By PEGGY CIDORHaredi protest 521(photo credit: REUTERS)Dancing to the end of ShabbatHundreds (according to the organizers) of young and quite a few less young answered to the call of Hitorerut representatives on the city council and came to celebrate the end of the week at the Khan Theater on Friday at noon. That was a secular answer to the haredi threat against secular culture in Jerusalem, in response to the last haredi demonstrations against secular outdoor events, led by young leadership in the city – New Spirit and Hitorerut – who decided to fight back. The opposition to the events held on Shabbat or which are of a character that doesn’t fit the Holiness of the city, as expressed by haredi leaders, was organized and initiated by the Eda Haredit, an extremist group that does not even recognize the state, but representatives of the city’s coalition took part in its planning.“The feeling is that even if this is not organized by city council members, it might finally take us back to the days when secular residents didn’t dare to hold cultural events on Shabbat,” explained Elisheva Mazia, head of New Spirit, the students and youth association in the city. “It’s time we stop explaining and apologizing, and just do what we need to do so that this city offers something for its young population,” added Mazia.
As a first step, and after last week’s haredi demonstration at Shabbat Square, in protest against events held on Shabbat or inappropriate for the city and too close to haredi neighborhoods, the Khan Theater courtyard will host the first in a series of events called “Shabbat in Jerusalem.” Between 2 and 8 p.m., all are invited to take part – last week with rock singer Hemi Rodner, with singing, dancing and anything that fits a secular cultural event.Judging by the pictures taken Friday at the Khan, it seems that it was a great success.Saved by the KotelFor the first time, a class of 66 firefighters marked the end of their officers’ training with a ceremony at the Western Wall. The ceremony was the initiative of the new head of the country’s firefighters, Shachar Ayalon, who also invited Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch. Firefighters who took part said that after the tragic fire on Mount Carmel in December, they could feel how the public appreciated the importance of their work, and added that the ceremony at the Western Wall was particularly moving. The 66 officers will serve in all units of the firefighters across the country.Noisy guestsCity council member Dr. Meir Margalit (Meretz) was invited to participate in a debate on affordable housing and other solutions for underprivileged families in the city at the single mothers’ tent camp. At the end of the meeting, Margalit invited the protesters to attend a special city council meeting on the same issue the following evening, initiated by Mayor Nir Barkat.When they arrived at Safra Square, the single mothers discovered that a delegation of young protesters from Gan Hasus (“Horse Park”) had been officially invited, while they themselves were refused entrance. As a result, some of them protested loudly, interrupting the debate, and were finally asked to leave. Margalit says that what upsets him – and the single mothers – the most is the decision to close down the Prazot housing company and to divide its assets – some NIS 200 million – between the Treasury and the municipality, instead of buying apartments for those eligible for public housing.“It’s not only a mistake to close down Prazot, it is also a very bad decision, since we all know that all the money will ultimately go to the Treasury, and even the best intentions of this mayor, like finding local solutions for needy and single-parent families, won’t be implemented once we lose that precious money.”The decision to shut down the company was taken more than three years ago, following irregularities in its management, but since then the general manager, the chief accountant and the board have been replaced, and according to Margalit, himself one of the new board members, the company is ready to fulfill its task: to purchase small and modest apartments for eligible residents. Prazot is jointly owned by the state and the municipality.Faulty hotelFamily members of patients at Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem can stay at the hotel located on the hospital campus. This is particularly helpful for observant residents, who cannot walk the long distance to the hospital from any neighborhood in the city, to visiting their relatives. But the hotel is a private enterprise, and does not offer any special or preferential services or reduced prices to visitors of patients. In fact, most of its guests are tourists, mostly from abroad.Recently, religious residents have asked MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi) to try to persuade the hospital management to represent their interests to the hotel’s owners, arguing that with all due respect to tourists, people who wish to visit sick relatives should also be taken into account.According to a letter Orlev sent to Hadassah Medical Organization director-general Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the request is not primarily about the hotel’s prices, but rather the issue of priority, up to 50 percent of the rooms in the facility.Meanwhile, it is comforting to know that roadworks to extend the light rail from Mount Herzl to Hadassah have already started, so at least on weekdays the medical center will be more easily reached.Against natureThe battle over the fate of the Natural History Museum continues. Following a meeting between the Friends of the Natural History Museum – residents who want to preserve the museum in its present location in the German Colony – and Mayor Nir Barkat, the residents are now convinced that Barkat’s intention is to move the long-established institution to make way for the Shalem Center. According to a government decision taken on May 29, a plot has to be found in the city for a college, and though the decision doesn’t specify the Shalem Center, the residents and Friends of the Natural History Museum are convinced that the plan is to remove the museum so as to vacate the land for that institution.At the head of the residents’ action committee are two wellknown academics, professors Ariel Hirshfeld and Menachem Brinker, who met with Barkat and showed him the important activities of the museum, and the need to keep it in its current location.
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