Never walk alone The maternity ward at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem offers a new service for women experiencing aspects of postnatal depression. The initial level, group therapy, is followed by individual attention if necessary. When required, women are referred to the medical center's mental health clinic. The idea is to offer a wide range of treatments to address cases of depression following birth in the hope of preventing more serious cases that might go undetected or untreated. Treasures in the city The National Library of Israel has acquired the finest private collection of Hebrew books and manuscripts in the world – the renowned Valmadonna Trust Library – through a private sale arranged by Sotheby's. The acquisition, made jointly with Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn, noted collectors of archeology, books and Judaica, will be housed in the new facilities (due to open to the public in 2020) of the National Library of Israel, which is tasked with collecting and preserving the cultural treasures of the State of Israel and the international Jewish community, and creating unprecedented public access to its priceless collections. Assembled over a period of more than six decades by visionary collector Jack Lunzer, the Valmadonna Trust Library comprises a wide-ranging group of more than 10,000 works that track the history of Hebrew printing and the global dissemination of Jewish culture over the centuries. Among the highlights of the collection are an incunabulum of the Pentateuch, printed in Lisbon in 1491; one of only two surviving copies of a Passover Haggada printed in Prague in 1556; the Plantin Polyglot or “King's Bible,” printed in Antwerp between 1568 and 1573; and more than 550 broadsheets dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries. The printed works in the collection are in superb condition and the acquisition has enabled the National Library to gain in one stroke what would have taken decades to collect. The acquisition has been made possible by a generous gift from the Haim and Hana Solomon Fund. Hue and cry at Barbur Following the protest of Shay Glick, an activist requesting that the municipality freeze the budget to the Barbur Gallery due to its political activities, the municipality has announced that until further clarifications, the budget is indeed frozen. According to a city spokesman, this municipal gallery, because of its public status, is not allowed to host political meetings or talks or to screen films on political issues. This matter between Safra Square and the Barbur administration has been on a low burner for a while now – so far without either side relenting – and last week the municipality halted funding to the gallery until the directors agree to stop all political activities and adhere to the original purpose of the venue… therapeutic gardening and cultural activities for the elderly residents of the neighborhood. With or without connection to that decision, the gallery earlier this week (on January 23) hosted advocate Yossi Havilio, former legal adviser of the municipality who is currently one of the toughest critics of Mayor Nir Barkat, for a talk on the duties of a legal adviser in a public institution. Our woman at the Knesset Former city councilwoman MK Rachel Azaria has been appointed by her Kulanu Party as chairwoman of the reforms committee of the list at the Knesset. In this capacity, Azaria will promote and monitor activities, decisions and bill proposals aimed at improving the socio-economic level. The reforms included in the committee's agenda address issues in a range of fields – from banking to renewal projects in large cities – especially Jerusalem. Azaria is a member of the Finance and the Foreign and Defense committees at the Knesset. Home sweet home At the local planning and construction committee, there is no question that the new president of the US is reason for celebration. This week's committee resolutions include approval of 671 previously frozen housing units. The approved construction is scattered across the city – 324 units in Ramot, 174 in Ramat Shlomo, 68 in Pisgat Ze'ev, 49 in Beit Hanina, 14 in Wadi Joz, 24 in Umm Lisan and Umm Tuba, seven in Jebl Mukaber, four in Beit Safafa, three in Sur Bahir and four in E-Tur. Mayor Nir Barkat said that after eight years of an almost total freeze on construction beyond the Green Line, now is the time to compensate and develop the city for its young generation. Chairman of the committee Deputy Mayor Meir Turgeman – the head of the panel who declared there is no need to keep a hostile neighborhood like Jebl Mukaber in the city of Jerusalem following the recent terrorist attack perpetrated by one of its residents – has nevertheless endorsed construction plans there also. Not in my front yard The pyramid tower planned by architect Daniel Libeskind to dominate Agrippas Street near King George Avenue has been canceled. Following tough opposition by the Architects Association, the local committee for planning and constructing decided on January 19 not to approve the project that raised so many objections. The entrepreneurs, representing a French businessman who does not live in the country most of the year, at first considered returning to the original plan – a 28-story twisted tower that was approved in 2012 by the committee. In the end, however, they decided to cancel the project completely and move on to a new project with a different architect and present that to the committee in the future. So Frenchie Some 2,000 immigrants from France have made their way to Jerusalem in the last two years, according to municipality figures. Most of the new immigrants are young families, with a relatively high number of children and are mostly professionals in the medical field or in business. In most cases, their absorption in the city