This week in Jerusalem

Peggy Cidor’s round-up of city affairs.

By PEGGY CIDOR
The old city as a stage (photo credit: REUTERS)
The old city as a stage
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Whose wall it is anyway?
The Small Western Wall (Hakotel Hakatan), which goes through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, is considered to be the closest in proximity to the Second Temple’s Holy of Holies. Yet despite its religious importance, the place is full of garbage and has become, over the years, a favorite substitute for public toilets. Earlier this week, following a visit to the site, MK and Knesset Interior Committee head Miri Regev expressed her indignation about the filth she found there. At issue in the debate is whether maintenance of the site is the municipality’s responsibility, as it is a public location. However, since it is a considered a holy site, at least part of the responsibility is in the hands Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites Shmuel Rabinowitz. A municipality representative agreed to take care of the site, but Regev decided not to take any risk and announced at the end of the meeting that she would come again, on the eve of Jerusalem Day, to see for herself whether things had improved.
A different flag
In advance of one of the major events in celebration of Jerusalem Day, the Rikudgalim (Flag Dance), traditionally held in the streets of Jerusalem, a group of residents, mostly from the national-religious camp, are organizing one themselves – aimed as a response to the right-wing messages conveyed by the original march organizers.
For the past two to three years, the Flag Dance parade has passed through the Old City, including the Muslim Quarter, where many of the participants cursed the Arab residents and sang slogans desecrating Islam and its sanctity. Despite police efforts, the same ritual happened again last year. But this year, we might see two different groups, and while both belong to the religious wing of society, one is adamant that it will deliver a different message on that day. For the moment it is not clear if the new group will march on the traditional path or another one, but there is a declared intention to convey a different message – one of peace and love for Jerusalem and all its residents, announced the advertisement.
Jazz at the station
The Israel Festival – Jerusalem will be hosted at the First Station, among other venues. The Jazz Club – an open and free daily program featuring some of the best jazz ensembles and soloists from Israel and all over the world – will run every evening between May 28 and June 23.
The opening will feature the Hortus Musicus Ensemble from Estonia. Those who have purchased tickets to festival shows will be entitled to a 10-percent reduction at all restaurants and coffee shops at the First Station.
Women and Jerusalem
The Van Leer Institute is holding a special symposium on women in Jerusalem, on three different aspects: sovereignty, security and gender, in a city divided by conflicts. The event will take place at the institute, from 4 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27. Speakers will include: Prof. Hanna Herzog of Tel Aviv University; Nurit Hagag, a Mizrahi feminist activist; Dr. Najah al-Khatib, an Arab woman in Jerusalem; Yehudit Oppenheimer, executive director of Ir Amim; and Anat Hoffman, chair of the Women of the Wall board. Entrance is free.
A small piece of history
On May 27, a small but historic celebration will be held at the Knesset. In the presence of the family members of former prime ministers Levi Eshkol and Menachem Begin, a plaque will be put up to indicate the little room in the bomb shelter of the Israeli parliament in which the decision was made to send paratroopers into the Old City in June 1967.
On the third day of the Six Day War, the Knesset voted for Begin and Yosef Sapir – both from the Herut party – to join the government headed by Eshkol, thus creating the first National Emergency Government to confront the situation following the declaration of war by Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
The first meeting of the new government was halted due to heavy bombing of the city from the Jordanian side, forcing the members to run to the shelter of the Knesset.
There, the government members voted unanimously to respond to the Jordanian fire (which had remained unanswered for three days of heavy bombing and resulted in the deaths of more than 15 civilians in the streets of Jerusalem) and ordered the paratroopers, led by general Motta Gur, to take over the Old City including ”They Thought for Themselves the Western Wall.
Over the years, the little room had become a storage room. But as of next week, its legitimate glory will be reinstated, with the reconstitution of its furnishing, including the large radio on which the course of the war was broadcast to citizens around the country.
A reciprocal arrangement
Some 145 students in Jerusalem will be granted scholarships, thanks to an initiative by the Jerusalem Foundation. The scholarships – which total NIS 635,000 – will be awarded to students enrolled in institutions of higher learning in the arts, technology and engineering, in exchange for volunteering in the community in their spheres of study.
This year, the foundation increased its quota of annual scholarships to include students at the Haredi College and students at the Jerusalem College of Technology. In exchange for the scholarships, the students are required to participate in social and community projects throughout Jerusalem during their academic year.
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design students work with special-needs youth to create art projects; students from the Academy of Music and Dance run a music center for youth in Kiryat Menahem and give blind children voice and music lessons; students at the Azrieli College of Engineering teach children computer applications; and students at the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television conduct film classes in junior high schools.
To meet the needs of the increasing number of recipients, the Jerusalem Foundation has extended its list of donors to include friends of the foundation around the world. Among them are the Worms family from Israel and the UK; the estate of Louis Edelstein from the US; the Rein family of Israel and Switzerland and the Cheshin family from Israel. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of socioeconomic need, academic excellence and social involvement.
The scholarship award ceremony will take place on June 2 at 6 p.m. at the Gilbert de Botton Auditorium at Mishkenot Sha’ananim. Jerusalem Foundation president Mark Sofer says, “The scholarships help connect the students with the city, encourage them to continue their studies here and leave their mark on the city. This is a key dimension of the foundation’s effort to strengthen young people’s living and learning in Jerusalem.”