Notwithstanding the paucity of tourists in Jerusalem, international hotelier David Fattal keeps expanding his chain of hotels and now owns and/or manages 313 hotels – with 66 in Israel, 20 under construction.
A new addition is the Nucha Hotel on Ben-Sira Street, part of the Fattal Colors collection of upbeat contemporary hotels. An 86-room boutique hotel with a kosher restaurant and rooftop bar offering a panoramic views, Nucha also has a fully equipped gym, beauty treatments, and organized city tours.
The hotel’s Zahara restaurant is an offshoot of Jerusalem’s highly popular Angelica. Chef Roi Ahdut, who has earned an international reputation, plans to offer a Mediterranean menu – albeit with everything ordered arriving on a giant platter, in accordance with the sharing system common in Asia and Greece. Everyone at the table can get a generous taste of everything on the platter. And it encourages conversation as diners wax enthusiastic over some items and express distaste for others.
Mental health awareness event
■ THERE IS no age limit when it comes to good deeds. Maor Wolf and his best friend, Benny Spierer, founded the mental health awareness organization Just Smile in their early teens.
September 10 is designated World Suicide Prevention Day. Maor, at 14, was familiar with suicide; his sister Ronit had taken her own life. When a young person takes such a drastic step, his or her nearest and dearest keep asking themselves why they hadn’t seen the signs that something was amiss. While sitting shiva for his sister, Maor started thinking about what could be done to recognize the signs and to prevent further suicides – especially of those barely out of their teens. Together with Spierer and with the support of his grandfather Marcel Hess, he launched the Just Smile initiative. Hess continues to be involved.
On September 10, the Just Smile organization is hosting a mental health awareness event at the Jerusalem Theatre, with the participation of a social worker and a psychologist, both volunteers.
Book launch at Pardes
■ ON THE same date, a book launching will be held at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies to celebrate the publication of Planting Seeds of the Divine by Pardes faculty member Yiscah Smith. The event, which begins at 7 p.m., will feature the author in conversation with Pardes president Rabbi Leon Morris, who is the first of its alumni to head the institution.
What's happening to Talbiyeh?
■ MEMO TO Mayor Moshe Lion: Is the Jerusalem Municipality deliberately downgrading Talbiyeh in order to be able to tear down stately two- and three-story residences to make way for high-rise buildings?
The cracks and potholes in the roads and sidewalks have become larger and deeper, and many of the sidewalks are not properly paved. To add insult to injury, municipal street cleaners seem to be ignoring the filth and neglect near the Prime Minister’s Residence, as well as on Balfour Street and its extension, Marcus Street. The historic residential and institutional buildings in Talbiyeh make it an upscale neighborhood, but the roads and sidewalks are like those in slums.
Another negative issue that affects Jerusalem is failure to implement legislation. According to law, it is not permitted to ride electric bikes, scooters, or motorcycles on the sidewalk, but neither the police nor the municipality enforces this law.
Nor does anyone stop irresponsible jaywalking parents looking at their phones while wheeling a baby carriage as they cross the street on a red light. This also applies to senior citizens who are mobility challenged. It happens with such frequency that it’s like watching a nonstop game of Russian roulette.
Miracle in Jerusalem
■ FOR SOME people, Israel is indeed the land of miracles. A case in point is a 24-year-old woman named Ruhama who gave birth to a healthy boy last month. The physician who delivered the baby was Prof. Simcha Yagel, head of the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hadassah-University Medical Center. Twenty-four years previously, he delivered the baby’s mother – but hers was not a straightforward birth.
Ruhama’s parents, Esther and David Roth, had been married for 21 years and were childless. They had undergone fertility treatments, but nothing worked. They were in their early 40s when David told his wife that if they wanted to be parents, their only option was to adopt. Esther begged for one more chance to try to get pregnant, and if that failed she would agree to an adoption. Miraculously, she conceived, but it was not an easy pregnancy. In her 24th week she was in danger of suffering a miscarriage and possibly even losing her life.
She was rushed to Hadassah Medical Center, where Yagel told her that it was too early to perform surgery to ensure the baby’s birth. Esther was hospitalized immediately and remained under constant observation for several weeks.
When Yagel at last decided to deliver Esther’s baby by cesarean section, the infant emerged into the world weighing only 495 grams. She was placed in an incubator, and Yagel visited her every day – in fact, several times a day – to check on her progress. He treated this tiny baby as though she were a member of his own family.
As tiny and fragile as she was, Yagel was sure that Ruhama would survive. Ruhama’s parents could only hope and pray. Neither Yagel’s confidence nor the Roths’ prayers were misplaced. Ruhama thrived and developed nicely.
Throughout the years, Yagel maintained close contact with the Roth family, and was an honored guest at Ruhama’s wedding.
When Ruhama herself was pregnant, she could think of no one other than Yagel to deliver her baby. He did so with great joy, and was thrilled when there were no complications at all.
Sometimes people ask, what’s in a name? In Ruhama’s case, it was obvious. Her name refers to God’s mercy. But in Yagel’s name, it is equally obvious. Simcha means “joy.” Every time he delivers a baby or saves a high-risk pregnancy from miscarriage or abortion, he brings joy to sometimes as many as three and even four generations. What more appropriate name could there be for someone like that than Simcha?
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