Jerusalem highlights: November 21-27

Enjoy contemporary dance performances as part of the Fluorescent Festival, created by the Vertigo Dance Company. Patrons can enjoy five short performances: Place Me; Hefker Petrushke; Things One Hears in Silence; Lead Water; and On the Sands.

“Hefker petrushke” is a Yiddish slang term for things that are done without any planning, as if they are worth nothing more than a hill of beans.

1 p.m. Vertigo Studio. 11 Bezalel St. NIS 50 per ticket. Call (02) 624-4176 to book.

The story is about two brothers who, due to misunderstandings, decide to erect a massive wall between them. This is not a theatrical performance but a reading on stage, followed by a tour of the museum in the spirit of the work.

Two readings will be held, at 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. 21 Shmuel Stefan Wise St. NIS 25 per ticket. Call (02) 561-1066 to book. Hebrew only.

Enjoy the unique voice of Violet Salameh as she joins the Firqat Alnoor Orchestra under conductor Ariel Cohen and performs the great Arabic songs of Umm Kulthum. The songs include “Ghannili Shway Shway” (Sing for me a little, a little) and “Baeed Anak” (Away from You). Salameh performed at the Cairo Opera House; this is a chance to hear her in Jerusalem.

8 p.m. Gerard Behar Center. 11 Bezalel St. NIS 129 per ticket. Call 1-700-70-4000 to book.

Enjoy delicious Ethiopian food at Haset, a new kosher eatery in the Mahaneh Yehuda market now entering its fourth month. Thanks to Kashrut Tzohar, this is a unique spot that enables patrons who are observant to enjoy wat (meat stew) on their injera (flat bread made from teff) and finish with a cup of strong Ethiopian coffee brewed from freshly roasted beans.

6 Hadekel St. Call 053-306-2134 for more information. Regular working hours.

7:30 p.m. NIS 35. Cinema by Sam Spiegel, 3 Menora St. Visit cinema.jsfs.co.il to book.

Readers who speak Russian or have Russian-speaking friends might want to pop over to Babel bookstore and listen to a lecture about the Dutch Provo movement. The 1960s counter-culture group was largely responsible for changing the image of Amsterdam. If Jacques Brel sang about sailors in the port of Amsterdam who “show you their teeth that have chewed up a fortune,” the Provo won a seat on the city council and turned the city into a white urban bicycle paradise. In addition to a wide range of books in Russian (and Yiddish), the bookstore has some lovely volumes of Hebrew poetry in Russian translation.

7:30 p.m. 31 King George St. Call 054-206-7957 to book. Russian only.

7 p.m. coffee and socializing. 7:30 p.m. lecture. 14 Hovevei Zion St. Blondheim Hall. To learn more and register: shifrapai@yahoo.com

Much like Ya’akov Cahan, the poet who wrote the anthem of the strongmen in response to the 1903 Kishinev pogrom with its powerful messages of “With blood and fire Judea had fallen/ with blood and fire Judea shall rise again, rise again,” Avniel was committed to the ideology, though not being much of a strongman himself.

His great contribution to Jewish revival in Israel was in his portrait paintings, views of Jerusalem, and the Sea of Galilee.

“Almost all the Eretz Israeli artists have depicted Jerusalem,” notes Epstein, “but Avniel did it in his own unique way.”

Castel Museum of Art, 1 Kikar Hamuseon in Ma’aleh Adumim. Opening Hours: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday: 12-8 p.m. NIS 36 per ticket. Private tours in English are offered upon request; to book, call (02) 535-7000.