Water, Water
After droughts and continuous dry weather since 2005, there is a serious water crisis in Israel.
The Water Authority was created in 2007 to efficiently manage issues of water under one roof. In the beginning of December employees went on strike to protest their increased work load caused by restructuring. We missed the daily reports on the water level of the Kinneret, as there were no measurements taken during their two month strike. Now they have finally gone back to work.
A Canadian delegation from the Province of Manitoba was in Jerusalem in January to collaborate with Israel on issues of water conservation and water reuse.
Despite several heavy rainfalls, the Jerusalem area has less than its annual average rainfall to date. We need water. Last week instead off the predicted snow, Jerusalem got rain, and this week that is still what everyone is talking about: oh, did it rain and rain. While everyone wants it to rain, no one wants to have to go out when it does rain.
One wet season is not enough. Mekorot, the national water company, has tried to catch the run-off from flooding after the heavy rains. Rainwater collection reservoirs were filled in January. Israel is one the world’s leading consumers of recycled water, but we could do better.
After it rains, puddles of water can be found, up on the roof tops and down on the ground.
February 7, 2010
These workers hosing down a driveway on King George Street sent too much excess water onto the road.
February 7, 2010
Meah Shearim Street was wet from water running down from the Geulah neighborhood.
February 8, 2010
Emek Refaim Street was wet; puddles from wasted water were obvious on a dry day.
New water pipes should not leak,
but what a mess while the work
is in progress.
Under the new development plans for the Rechavia neighborhood, no new private or public swimming pools will be allowed.
Desalination of water and rainwater harvesting for use in washing machines, toilets and gardens are all important steps that are being developed.
One factor in recent lowering of water consumption could be the massive price increases.
There are many important issues involving water and its conservation. Thanks to those with imagination, drip irrigation and perhaps a “green thumb” who bring beautiful color to the Jerusalem streets.
Not Quite a Blizzard
News broadcasts most of the week were predicting snow in Jerusalem this morning. Salt trucks were ready, extra milk was in the house, children had planned their day off from school, the temperature dropped, it rained most of the night and then this morning…
there was some hail
and for a few minutes it looked like it might be snowing…
but the skies cleared again.
It is cold, and every few minutes the weather changes, but so far no blizzard and no new snow photos.
A Time to Plant
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, members of his cabinet, and their large entourage have arrived in Jerusalem for talks; serious issues are to be discussed such as Italy’s aid to the Iranian satellite program.
Those most affected by the visit are the other guests and the staff of the King David Hotel,
and the cars stuck in traffic while the official motorcade is allowed to pass. So are the the people who live along the travel routes, who have to put up with the incessant honking from impatient drivers.
Ceremonial welcomes and state dinners have little to do with the real Jerusalem streets, but Prime Minister Berlusconi joined the masses by planting a tree in a JNF forest.
Tu Bishvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month Shvat, which fell this year on January 30, has become a traditional time for school children across the country to plant trees in celebration of the “New Year of Trees”.
The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens has begun planting, after a mild winter and some recent rain, the gardens are beginning to come to life.
Colors are starting to appear not only in the Botanical Gardens,
but also in traffic circles
and nature strips around the city.
Not all the trees are budding, however.
The orchards at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel are prepared, but barren. 
Agriculture in Jerusalem is mostly a thing of the past, but Kibbutz Ramat Rachel still has some fields in use.
Much of their land was sold to developers,
new roads and walkways in the area have recently been landscaped.
Also, many homes have beautiful plantings.
As the sign says, Tu Bishvat in Jerusalem 2010,
January 26-February 3
Something good is happening in Jerusalem!
Israeli Soldiers
The Israeli military units sent to Haiti were fast and effective, saved hundreds of lives and have started returning home.
In Jerusalem, you usually see soldiers carrying a gun, but not always…
Both young men and women in uniform are regularly seen on the streets of Jerusalem
shopping or schlepping back to their base on Sunday morning after a Shabat at home.
On duty and off, some have parents
who live on the other side of the world.
Not all action is life-threatening or serious. This week visitors from Nigeria and the Far East ‘attacked’ a group of young people in uniform going towards the Old City at Jaffa Gate…with cameras!
.
Wonder if the Goldstone Report made headlines there?
Wish I had a video, perfect flash mob-a huge crowd one minute, everyone lined up and then they were gone!
Quite a sight for these kids.
In Memory – Martin Luther King Jr
The United States just celebrated a federal holiday in memory of Martin Luther King Junior. In Jerusalem a street has beem named for him.
Not a long street,
but a new one in one of the best neighborhoods, off of Emek Refaim near the Liberty Bell Park.
A few meters away is this sign.
It is in memory of the eight people who were killed there in a bus terrorist attack in February 2004.
How Safe are We?
Built between the hills of Judea, it seems that no part of Jerusalem is flat.
