To preserve or not ...

By REUVEN ROSENFELDER
A list of just some of the sites in need of preservation in Jerusalem and the political and social questions that they raise: BEIT FRUMIN: When Beit Frumin, on King George Avenue, opposite Ben Yehuda, was sold to a developer, the public responded. The seat of the Knesset during its formative years, Beit Frumin was a venue for historic debates. Menachem Begin famously marched on the building during the debates over reparations from Germany. Will Beit Frumin be saved and turned into a museum of the Knesset? Will it remain intact, but with new stories added on top that will distort its appearance? What about compensation for the buyer, who had planned to build there? Such questions constantly come up when dealing with preservation. JERUSALEM TRAIN STATION: To view the dilapidation of a historic site first-hand, you need only visit the Jerusalem train station in the German Colony. Train transportation between Jaffa and Jerusalem was inaugurated in 1898, marking a turning point in the city's modern history. Theodor Herzl arrived here that same year. Now boarded up, the landmark terminal is falling apart. Does Israel Railways not care enough to guard it properly? What's the municipality's role? THE SCHOCKEN HOUSE: Advocates mounted an international campaign to fight the planned destruction of the home that Zalman Schocken built in Rehavia (Rehov Smolenskin). Designed by Erich Mendelssohn, a leading 20th-century architect, the Schocken house is considered an architectural jewel in the Bauhaus style. Deputy Mayor Yehoshua Pollack has cancelled an earlier decision to tear the house down, but the fancy apartment complex promoted for the site still threatens the future. For architectural mavens, the Schocken House is a cause celebre. YESHIVAT ETZ HAIM: The handsome structure near the Mahaneh Yehuda market is a recognized landmark, but destined to be taken apart and reconstructed closer to Jaffa Road, in order to make room for two 15-story towers and a third, lower building. The municipality regards this as part of the Jaffa Road upgrade project. But do disassembling and re-assembling constitute preservation? NO. 9, REHOV PALMAH: Jerusalem preservation advocate Itzik Shweky is personally fighting to preserve this building, the last remaining example of pre-fabricated housing construction in Eretz Yisrael during the 1930s. Unimpressive in appearance, it is part of the country's building history, but a developer plans to destroy it. In this case, not all the activists agree. Israel Kimhi, chairman of the same committee on which Shweky serves, says he "wouldn't lie down in front of the tractor" to prevent destruction. Are there other possible uses or solutions? Perhaps the building could be transferred to an open-museum site. AND TO CONCLUDE ON A POSITIVE NOTE: Jerusalem has some genuine preservation achievements, too. BROADCAST HOUSE: For years, the Old Shaare Zedek Hospital on Jaffa Road, which dates to the beginning of the 20th century, was left abandoned, falling into disrepair. When it became the main office of the Israel Broadcasting Authority, massive renovations returned the site to its former glory. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE, KEREM AVRAHAM: In the Mea She'arim area, the Karlin-Stolin Hassidim have extensively renovated the first building ever constructed outside the Old City walls. This building was once home to the legendary British Consul in Jerusalem, James Finn, and the date 1856 is still visible in the stonework. The structure now houses a large women's school. THE BRACHA FOUNDATION: On Rehov Emek Refaim in the German Colony, the philanthropic Keren Bracha has carried out a meticulous restoration of a classic one-story Templer house, which will now serve as the foundation's new offices. A verse from the Bible is clearly inscribed in stone at the entrance.