FRIDAY AUGUST 13: The painter Ben Simon opens a new exhibition titled “Alone” at Agrippas 12 at 1 p.m. today.
“Painting is an alone endeavor,” Simon wrote about his exhibition, “one on one, face to face.” A native of Long Island, Simon is a permanent member at the gallery and was awarded the Ish Shalom Prize for Jerusalem Painters in 2005. His works can be seen on his site: www.bsimonbsimon.com
Agrippas 12, located in the same-named street, is open from Monday to Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
SATURDAY AUGUST 14: Lauded Czech actor Ivan Trojan, hailed as one of the best Czech actors to have ever graced the stage, will be present for the opening film of “Czech That 2021,” a week focused on Czech films at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. The week will begin with a screening of the 2020 film Charlatan, where he plays the lead. Based on the life of healer Jan Mikolasek and directed by Agnieszka Holland, the movie depicts Mikolasek as a man with a special gift to heal people using herbs and natural remedies.
Other films include Anton Dvorak (Tuesday August 17 at 6 p.m.), which focuses on the famous composer and Droneman (Wednesday at 8:30) about a drone rental business that takes a wrong turn. Director Peter Zelenka will be present during that screening.
Charlatan will be screened at 9 p.m. with English subtitles; Anton Dvorak and Dronemen only have Hebrew subtitles.
NIS 40 per ticket. Location: 11 Hebron Rd, Phone (02) 565-4333. More Czech movies will be screened during the week, for details: jer-cin.org.il/en
SUNDAY AUGUST 15: Theater shows for children at the cost of NIS 10 per child (adults enter for free) are on offer at the Islamic Art Museum daily at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. until August 26 (Thursday). Today The Opera of the Little Mermaid is on offer. The plot weaves together the basic concept of the well-known tale about the mermaid who exchanges her voice for a pair of legs and introduces children to the magical world of the opera. Tomorrow (Monday August 16) a theater performance devoted to the works for children penned by Ayin Hillel will be on offer. A delightful homage to a great and well-loved Israeli writer for children. Works written for the young by Meir Shalev and David Grossman, as well as other classics for children like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Jewish legends will be staged as well.
The Museum for Islamic Art is at 2 Hapalmach St., (02) 566-1291, www.islamicart.co.il/english. Please note that one does not need to purchase a museum ticket to enjoy the theater shows.
MONDAY AUGUST 16: English-led yoga classes are offered until the end of August each Monday between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Gan Mechwar (Mechwar Park) at the Katamonim.
For more info call (02) 623-3773.
TUESDAY AUGUST 17: “What was Herzl’s Favorite Emoji?” is a special guided tour at Israel Museum that covers over 2,000 years of Jewish history until now with a focus on Jewish symbols. The two-hour long experience begins with Rome and ends with modern Israel. Let Nachliel Selavan “The Museum Guy” take you on a brief journey inside the cool space of the national museum.
“What was Herzl’s Favorite Emoji?” is limited to 40 participants. Tickets are NIS 50 and are in addition to buying a ticket to enter the museum (children enter the museum for free on Tuesday). Call 054-452-0209 or email nachliel@museumtours.co.il.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 18: Yoga Synagogue-Ah! and the Bible Lands Museum invite the public to learn more about its new exhibition “Early Birds: Soaring with the Ancients.” The two-hour long evening activity includes a discussion about the exhibition with curator Oree Meiri and is followed by yoga practice and tea. The various yoga postures have a deep relationship to the natural world, which can be seen in Bakasana (crane), Kakasana (crow), Garudasana (eagle), Kapotasana (Pigeon) and so on.
Yoga Skyline will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the museum’s garden.
The cost is NIS 65 per person and NIS 55 for student/ senior citizen/ friend of the museum. For details call (02) 561-1066 or email contact@blmj.org. The museum is located at 21 Shmuel Stefan Wise St.
RUTH NORMAN worked for a year painting elements from a Persian rug she discovered at a friend’s house. Curated by Meydad Eliyahu, the “Themes” exhibition now at Beit HaAmanim includes 48 paintings that fuse together the rich visual language of Farsi culture and the personal biography of the artist.
Beit HaAmanim (Artists’ House) at 12 Shmuel HaNagid St. is open Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Friday and Sunday, the gallery is closed. Entrance is free. Phone (02) 625-3653. The exhibition will be shown until October 2. It is suggested to visit the artists’ site to get a better idea of the works before arriving: www.ruth-norman.com/
THURSDAY AUGUST 19: Did you ever want to be a nature detective? The Nili and David Jerusalem Bird Observatory invites you to use a magnifying glass to see the clues animals leave behind them in nature. This is a morning activity (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.) suitable for children above the age of five.
Tickets are NIS 25. Call (02) 653-7374 or email reg.jbo@gmail.com for more details. The location is near the Knesset on Rothschild St. Site: www.birds.org.il/en Note that they also offer special courses for teenagers who wish to learn more about bird-watching.
Throwing a good party? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Why not drop me a line at hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let “In Jerusalem” know about it? Send emails with “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. While all information is welcome, receiving such notifications is not a guarantee they will be featured in the column.