Grapevine: Taking it to the street

Bike lanes are now a priority in Tel Aviv.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Festigalgal bicycle riders 521 (photo credit: Courtesy Festigalgal)
Festigalgal bicycle riders 521
(photo credit: Courtesy Festigalgal)
ARCHITECT Israel Gudovich, former municipal town planner for Tel Aviv, is on the warpath on an almost impossible mission. He wants to give the sidewalk back to the pedestrians. Bicycles, motorbikes, scooters, roller skates and skateboards have no place on the sidewalk, he said in an interview on Israel Radio, noting the difference between the Hebrew words “midracha” (footpath – because you step on it) and “kvish” (road).
With a few exceptions such as Rothschild, Ibn Gvirol and Dizengoff, the sidewalks in Tel Aviv and on most Israeli streets are very narrow.
It’s bad enough for pedestrians to have to cope with baby carriages and shopping trolleys without having to jump out of the way of bikes, motorbikes, scooters and skaters. There are doubtless many pedestrians who agree with Gudovich, but fighting city hall is far from easy, given that Mayor Ron Huldai is an avid cyclist who has been encouraging Tel Avivians to use two wheels instead of four.
VETERAN ACTRESS Hanna Maron, who celebrated her 90th birthday towards the end of last month, may well be in for a Guinness record if she hasn’t already entered The Guinness Book of Records. Maron started out as a child actress, making her first stage appearance at the age of four, and has been performing ever since. Born in Berlin, she appeared on radio, in theater plays and in films until the Nazis came to power.
Fortunately, her mother saw the writing on the wall and in 1933 decided to come to what was then Palestine. Maron quickly became proficient in Hebrew and went on to make a career for herself on stage and screen.
During World War II, she joined the British army and, together with Yossi Yadin, whom she later married and divorced, she entertained the troops, particularly those stationed in Italy. In February 1970 she lost a leg in a terrorist attack on an El Al plane in Munich and thought her career was over, but one of her doctors forced her back into the limelight, and she’s been on stage and television ever since.
NUMEROUS ORGANIZATIONS and institutions dedicated Hanukka candle lighting ceremonies to individuals and events. In Sderot, on the fifth anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, a parallel was drawn between the courage and commitment of the Maccabees to the same qualities in the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.
The ceremony was held at the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva with the participation of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau; General Mickey Edelstein, head of the IDF’s Gaza Division; Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi; Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Eli Ben-Dahan; bereaved families of soldiers who lost their lives in Gaza; and residents of Sderot. Each candle was lit by the parent of a fallen soldier.
TEL AVIV Hilton executive chef Avigdor Brueh has cooked up a storm with some of the world’s leading chefs for food promotions of the cuisine of countries such as France, Italy and Japan. But on December 22, he will be involved in a culinary potpourri when he is joined by Nashim Mevashlot (literally, “women cooking”) at the annual gala of the Friends of Beit Hatfutsot.
Nashim Mevashlot comprises 24 women from all over Israel. Some are veteran immigrants, while others are more recent arrivals, representing different ethnic and national backgrounds. Several of them will join Brueh in presenting their own particular specialties, so the menu will differ to a large extent from previous Hilton menus under the title of Flavors and Sounds, Cooking the Jewish Story.
Festivities for the evening will include a recital by Street Philharmonic, a group that is made up of immigrants and street musicians who have joined forces to create an orchestra that performs music from around the world. Aimed at preserving and promoting culinary and musical traditions brought to Israel by immigrants from countries with vastly different cultures, the event will be hosted by Friends chairman Gideon Hamburger and Friends director Irit Admoni Perlman.