This Week in Jerusalem

Peggy Cidor’s round-up of city affairs.

By PEGGY CIDOR
A human chain in Gush Etzion marked the end of the shiva mourning period for the Lamkus family. (photo credit: COURTESY ROI COHEN)
A human chain in Gush Etzion marked the end of the shiva mourning period for the Lamkus family.
(photo credit: COURTESY ROI COHEN)
For the sake of survivors
A new initiative led by the Jerusalem Municipality, the city’s council of retired residents and Shaare Zedek Medical Center aims to ease the hospital sojourn for Holocaust survivors living in the capital. The program includes accompaniment of survivors throughout hospitalization and return to their homes. Most of the survivors are lonely and childless, and what is already hard enough in regular times becomes at times unbearable when they become ill or have to undergo surgery. The volunteers, affiliated with some 36 of Jerusalem’s largest companies and organizations, including of course the council of retired residents – have been trained to follow survivors in all the different stages of an eventual hospitalization, to prevent stress and fear and guide them after hospitalization, when they are under the care of nurses and social workers. The program was organized by the Forum for Holocaust Survivors, and provides escorts throughout the process of a complete recovery, from the day of hospitalization until after they are released to home or a residence. This new initiative comes after the municipality last year launched a vast program to help survivors obtain all of their rights and successfully deal with the bureaucracy involved.
Over 1,400 municipality volunteers managed to find and get in touch with some 20,000 survivors – many of them from the former Soviet Union, who had not been treated by these institutions thus far – and helped them fill in forms and register to obtain their rights, mostly special pension payments. The programs are set to be debut soon in other cities across the country.
Soldiers on your walls
Soldiers now have an opportunity to get to know Jerusalem beyond standard tours. Throughout the year 5775, about 60,000 soldiers will be guests of the city and its young adult programs department, eligible to take part in outdoor festivals and events for the younger generation at cultural venues and bars and restaurants. The idea, promoted by Shlomo Levy, director of the Jerusalem Youth Center, was to expose the soldiers to additional aspects and faces of the city. “Until now,” explains Levy, “the soldiers came here on guided visits that included only the ancient, religious and historical parts of Jerusalem. They are of course an important part, but we wanted to show them Jerusalem as a city in which young adults live and enjoy culture, music, food and entertainment fitting their taste as well.”
The first 10,000 soldiers taking part in the new program began their visit this week. Besides the Western Wall, Yad Vashem and Ammunition Hill, the soldiers will visit Mamilla Mall, enjoy theater at Beit Mazia, Teddy Park and Safra Square, along with some of the city center and Mahaneh Yehuda’s hot spots particularly liked by young adults; they will get to meet some of the younger generation in politics, such as city council members. “The idea is to show, especially now, that Jerusalem is a real city, living in the present and not only focused on her past; a wonderful place for young adults,” concluded Levy.
A grave for the righteous Forty years after his death, the grave of Oscar Schindler, the German who saved more than 1,000 Jews from the Nazis, will be restored and cleaned.
Schindler, recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations, was buried in the Mount Zion Catholic Cemetery in Jerusalem according to his wife’s request, in the plot belonging to the Custodia Terra Sancta. The plan includes renovation, cleaning and construction of the grave itself, as well as the alleys and accessible lanes around the grave; in addition, a small center will be erected presenting Schindler’s legacy and commemorating his deeds, as told in the famed film by Steven Spielberg. The NIS 2 million cost will be covered by the Custodia, Jerusalem Development Authority, Jerusalem Affairs Ministry and municipality. The collaboration between the Israeli bodies and the Custodia, which is representing the Vatican, is considered an important step, considering Jerusalem is still a sensitive issue between the Vatican and the State of Israel.
Running for a child The runners for Afikim, which helps at-risk youth and their families cope with the difficulties met in school and daily life, are back. Participants – city residents who seek sponsors to support Afikim programs – return after last year’s great success.
The run is scheduled for December 3 to 5, but today some of the runners will take part in the first race from Oranim junction to Ramot, where one of the seven schools associated with Afikim is situated.
Sponsors are invited to join the team either via donation or by adding sponsored runners. Among those who already have pledged their support are the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, headed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein; and the Dan Hotels chain, which will offer a full Shabbat resort stay for participants in Eilat following the run. Afikim founder and director Moshe Lefkowich is a haredi who is dedicated to helping children and their families outside the ultra-Orthodox world, as a gesture of Jewish solidarity.
A cavern under their feet The large cavern recently revealed in the Tzur Hadassah region has made archeologists and geologists happy, but builders and entrepreneurs sound much less sanguine. The cavern is situated in the middle of a plot acquired from the Israel Lands Authority for almost NIS 8 million, to build 33 housing units; for the moment, all work has stopped. The cavern was discovered by workers preparing the land for the construction project. A lot of additional housing projects are planned in this area, and the concern is there might be more caverns under the soil – which will prevent any building there. Tzur Hadassah, which in future plans will be annexed to the Jerusalem region, is in fact the only area still free for construction on the western side of the city inside the Green Line. As work remains at a standstill, nobody knows what the tests being conducted on the ground by ILA specialists will indicate.
Prisoners on reserve duty An interesting initiative led by directors of some local councils in Arab neighborhoods will to try to restore calm to the streets. Arab residents who have served time in Israeli prisons for stone-throwing or taking part in riots will try to convince the youth who have been perpetrating daily attacks with stones and fireworks, especially on the light rail, that there is nothing good awaiting them in jail once they are caught. Criminologists and terror experts working with police and security forces are convinced these youth are filled with pride at their boldness in tackling and assaulting soldiers and police officers.
“They feel like heroes in the cinema,” said one of the directors. “They don’t realize that prison is not fun, that they are destroying their future and their studies and causing a lot of concern to their parents.” The idea being promoted is that the Arab residents, who are not suspected of collaboration with Israeli forces and authorities, will describe the hardships of life in prison and may have a chance at convincing the young men to stop rioting. In any case, there has been a drop in the incidence of stone-throwing compared to last month, even before the plan was activated, perhaps due to the rain. Most of the tension is now localized on the Temple Mount; though last Friday’s decision by police not to impose an age limit on men who wish pray has also contributed to a less agitated prayer time than last week.
Solidarity in Gush Etzion Approximately 2,000 young people from Gush Etzion formed a human chain on Tuesday morning, beginning at Gush Etzion junction and ending in Kfar Etzion. The chain passed the bus stop where Dalya Lamkus was stabbed to death last week, as well as the stop where Eyal Yifrah, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel were kidnapped.
The project was initiated by 11th graders at the Ohr Torah Stone Neveh Channah High School, who were helped and supported by Gush Etzion Regional Council head Davidi Perl. Participants came from OTS Neveh Channah as well as the six other high schools in Gush Etzion: OTS Neveh Shmuel, OTS Oriya, OTS Derech Avot, Makor Chaim, Ulpanat Rosh Tzurim and Orot Yehuda.
“Gush Etzion is our home, and we will not allow terrorist incidents to disrupt our daily routine.
These bus stops are an important transportation artery for us and they are necessary to conduct our everyday lives. We recruited the students from all seven high schools in the Gush for the day after the Lamkus family got up from shiva, in order to show unity and solidarity,” said the project coordinators.