FORECASTS ON the exodus of secular Jews from Jerusalem due to violent haredi demonstrations against entertainment venues operating on Shabbat may be totally inaccurate if the heavy stream of traffic seen during Rosh Hashanah is an indicator. In the Rehavia-Talbiyeh area alone on Friday night, the cars speeding along Ramban and Aza roads were in excess of a regular weeknight.
■ ATTENDANCE AT Rosh Hashanah services at the Great Synagogue was appreciably higher than in the previous year, but the large number of empty seats signified that the tourist industry is still far from recovery.
Cantors Tzvi Weiss and Nissim Saal, together with the Great Synagogue choir, conducted by Eli Jaffe, led the services, with tunes by Shlomo Carlebach and Leonard Cohen, and sermons were by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber, former chief rabbi David Lau, and Grand Rabbi of Zvhil-Mezhbizh and Boston City Chaplain Yitzhak Aharon Korff. It will be interesting to see if attendance will be greater on Yom Kippur.
In pre-COVID and Oct. 7 years, the synagogue was so full on Yom Kippur that congregants without seats lined the women’s staircases and the men’s aisles. The shofar blower at the service this year was superb, blowing loud, clear, and without hesitation. Following the service, many of the congregants gathered at the fountain in nearby France Square for the symbolic tashlich prayer.
Change is in the air
■ CHANGE IS in the air, and if Deputy Mayor Aryeh King has his way, Jerusalem will no longer have a King George Avenue. Angered by the decision of the British government to ban the import of goods produced in Jewish settlements, King has called for a name change to King George Avenue. This follows an order by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to close down the British consulate in Jerusalem.
Nearly all foreign consulates in Jerusalem are accredited to the Palestinian Authority, not to Israel. Their location, mostly in West Jerusalem, is a diplomatic courtesy on Israel’s part. If King George Avenue becomes Independence Avenue, or is given some other patriotic name, it will not be the first time that a street name was changed in Israel in response to an anti-Israel decision. In 1975, Haifa renamed United Nations Avenue to Zionism Boulevard in reaction to the decision by the UN General Assembly to equate Zionism with racism.
Light rail infrastructure construction still plagues central Jerusalem
■ A YEAR has passed since construction began on massive light rail infrastructure. Anyone who thinks the nightmare will be over once the light rail begins running on King George Avenue (or whatever it may be called in the future) is mistaken. The Jerusalem District Planning Committee has given the green light to the partial demolition of a mixed-purpose compound on the corner of Hillel and King George.
The project will comprise three towers, each of which will have 40-plus floors, containing 950 residential units, of which 200 will be rental apartments. Some of the apartments will be renovated, and historic buildings within the compound will be transformed into hotels. Also planned are student dorms, a sports center, commercial outlets, and offices. It should be noted that there were more than 200 protests against this development, which will change the inner-city skyline and close out the views, but all protests were ignored, as has been the case with most other projects.
■ A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND senior citizen contends that light rail planning did not take into account the difficulties incurred during peak hours. If there were more interconnections and increased frequency, he says, it would double efficiency and decrease overcrowding. It would also be a boon to people like him, who are confined to wheelchairs. He has often missed a train because the tram has been so overcrowded that there was no room.
■ MEDICAL STAFF or family of staff at most hospitals have been among the casualties in Israel’s wars. Plaques, portraits, and eternal candles honor their memories. At Shaare Zedek Medical Center, there were 19 such casualties – medical professionals, spouses, siblings, and sons – who fell in the Swords of Iron war. At the initiative of Shaare Zedek’s Rabbi Yosef Sprung, a Torah Scroll was dedicated by families of 19 of the soldiers who were killed in the war, all of them represented by Shaare Zedek employees.
One by one, representatives from each family mounted the stage to join the scribe in writing one of the final letters in the scroll. Some of the representatives also spoke at the dedication ceremony. Afterwards, there was music and dancing, which is part of the joy expressed in completing the writing and dedication of a Torah scroll. But there were also tears of grief and longing.
“The cost of war has affected every family in Israel as well as the family of Shaare Zedek,” said Shaare Zedek director-general Prof. Ofer Merin. At a difficult time of bereavement, the close kin of the fallen continued to courageously show up to provide life-saving treatment to the sick and the wounded, said Merin.
Finding a job or a business in which to invest
■ A CARDINAL concern of new immigrants is finding a job or a business in which to invest. To ease the process, AACI, the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, hosts annual business conferences. David London, the CEO of AACI, advises that the 5th AACI-Nefesh B’Nefesh Business Conference will be held on Monday, October 26, at the Nefesh B’Nefesh Campus in Cinema City. Keynote speakers will be broadcast journalist and community organizer Shanna Fuld and Middle East affairs expert and researcher with the National Institute for Security Studies Beni Sabti. The all-day event will include panel discussions, information booths, networking, and refreshments. There will also be raffles and entertainment.
AACI is this year celebrating its 75th anniversary as a social, cultural, and mentoring bridge for new immigrants from North America, who are becoming part of Israel’s demographic landscape.
greerfc@gmail.com