When Dr. Amos Fruman, a senior pediatric surgeon at Hadassah Medical Center, was driving an elderly relative home from a family get together, he noticed that he was low on fuel and mentioned this to his passenger, who insisted that they stop at the nearest service station.
Almost immediately after pulling into the station, his eye caught another car in which the occupants appeared to be in some sort of trouble. Walking over to ask whether he could help, he saw a young married couple. The woman was in an advanced stage of labor and the baby’s head was already visible. It wasn’t a usual delivery-room situation, but there was no way to do anything other than to assist with the birth.
The young couple were Jerusalemites who had been on a visit to Modi’in, and the labor pains began as they were returning to Jerusalem. They were heading for Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem, but the baby was impatient to make its entry into the world. The last place that the new parents expected to find an expert pediatrician was in a service station, but they were very glad that they’d stopped in order to ensure that they had sufficient fuel to reach their destination.
City upgrades bring changes to neighborhood parks
Residents of San Simon Park in the Katamon neighborhood were horrified last week to see the park has been completely dug up. On inquiry, they discovered that it was part of a municipal plan to upgrade public parks and beautify the city.
There are parks elsewhere in Jerusalem that have already undergone an upgrading process in which additional walkways, picnic areas, and playgrounds have been constructed. Mayor Moshe Lion has also overseen the planting of flower beds in large circular concrete surrounds in the vicinity of the central bus and train terminals, which will soon be busier than ever with the number of crisscrossing light rail routes currently under construction.
Future light rail drivers are being trained on the initial route that goes through Jaffa Road. This has reduced the frequency of the light rail service, as the trainee drivers also stop at every designated train stop. Usually, they don’t open the doors, but sometimes they do, adding to the frustration of passengers who did not notice the “Not in Service” sign.
Apropos San Simon Park: It contains a Greek Orthodox monastery dating back to the 19th century.
What most of the public may not know is that beloved poet Shaul Tchernichovsky spent his declining years living opposite the park. His non-Jewish wife, Melania, who was deeply religious, had moved there before him, and he used to join her and their daughter at weekends. But once he became seriously ill, he moved there permanently, so that his wife could care for him.
The 130th anniversary of his birth was celebrated this week by President Isaac Herzog and Beit Avi Chai executive director Dr. David Rozenson.
Mahaneh Yehuda becomes more modern
Mahaneh Yehudah has been gradually gentrified over the years, but now the pace has speeded up, and the market is beginning to look more like a shopping mall. Also, surrounded by tall residential, office, and commercial projects, it is losing much of its charm in the process.
But it has retained most of its clientele, especially discerning shoppers who can go from stall to stall to compare quality and prices – something they can’t do in a supermarket.
There’s also a growing wine-drinking culture, as evidenced in the ever increasing number of liquor stores with an incredible array of local and imported alcoholic beverages. For the most part, the prices are more reasonable than those in supermarkets.
French-speaking students gain a new study center
The site on which the Bell Center stands on King George Avenue was an empty plot for many years before it was acquired and developed by the Reichman family.
The reason that it had been vacant for so long was that several families related to each other had shares in the plot of land, but couldn’t agree with each other on what should be done with it. But the location was too tempting for the Reichman family of international property developers to resist, so they made the owners an offer they couldn’t refuse.
When the Bell Center opened some 30 years ago, it was one of the most modern retail enterprises in the city. It contained a variety of stores on the first two floors, and offices and dental and medical clinics on the upper floors. There was also a very good dairy restaurant run by Angel’s Bakery on the basement floor.
Modest in size compared to similar projects in various neighborhoods, it slowly became a white elephant, as one store after another moved out.
The Reichmans concluded that they had made a bad investment and sold out to Moshe Indig and his family, who had hoped to build a hotel on the upper floors. That plan never eventuated. More shops closed, and what opened in their stead were secondhand clothing stores, some of which are still there, but for the most part, the building is leased mainly to providers of medical and dental services.
The Indigs, like the Reichmans before them, also sold out, and the current owners are the Karta Group, which controls much of the city’s real estate, ranging from the construction and management of multipurpose buildings to parking facilities for cars and buses.
A relatively new sign has appeared on the Bell Center building, announcing a religious studies center in the basement for French-speaking students.
Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center a recipient of the President Prize
Among the various recipients of the President’s Prize, awarded last week at a ceremony at the President’s Residence, was the Jerusalem-based Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin, which supports numerous young men and women who leave their families and their communities in order to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
The volunteers at the center take care of the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of the lone soldiers, including Israeli soldiers who do not have the support of their families. This includes soldiers from haredi families and soldiers from dysfunctional families in socioeconomic distress.
greerfc@gmail.com