Grapevine: Kudos and complaints

It's not often the Jerusalem Municipality receives praise these days, but it certainly deserves kudos for its official WhatsApp for English speakers. To register: (02) 313-2666.

The way it works: Those registered receive a call from (02) 313-2777 prior to a siren, giving them sufficient time to reach a safe place. Once safe to leave the protected area, (02) 313-2888 calls. (Note, this is a municipal service only and doesn’t replace instructions from official sources.)

The other thing for which the municipality deserves praise is for increasing the frequency of light rail transportation. This week, while in town, I walked three-quarters of the distance to the nearest light rail stop, which was not far at all. En route, I passed three trains going in the opposite direction and two going in the same direction as I was. That’s pretty good service.

Now for the criticism. Mayor Moshe Lion is surely aware that the Home Front Command is issuing warnings several times a day, and how important it is for safety factors to be observed. So why has he not imposed a fine on companies employing construction workers?

In Israel’s center, construction workers were killed and wounded this week. In Jerusalem, construction workers were busy making progress on the light rail and, in doing so, removed some of the protective fencing and destroyed sections of the sidewalk. No advance notice is given (other than in Katamon).

On King George Street, for instance, a path that was straight one day became angular the following day, creating a detour – and making it difficult to give accurate directions to someone looking for the street. Knowing how to get there under pre-light rail circumstances is one thing, but now some places are simply not accessible from the main road.

Another critique: Safety of the fencing around light rail construction sites; in some places, some fencing has been removed, making the total area unsafe. Pedestrians are in danger of tripping on uneven surfaces or falling into deep pits that have been excavated. In some places, part of the sidewalk has been destroyed, forcing pedestrians who need to cross the road to a bus stop to put their lives at risk. It must be a total nightmare for mothers with infants in baby carriages.

The above pales into insignificance when compared to what happened to Indian caregiver Hetal Vanraj, who was running an errand for her employer when she received a siren alert. She tried to enter a shelter, but the occupants refused to let her in. What a despicable display. Yet, another time when she was out, someone not only gave her shelter but also telephoned her employer to assure her that the caregiver was with her and unscathed. It takes all kinds to make a world.

In the spirit of “every cloud has a silver lining,” walking through downtown and the shuk is a much more pleasant experience these days, given the lack of crowds. One can window shop in peace, and in the market, it’s easy to stroll through at one’s leisure without being jostled by the crowd. Even people who have lived in Jerusalem for decades can find streets and buildings that they have never noticed before.

Although many shops remained closed or were open for only half a day this week, coffee shops were open, and most were patronized, albeit by only a few people at a time. Some proprietors took the opportunity to renovate their premises, and with bare walls and a rear exit, it was quite an eye-opener to see how large these stores are, often extending into the next parallel street.

However, it isn’t always easy to pay for utilities under the current circumstances. We are often reminded to read the small print – but few of us do. Then again, those who do can testify that not all the information contained in the small print is accurate.

For instance, the Gihon Water Company has printed on its bills, “Payable at any bank.” Not so.

I’m a cash-and-carry person. With rare exceptions, I never spend more than the cash in my purse. For me, that’s the best way to keep track of finances and to avoid the overspending that often goes hand in glove with credit cards. It’s also safer in an AI environment.

I went to two banks to pay my bill, but the computerized devices in both were incompatible with the code on the bill, and I was advised to go to the post office. The trouble is that suburban post offices are closing down, and the two closest to my apartment have been closed for a long time.

For more than a year now, I have been going to Jaffa Road’s Central Post Office. Experience has taught me that the best time to go there was between 8 and 8:30 a.m. So on the day following the bank experience, I set out at an early hour, only to discover that the post office was closed. This was not the first time this had happened. When I complained that, according to the website, it was open, the response was that they were having a lot of trouble with the website!

One of Jerusalem’s favorite rags-to-riches stories is that of Rami Levy, who this year is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his chain of discount supermarkets, which started in 1976 in a small store in Mahaneh Yehuda market, close to where he grew up in abject poverty. He, his parents, and five siblings lived in a one-room shack in Nahlaot, where they shared the bathroom and the kitchen.

Over the years, with the help of his family, Levy’s business flourished to become one of the largest supermarket chains in the country. Recent surveys in the business pages of the Hebrew press indicate that his prices are still the most affordable, with a 33% difference between his prices and the highest of his competitors on shopping trolleys full of identical products.

Over the years, Levy has diversified. His business interests include clothing, communications, travel, tourism, and property development, and now he also wants to get into banking.