New women's campus EYAHT, the women's college affiliated with Aish HaTorah, was inaugurated earlier this week in Romema. The campus, located in a five-story building, will enable women to attend courses in Jewish philosophy, Torah studies, Jewish education and much more, and aims to give Jewish women their Jewish identity back. The new campus was made possible through donations that ranged from $18 to $1 million, which involved up to 1,000 people who have been part of this project. As part of the Aish HaTorah institutions, the women's college is intended for those who are on a journey to return to Judaism, or for those searching for answers regarding their Jewish identity. Denah Weinberg, the founder of EYAHT, declared that the college “will ensure continuing preparation of female students to live their lives as Jewish women who care about the Jewish people.” EHAHT provides room for up to 72 full-time students and for 350 women who will choose to attend courses during the day. The campus will also provide a gym, dining facilities and dorm rooms. A reprieve for Lifta Following a Knesset Finance Committee decision last Thursday, the Health Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality have decided to postpone the closure of the Lifta Detoxification Center until the end of August. The center has until then to find alternative budgets for the center, apparently directly from the ministry. For the moment, it's business as usual at Lifta, but the danger of its closing down is not completely gone, according to a source from the center. Still, the source said, it seems that at least the message has gotten across that such a center – the only one in the Jerusalem area – is necessary. A source in the municipality said one of the solutions might be to transfer the center to a more suitable location and have the ministry operate it directly, leaving the municipality to handle just the education and advocacy tasks. Saving the spring Mary's Spring, located in the picturesque neighborhood of Ein Kerem, has recently been in danger of damage from a nearby construction project. But the Christian holy site may have been saved. The district planning and building committee, which had to decide whether to approve the plans to build a four-story hotel near the spring, insisted on getting an expert opinion from a hydrologist on the matter before proceeding. According to Christian tradition, the spring is where Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, first met Mary, the future mother of Jesus. It is considered the fourth-holiest site in Christianity, attracting about a million pilgrims per year. City council member Tamir Nir (Yerushalmim) expressed concern that a construction project so close by might damage the site, and after the consulted hydrologist confirmed the concern at the end of last week, the committee – which will soon be presented with the expert opinion – is now expected not to approve the construction of the hotel there. Little house in the Colony Have you always fantasized about purchasing a small apartment in the German Colony, Greek Colony or Katamon neighborhoods but couldn't find one? Well, following the approval of the new master plan for these upscale neighborhoods last month, the district planning and building committee has stipulated that contractors with permits to build in the area must make at least 30 percent of the housing units no larger than 85 square meters and available for reasonable prices. The plan calls for up to 1,500 housing units in the area that runs from Emek Refaim Street up to Hapalmah Street – one of the most prestigious sectors in the city. Fearing that the master plan might just end up adding more “ghost apartments” to the city – apartments whose owners live elsewhere and don't rent the properties out – representatives of the Hitorerut B'yerushalayim Party, for whom the issue is a high priority, insisted that the plan include the obligation to build small and affordable apartments that could attract young families. The plan also mandates strict attention to preservation and restoration issues, since many of the existing buildings in the neighborhood are historic. Moving into French Hill The Jerusalem Movement is launching a real-estate program for young families in the French Hill neighborhood: The entire building at 13 Ha'etzel Street is for sale through a purchasing group – a relatively new approach that aims to get better prices by conducting the purchase through an organized group instead of individuals. This system enables not only attractive conditions and mortgage rates, but also the immediate creation of a small community for young couples and families. The building is close to several kindergartens, as well as to the Hebrew University and the Hadassah University Medical Center at Mount Scopus. It is also not far from the Har Hotzvim hi-tech compound. The project also offers reduced prices for eventual renovations in the apartments, as well as discounts at the kindergartens and the neighborhood gym. This is one of the first projects the movement has arranged for an existing building; until now, most of the initiatives to organize purchasing groups have been for planned construction projects, whereas in this case eventual purchasers can acquire the apartments fairly quickly. To the beach Though the capital doesn't have a beach, all that is required to reach the nearby sandy shores are initiative and goodwill. Jerusalemites who love the waves and sand will soon have two options – one is a planned sandy shore at the First Station, and the other is the beachbus. On Fridays, buses will take locals to Banana Beach in Tel Aviv for a reduced price. While the sandy shore is the initiative of the First Station alongside its other successful programs, the beachbus is the result of the private initiative of three local young residents, who decided to do something to fulfill their own need to spend a few hours a week at a real seashore. The buses will depart for the first time today at 10 a.m. from 4 Amatzia Street and from the corner of Ussishkin and Narkis streets at 10:05, and return from Banana Beach in Tel Aviv (near the Dolphinarium) at 3:30 p.m. The price for the first time is reduced – only NIS 50 (both ways) but as of next week, it will be NIS 60. For more details: www.beachbus.co.il
Aish HaTorah’s new Eyaht college for women.