By PEGGY CIDORHolyland construction project 521(photo credit: Reuters)La Bastille in musicAlways wished you could have taken part in the French Revolution? Here is one way to compensate: On Sunday, July 14, the Eden-Tamir Music Center in Ein Kerem will offer a free concert to mark Bastille Day, under the banner “The Butterfly and the Flower.” Two hundred and twenty-four years after that fateful time in Paris, singer Gal Klein and pianist Sagy Segal will be presenting a repertoire of French music and chansons, from Edith Piaf to Georges Brassens, from Claude Debussy to elegant jazz and more – all of which the audience can enjoy before or after a good French cheese and baguette. The concert is free and takes place at 8 p.m.Not so holy The Holyland construction project, linked with a huge scandal involving two former mayors (Ehud Olmert and Uri Lupolianski), is far from reaching completion, but the impact of the trial is being felt on the ground. Last week, the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee instituted a major change in the remainder of the project, refusing to approve the two additional planned towers (or three, depending on what stage of the project one refers to) despite recent threats from the developers to appeal to the court.The developers said that the cancellation of the last part of the project was causing them a major income loss, but the committee was unimpressed.According to its revised plan, the second and third tower will not be constructed. Instead, the land will be used for public services that benefit the residents of the compound and the nearby neighborhood of Ramat Sharett.However, in the same area, a little north of the existing project, another construction project will continue, with three 18-story towers set to go up. Behind this construction is city council member Rami Levy, who bought the plot three months before the Holyland scandal emerged. While his project is close to the proceedings, it is nevertheless separate – and as such, the committee didn’t change it.New game, old names – No. 1 The Bayit Yehudi city council list is facing some major changes as elections approach on October 22. In fact, it is not clear who out of the three present council members will stick around.Edna Friedman has already announced that she is forming a women’s list, including both religious and secular women, and thus will not run under the auspices of the party. Yair Gabbai has become closer than ever to the Likud, so it is not clear so far with which party he will run for the next council, if he runs at all. And even the head of the list, Deputy Mayor David Hadari, admits that as long as his personal relationship with party leader Naftali Bennett does not improve, his chances of getting in are slim.Earlier this week, rumor had it that some veterans of the party had approached Zevulun Orlev, asking the former Bayit Yehudi MK to return to politics and accept leadership of the city council list – and perhaps even consider a run for mayor. So far, Orlev has refused to change the decision he made a few months ago to stay away from politics forever. But Hadari, and perhaps a few others in local political circles, would be delighted to hear him say, despite everything, “I’m back.”New game, old names – No. 2 Shas has four seats on this city council, one fewer than it did on the former one. But the circumstances surrounding this list are far more delicate than the loss of one seat. That’s because the list’s former head, Shlomi Attias, left the political arena and is now CEO of the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter. Eli Simhayoff took his place, but his triumph was short. Due to Simhayoff’s involvement in the Holyland affair, Mayor Nir Barkat asked him to renounce his position, and he was even forbidden to attend council meetings. The affair is still being dealt with in court, and it might be too late for Simhayoff to head the list on the next council. Meanwhile, he has found other employment, and another member of Shas has replaced him as deputy mayor.The result of all this is that for the moment, Shas doesn’t have an attractive list for the next city council – and a sense of demoralization prevails in its ranks at Safra Square. In this context, Attias’s name has made a comeback. It is not clear at the moment, however, who is promoting his eventual candidacy – himself, discreetly, or genuinely concerned members of the party. Attias is considered one of the closest people to the party’s leader, Arye Deri, but city sources inside the party say that Deri might have another name in mind.Like a seesaw The latest news regarding the outcome of the internal elections of Meretz for the next city council is an eventual rotation between the two contenders, Deputy Mayor Pepe Alalu and his challenger, Meir Margalit. Margalit’s proposal to remain the elected leader of the party but the candidates on the list would have a new election has not as yet been accepted. The final decision is in the hands of the party’s leadership, who are not residents of Jerusalem. One thing is certain: Groups that considered joining forces with Meretz to gain larger representation on the city council are reconsidering that option, say sources among the activists in the local Meretz branch.Not taking no for an answer The Yuri Shtern Foundation has submitted a petition to the district court against the municipality, the mayor and the head of the community and family administration at the municipality.The Yuri Shtern Holistic Care Center for Cancer Patients, established to provides treatment for individuals suffering from cancer, as well as for their families, was created in memory of MK Shtern, who died of cancer at the age of 57.The treatments given at the center are free of charge (at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center) or for a nominal fee at the care center’s clinic, aimed to ease the process and period of the illness.At the base of the center’s goals is the belief that complementary treatments benefit both mind and body and ease the psychological stress of battling cancer, thus increasing the chances of recovery.Nevertheless, the center has never received any support from the municipality, despite repeated requests.Recently, another request was rejected, but this time the center’s directors decided to appeal to the court on the basis that similar organizations that are officially identified with Orthodox streams obtain funding from the municipality.
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