jerusalem

April 1, 2015rjstreets

Passover preparations and Israeli children

being out of school on vacation all week,

plus the arrival of holiday visitors,

are keeping people very busy.

The 120 members of the 20th Israeli Knesset

were sworn in yesterday,

and then they all went on a month long recess.

There were two special ribbon cutting events

that I want to make sure you know about.

Sunday was the special launch of an

environmental program called the “Green Knesset.”

The dairy cafeteria inside the Knesset building has

large windows to let sun in to heat the room and floor,

and special shading to keep heat from sun out in summer.

But now the “Green Knesset” has added

special bins for recycling,

and at meetings water will no longer be served in bottles,

saving 60,000 plastic bottles per year.

Water, paper and electricity are to be conserved.

No more large mountains of paper for the budget,

as each member will get a disk on key instead.

Those responsible for the first stage of the

sustainability project gathered together on the Knesset roof.

Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein, smiling on the left side,

was the featured speaker

and was honored to cut the ribbon on the roof

in the middle of the 1,406 solar panel field.

The next day a very different green project was opened,

the Jerusalem, Israel, nature reserve – the Gazelle Park.

The area where gazelles had roamed free,

did not go to real estate developers,

but back to nature and the people.

On opening day, thousands of all ages attended,

walking nature trails,

and listening to stories near the restored Orchard site.

The water system is designed to sustain the plant and animal life.

In Israel, the end of winter means green grass,

dotted with colored wild flowers.

This was the only gazelle I saw on opening day,

but real ones are to have an area in which to roam free once again.

Mayor Nir Barkat was smiling and posing for photos,

and the ribbon was cut by First Lady Nechama Rivlin.

This Passover one does not have to drive or sit in car for hours to visit a park,

as the nature reserve is large, free to the public,

and open from 7:00 am to dark, 7 days a week.

Happy Spring Holiday.

פסח שמח

Happy Passover!

Jerusalem Special Visitors

January 20, 2015rjstreets

The world seems upside down like Chelm these days,

and if it was not so serious, it would be funny.

This week saw a large delegation from Japan,

led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting Jerusalem, Israel.

Foreign Minister John Baird of Canada signed the official guest book

at Beit HaNasi, the Israeli President’s residence, while Reuven Rivlin watched.

Then in the afternoon a group of US Senators led by John McCain,

dropped by for a photo op and to chat with the President.

So much for isolation and BDS, all affirmed their support for Israel.

But government officials and their noisy motorcades

were not the only ones who filled the streets this week.

Extended families gathered to celebrate,

and thousands have come daily to the Kotel, the Western Wall.

Birthright tour groups

from around the world posed for group photos.

Tour buses lined up along the road to Har Hazaytim,

the Mount of Olives cemetery.

And at the same time as rabbis in Belgium

were being notified that their synagogues should be closed on Shabbat

for the first time since World War II,

because their safety could not be guaranteed by the police,

these Muslim boys were walking through the Jewish Quarter

in the Old City to go to Friday prayers.

Any doubts? Notice the prayer rug in hand,

so much for apartheid and oppression.

These boys may have taken a second look,

but the man was wearing a long skirt,

as this Muslim family proceeded to prayers on Temple Mount.

And while Muslims of all ages attend regularly on Friday,

(as long as there are no calls for violence)

this group we passed did stand out,

their bags had the name of a Turkish tour company.

Seems not everyone in Turkey is boycotting Israel.

Hope they get to see the real Jerusalem streets,

and take back the truth,

what is really happening.

Holidays Over, What Now?

December 30, 2014rjstreets

Hanukkah is over

but the colorful street lights are still up and shine brightly at night

outside Beit HaNasi, the Israeli President’s official residence.

The long-burning oil and hanukiot are stored away,

and those open windows are closed and shuttered until next year.

This golden menorah, ready for use in the Temple, stands next to the steps to the Kotel,

the Western Wall, and it is impressive as always.

So what is new now that the holiday season is coming to an end?

Varda – this urban installation, popped up across from the shuk,

the Machane Yehuda Market: it inflates and deflates,

and attracts the attention of those who pass by.

A new Bible study program was launched

whose goal is for many people to learn the same chapters together every week.

Day in, day out, the dogs need to get out,

and now there is a new “dog park” or area for them to run free

in the Sokolov Street Park.

Photographers will climb most anywhere to get great

and interesting photos of Jerusalem, Israel,

but newest thing is people taking “selfie” photos which one now sees everywhere.

This woman took one with a group of Israeli soldiers behind her.

While the people are back shopping on the streets,

the stores come and go.

Remember those skin eating fish on King George Street,

not sure where they are now.

This new sign went up;

I wonder how long it will take to develop this hotel project?

This abandoned building, one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in world,

had a fire and since then cement blocks shut the entrance,

but it is open again and remains a very neglected eye-sore.

However, after over eight years of neglect,

one construction fence came down this week,

and progress on this apartment building is visible.

Yes, I know it is winter and we need the rain,

but I love the mild sunny weather we had this past week,

that has caused the roses to bloom,

the lemons to ripen on the tree,

and our neighborhood cat to mellow out.

Time for a drink.