Shabus, take two The local initiative to operate a line of minibuses on Friday evenings from remote neighborhoods to the city center got the attention of haredi extremists in Mea She'arim. Last Friday, a small group of demonstrators tried to block the passage of nonharedim on Hanevi'im Street in protest against the Shabus and the growing number of events held downtown on Shabbat. While most of the haredi city council members are not officially reacting to the Shabus, such is not the case with the more extreme members of the Eda Haredit, who organized the demonstration. But it seems that the Shabus project has now sparked a similar idea among them, at least according to sources in the Eda. Now that the secular activists have managed to run a private but open to the public means of transportation, their next initiative might be to launch a private line of minibuses with gender segregation on weekdays. As we may recall, the attempt by haredim to impose gender segregation on Egged buses was not permitted by the High Court two years ago. Maximizing the mall The Malha Mall is slated to be better than ever. Extensive renovations of the largest mall in the country will soon enable many more comforts and amenities. There will be more elevators, the lighting will be upgraded, and the entire space will have a sleeker look, including charging stations for cellphones and laptops. There will also be a significant change in the food court, which includes enlarging the space. Most of the work, which should take a few weeks, will be done in such a way that customers will not be inconvenienced. Beit Rachel Straus AKIM-Jerusalem's new Center for Training, Treatment and Leisure – the newly renovated Beit Rachel Straus – was officially inaugurated last week in the presence of Mayor Nir Barkat; Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of the National Insurance Institute and director of Keren Shalem; Riva Muskal, member of the Gdansk City Council; Magda Skiba, director of the Caravan 2000 Federation (which provides services for people with special needs, of which AKIM-Jerusalem is Israel's representative); and the Remont Pomp band (young adults with intellectual disabilities) from Gdansk, Poland. Artist Motke Blum, who teaches art in the center's art workshop every Friday, was also present. Beit Rachel Straus has just undergone a NIS 2.7 million renovation, funded by the Fund for Developing Services for People with Special Needs at the National Insurance Institute, together with various other foundations and individuals. The center is now open for AKIM-Jerusalem's clients with intellectual disabilities and other impairments, as well as other individuals with special needs who live nearby that are looking for purpose-built facilities to have fun, learn new skills or meet other people. Memorial and symbol After decades of neglect, including an almost final decision to shut it down, Ammunition Hill is finally getting the renovations it requires. The site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Six Day War, it has served as the spot where the ceremonies marking the anniversary of the battle for the liberation of the eastern part of the city have taken place for the past 48 years. The battle waged by the IDF paratroopers in the outpost's bunkers and trenches, which made the battlefield so difficult to overtake, still criss-cross the hill. Despite its importance, as it is often regarded as a symbol of the city's reunification, the site has required renovation for the past 30 years. The Memorial Hall inaugurated this year at the annual ceremony marking the reunification of Jerusalem is part of a comprehensive program to address this oversight. The work is expected to be completed in 2017, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the war. Moving in MK Miri Regev, the newly appointed minister of culture and sports, announced that all her ministry offices and extensions will move to Jerusalem within a short time. According to the law (the law on the reunification voted immediately after the 1967 war), all government offices and ministries should be installed in the capital. But the reality is significantly different, as more than 60 percent of them are spread outside Jerusalem. Despite repeated requests from the city council and the mayor, nothing has changed in that regard. In fact, things have gotten even worse, with the Tourism Ministry's decision a few months ago to move some of its branches to the Tel Aviv area. Members of Hitorerut on the city council have repeatedly asked the Prime Minister's Office to change the law, but to no avail. Mayor Nir Barkat congratulated Regev for her decision to move to the city when he addressed the Knesset members at a festive meeting of parliament on Jerusalem Day and reiterated his request to all the other ministers to do the same. In the year 2020 Mayor Nir Barkat's plan for the city for 2020 was approved at the Knesset meeting on Jerusalem Day. The plan to prepare the city to step into a new modern era of growth, development and sustainability, includes an investment of NIS 30 billion for transportation, building international film and TV studios, a fund to promote screenwriters and film directors, an international fertility center (staffed by experts from Shaare Zedek and Hadassah medical centers) and a hi-tech center. The plan is accompanied and developed by local teams headed by Prof. Richard Florida and Prof. Michael Porter, with the support of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. According to the decision by the government, this year some of the points in the plan will be financed and implemented, starting with strengthening the school system. Another aspect of the 2020 plan is to bring in 10 million tourists. Post-event The usual festivities for Jerusalem Day, marking the reunification of the city in the aftermath of the Six Day War, went in some different directions this year. Following the attempt to alter the route of the participants in the flag parade, which was not approved by the High Court, several groups organized alternative events. The parade went through the Muslim Quarter, but rabbis and teachers made sure there would not be any violence, even verbal, towards the Arab residents. At Safra Square, a protest march organized by some left-wing organizations protested against the parade, while members and volunteers of the Tag Meir organization went into the Old City and distributed 1,500 flowers to the Arab residents. At the end of the day, a special event organized by the Jerusalem Season of Culture, the Zion community and the Yeru-Shalem Forum held an evening on the theme of believers of different faiths – Muslims, Jews and Christians. They presented their prayers for the peace of Jerusalem and its residents, with some musical interludes. The large audience seemed quite moved and enjoyed the music performed by Yair Harel, Hadass Pal-Yarden and the Jewish-Arab orchestra Firkat e-Nur that concluded the program. CORRECTION Martin Weyl was the director of the Israel Museum from 1981 to 1996, and not as written in “The reluctant schnorrer” (May 15).
(photo credit: MULI GOLDBERG)