City Blotter

Events in the city.

By NADAV ROITER, SHIRA FRAGER
carmel tunnels_521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
carmel tunnels_521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Municipality encouraging Tama38 planThe Jerusalem Municipality has initiated a plan (No. 10038) to promote the implementation of the Tama38 project, specifically in Jerusalem. Tama38 is a government project aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs to reinforce older buildings in preparation for a highly predicted earthquake. In return, the entrepreneurs will receive permits to add between one and two-and-a-half floors to a building, depending on its size and location.
According to the municipality, “The reason for plan No. 10038 is Tama38’s failure throughout the country, including Jerusalem. The municipality has received only 20 requests to participate in this venture, and only one structure has started renovations as a result of Tama38.”
Experts in the municipality have evaluated the situation as a “profitability issue for investors.” According to these experts’ examination of the situation, “There is a fundamental difference in profitability for an investor depending on the size and location of a property.” They also found that “implementation of the plan in larger buildings is relatively more expensive, and the farther the building was from the center of the city, the less profit an entrepreneur was likely to make.”
The plan, which has been tailored to Jerusalem’s specific needs, has been submitted to the district committee for review.
Jerusalem Municipality building new plazaThe Jerusalem Municipality, in collaboration with the Eden Company, responsible for the development of Jerusalem, has begun to build a new plaza on the Valero site, located opposite the Mahaneh Yehuda market.
Valero Plaza will be in two parts: a small triangular space that will provide shaded seating for the public, and a large space intended as an extension of the market and a place for cultural events. The plaza will be paved in granite and Jerusalem stone, an infrastructure for cultural events will be built, trees will be planted, and decorative lights will be installed.
The venture will cost an estimated NIS 5 million, paid for by the municipality and the Transportation Ministry. According to the municipality, traffic will not be disrupted during the next eight months while the Valero complex is under construction.
Interreligious celebrationReligious leaders of the three monotheistic faiths will gather in Jerusalem on Wednesday night to discuss the topic of interreligious dialogue in Israel. The event will be hosted by the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). Guests include a Sufi group from Nazareth, whose Imam will chant verses from the Koran, as well as alumni of the ICCI’s various interfaith projects.
The guest speakers will include Iyad Zahalka, the kadi of Haifa, whose talk is entitled “Interreligious Dialogue from a Muslim Perspective.” Following his speech, there will be responses by Jerusalem religious leaders Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman of Kehilat Kol Haneshama and The Rev. Canon Hosam Naoum of St. George’s Cathedral.
The event, in Arabic, Hebrew and English with simultaneous translation, will take place at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Conference Center in Mishkenot Sha’ananim. For further information or to reserve a seat, call 561-1899/02 or 563-4148, or email: communications@icci.org.il
Tunnel named for Naomi ShemerThe Mount Scopus tunnel was named in memory of Israeli singer and composer Naomi Shemer last Thursday at a ceremony held in the presence of Shemer’s daughter Lely, Mayor Nir Barkat and many others.
“Having the opportunity to perpetuate the name of a national poet is a true honor for the city of Jerusalem. Shemer’s songs have become part of our national heritage, immortalizing Israeli society. We decided to use the Mount Scopus tunnel as a means to perpetuate Shemer’s name as a result of one of her more famous compositions, ‘Jerusalem of Gold.’ The song, which was written after the Six Day War, tells of how we will see the Dead Sea again using the Jericho road, the road that leads to the Dead Sea,” said Barkat.
Shemer’s daughter added, “The Mount Scopus tunnel is a bustling and vibrant place, symbolizing the vitality of Jerusalem in contrast to the city’s holiness and spirituality. This place embodies my mother’s legacy, including her songs, which talk about being active, as well as the essence of the values she raised us on, something very appropriate for this city’s atmosphere.”
The Ramada goes greenThe Phoebus Energy Company recently signed a contract with the Ramada Hotel to install its energysaving Hydra system. The system, which emits 0.72 megawatts of energy, is slated to be the largest of its kind, reducing carbon emissions and energy costs.
The Hydra system will burn thousands of liters of diesel fuel, used in heating the pool and hotel rooms. The Hydra system is the world’s most advanced system to save energy inputs to heat water directed to institutions. The system, developed in Israel, has dozens of sites in Israel and Greece and will extend to Cyprus, Spain, Panama and Mexico. Work at the site in Jerusalem will begin in August and is expected to be completed in late September.