has been successful, but there are still also problems, as one would expect in any group of immigrants. The non-profit association Dialogia founded by veteran olim from France (originally from North Africa, more specifically from Algeria) recently conducted a survey on these newcomers and their problems. Among other things, the poll, conducted by the Rushinek Institute on November 23 and 24, investigated the image that Israelis have of the newcomers from France. One of the findings of the survey is that most veteran Israelis do not yet view the French olim as part of Israeli society. Asked the first thing that comes to mind when French olim are mentioned, 22% of respondents answered “barbarians, noisy”; 22% said “the French language”; 21% answered “Netanya”; 20% said that French Jews came only because of antisemitism, and 18% said that the French immigrants are wealthy. Only 16% of respondents believe that French Jews made aliya out of Zionism. New technology There is a new approach to the problem of parking offenses in the city, particularly near malls. Forget the inspectors hanging around waiting to slap fines on drivers who carelessly park. Following a three-month pilot period on Pierre Koenig Street in Talpiot near the Hadar Mall, the new system is being implemented in additional locations in the city. Bar-Ilan Street, Beit Hakerem and other areas will be in the framework of mobile and/or permanent cameras that take videos of problem parking and send them to the municipality for follow-up. No more arguing with inspectors about why a car is parked in a forbidden place – videos and photos taken by ultra-sophisticated cameras will tell the whole true story. Despite the technology, there is still a human being involved who will take into consideration extenuating circumstances, such as parking just for a moment to enable a handicapped person to get out of the car. The system will be merciful and refrain from imposing unreasonable fines. This new technology is part of a larger vision promoted by the municipality to adopt 21st-century smart technology in the city as much as possible. Opposing the Blue Line Following the residents' meeting held last week on the ways to conduct the opposition to the Emek Refaim segment of the light rail's Blue Line, nearly 200 opposition forms have already been filled in by residents. The group organized against this part of the project is planning an aggressive campaign in the coming days, opening stands on the streets in the neighborhood to promote submission of as many opposition forms as possible to the district planning and construction committee before the March 9 deadline. Whose land is it? City councilman and Israel Land Fund director Arieh King organized a visit on Tuesday to spotlight what he considers blatant infractions on state land in Jerusalem. King is confident that the situation created by the new administration in the White House will be advantageous to him and other promoters of Jewish settlement in the city and feels that this is the right moment for action to stop the illegal occupation of Israeli- owned land by the United Nations. According to King, multiple examples of misuse of the plots surrounding the UN campus in East Talpiot and related illegal construction have not been adequately addressed by the municipality or the police. Now that the international political environment will enable creation of more housing in Jewish neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, King feels that it is time to put an end to the illegal land takeovers by the UN – particularly in light of their hostile attitude toward the state and its sovereignty over its capital. Very distinguished persons A dozen new residents of Jerusalem have just been added to the prestigious list of Yakirei Ha'ir (Distinguished Citizens) and will be publicly honored, according to the tradition, on Jerusalem Day – this year marking the 50th anniversary of the city's reunification. The commission appointed by the mayor a few years ago endeavored to find the best persons for the prestigious award. Among the nominees for this year (only three of whom are women) are Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Prof. Shalom Rosenberg, David Blumberg and Rabbanit Hanna Henkin. Retired high court judge Jacob Turkel, who heads the commission for the list, has presented this year's list to Barkat and it will be submitted for approval at the next meeting of the city council on January 31. Graffiti attack It appeared for the first time about a week ago, mostly in the area around the central bus station and along Herzl Boulevard, and then scattered across other places in the city. Without any punctuation, the scrawled Hebrew words could be read as “Benny, talk to me” or “My son, talk to me.” Soon enough came the clarification, when beside the graffiti – which rapidly covered more and more walls in the city – was added the famous trademark of the Breslov Hassidim, their “Na-nah-nahman…” While this is not the first time that Jerusalem is reeling from a graffiti attack (for example, it happened in the late 1990s) this time it seems likely that there is more than one person involved, due to the wide range of locations defaced by the vandals. It is not clear whether the municipality cleaning services will take up the task of graffiti removal or whether the unsightly markings will remain until time and dust erase them naturally. A municipality spokesman responded, “We are aware of this phenomenon; municipal teams tour the city's neighborhoods to track this graffiti and eventually erase it as needed. Residents are welcome to call 106 and inform us of instances.” Considering that as of press time there is a credible threat of a general strike on Sunday, the writing on the wall may remain there for some time to come.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)