By PEGGY CIDORTHE CAPITAL’S legendary Smadar theater – residents of the German Colony are trying to save it(photo credit: SMADAR FACEBOOK PAGE)In memoriamThe late Tatiana Hoffman, born in the Czech Republic, was scheduled to present a special program of hassidic music from Prague, but her premature death last week has changed the plan. Nevertheless, two vocal ensembles from the Jerusalem Oratorio Choir will perform the concert as planned on Sunday at the Hebrew Union College campus at 8 p.m.The Bel Canto and the Noah choirs (both part of the larger choir of Oratorio) will perform songs and canticles in Hebrew from the repertoire of the hassidic liturgy, under the baton of two maestro guests from Prague: Salome Rabello and Tomas Novotny, accompanied by Rahel Polohova on the clarinet and Anezska Gebaurova on the accordion.Tickets are NIS 60, NIS 50 for students. 052-860-1477.Calm downWithin the framework of the day protesting violence against women, this year’s major event in the city is the launching of a new hotline by the local WIZO branch for men who have difficulty controlling their anger. Men will receive prompt answers from the hotline on how to get help, and be assigned to a volunteer who will accompany them on their way to taking back control over their emotions, or to receive professional help. Each caller will be assigned to a center and professional in the area where they live across the country, although the line is operated in Jerusalem.The hotline staffers – students in the disciplines of social and psychological studies – are all men who have been specifically trained, and who have access to professionals in the relevant field.Visit and cultureDeputy Mayor Ofer Berkowitz (Hitorerut) is proposing a project to the Education Ministry to encourage youth across the country to visit the cultural institutions of the capital. According to the plan, which was submitted this week to Minister Naftali Bennett, pupils will add to the traditional visits to historical and religious sites of Jerusalem by encountering cultural projects in the city, from the Biblical Zoo to the local museums and theaters. In fact, if implemented this will be a broadening of the current program of cultural enrichment for Jerusalem pupils (from primary to high school) already in place for the past few years.Draw me a picture The Sixth Biennale for Drawing in Israel, held under the auspices of and produced by the Jerusalem Artists’ House, has established its status as a unique and comprehensive artistic enterprise since 2001. This year’s Biennale “Traces VI” is held at the Jerusalem Artists’ House and several other venues in the city center (Beit Ticho, The Jerusalem Print Workshop, Agripas 12 Gallery, and Barbur Gallery), which together unfold the state of drawing in Israel and various aspects associated with it. The scores of participating artists and hundreds of featured works, as well as the diverse spectrum of styles, techniques, media, and themes, come together to form a grand artistic celebration, attesting to the status of drawing as a central, current medium. Like all previous editions of Traces, the current exhibition sets out to map contemporary practice in the field of drawing in Israel; to outline directions and inclinations, while emphasizing the conceptual and thematic transformations that occurred in this dynamic – traditional, yet constantly renewing – medium in recent years; and to sustain a dialogue with the previous biennials. Some 700 artists responded to the public appeal to participate in the Biennale, and most of the 83 participating artists were selected from among these. Opening: Saturday evening.Entrance free.Saving SmadarFollowing the decision of the owners of the legendary movie theater Smadar (on Lloyd George Street, in the German Colony) to close down for financial reasons, a number of residents from the neighborhood and elsewhere are trying to find a solution to prevent the closure. A meeting is planned for 8 p.m. this Tuesday at the Smadar, and all residents are invited.The owners of the building say they cannot finance the extensive renovations required, and even the Lev chain of movie theaters to which Smadar belongs said they cannot afford the cost. Sources at Safra Square say they are trying to get support from one of the large local foundations, but so far no luck. The municipality is prevented from intervening, as this is a private business. So for the moment – unless something unexpected happens – the Smadar will shut down by the end of December.Eastern trauma While marking a year since the outbreak of the so-called “knife intifada,” a special workshop aimed at training social workers from the Arab sector in trauma has just completed its first round. A joint initiative of the Hadassah University Medical Center and the Israeli Coalition for Trauma has trained 30 social workers from the Arab sector in the city to identify and work to prevent acts of violence following traumatic situations among youth. The participants have been given tools to face such situations, to work with young boys and girls – mostly teenagers – and to provide a professional response to such cases, while they themselves are part of that same society experiencing traumas. The Israeli Coalition for Trauma was founded by the New York Federation in 2011 to face such situations during the second intifada in the city, and has gathered lot of experience on the ground over the years.
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