Israel sits on top of the Dead Sea Rift, a serious fault line. In 1995, a 7.1 offshore earthquake occurred south of Eliat. The most serious threat is to the northern part of the country, but after the tragic results of the serious earthquake in Haiti one has to wonder; how safe are we? What about those houses on the hilltops?
Certainly with stricter codes the new construction should be safer.
Many older building are supported by pillars.
The addition of elevators
to apartment buildings,
not only increases their value
and accessablity,
but also strengthens
the structure making them
much safer.
Started and abandoned construction sites can not be very safe.
This week a favorite structure came down on Aza Street.
The rain finally came down, with
plenty of thunder and occasional hail,
and the entire city seemed
to disappear in the fog.
Glorious Food
Thursday afternoon,
the smells,
the colors,
the variety,
the flavors,
the people,
always an experience.
Children Beware
A couple of extreme cases of child abuse have exposed a glaring gap in communication between social service agencies and police. Only specially trained investigators are legally allowed to question minors in criminal cases, but there are not enough youth crime investigators, so sex offenders are often not prosecuted or monitored properly.
However, small children take public buses home from school, others use hasaot, private vans to transport them to schools not in walking distance..
Young children in Jerusalem have much more freedom of movement than children of the same age in many major cities outside of Israel; many walk home from school alone.
Schools and ganim, nursery schools, all have security.
Crossing the street can be very dangerous. A new safety campaign was displayed on city buses when the school year began, encouraging safe crossing.
With the onset of summer-like weather this week, the parks, outdoor malls and streets of Jerusalem were full of children of all ages.
Perfect weather for hundreds of children from all over Jerusalem who participated in school races in Gan Sacher.
A suspicious package was blown up in Gan Ha’atzmaut, Independence Park, on Sunday afternoon just as children were getting out of school. The park was cleared, everyone stopped for a few minutes, there was an explosion and then movement resumed.
Bars on the window do little to keep thieves out, but do a good job of keeping children in… and flowers.
Dangers are all around, yes…
but as this sign warns 
Slow
Beware!
Children on the road.
The vast majority
are thriving.
One Picture Worth a Thousand Words
The tenants of Hutzot Hayotzer,
the artists colony
located near Jaffa Gate,
were nearly evicted this week,
at the last minute
they got a one year
extension on their leases.
This is how the street
looked one beautiful
afternoon early in November.
One picture worth a thousand words?
The following photos
speak for themselves.
What you see is not always what is real… these boys are playing ball on a quiet street after school?
No, they were really in traffic dodging cars as they played.
Slum dwellings?
No,
in Jerusalem
these are
$1,ooo,ooo plus
properties… 
A few highlights and lowlights of the week…
A new tent protesting the building freeze was erected near the Prime Minister’s residence.
The only olympic size pool in Jerusalem closed for repairs, its fate uncertain.
There were more protest demonstrations against separate seating of men and women on regular bus lines.
New year celebrations were not wide spread,
this one had to move locations at the last minute.
With the high cost of housing, parties to pay the rent
seem to been gaining in popularity.
More than 600 family and friends
came to the Gerard Behar Centre
to celebrate the 75th birthday of Benyamin Glickman.
Born in Jerusalem, lover of music and retired chazan,
cantor, he conducted two choirs to celebrate his
milestone birthday.
The buses of Taglit Birthright were zig-zagging the streets.
For some the biggest excitement…finally there is a kosher McDonalds in Jerusalem, one opened in the central bus station. Perhaps the government ministers upset by the new low-fat options served at their meetings can get a burger and fries?
‘Twas the Week Before and More
As in the past the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jewish National Fund distributed free trees to those residents celebrating Christmas. The advertised times were 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Jaffa Gate Square, but by 10:30 am this was the scene.
There seemed to be more photographers than trees or customers…certainly more beigelach.
Santa got his tree and media attention, but
no snow for him or anyone else.
In the nearby Liberty Bell Park families were out in the sunshine all day.
The YMCA, located across the street from the King David Hotel,
had a very modestly decorated tree and carol service.
Thousands of visitors, some going to Bethlehem,
a few minutes drive away,
were in Jerusalem for the holiday season.
Thousands of people came to celebrate Bar Mitzvahs at the Kotel, boys from all over Israel and as far away as Australia and the United States.
Most of Monday the celerations kept coming…
But to get to these celebrations everyone had to endure progress.
Work has begun on the infrastructure and development project at Jaffa Gate Plaza. It is to include streamlining of pedestrian traffic alongside vehicular traffic, installation of street furniture, and refurbishing of street lighting.
For the next year and a half, 24 hours a day…
drivers beware.
Everyone beware!
A quiet November afternoon and now
This week also marks one year since Operation Cast Lead,
242 missiles landed in the Sderot area in 2009
down from more than 3,200 rockets and mortars in 2008.
