Hutzot Hayotzer, is an arts and crafts lane in Jerusalem, Israel, located west of the Old City walls. Its name means “the potter’s section” (compound) or “the potter’s hedge” in Hebrew and Aramaic.Since 1976, Hutzot Hayotzer and the Sultan’s Pool area have been the site of the annual International Arts and Crafts Fair or Festival, a 12-day event in August featuring the work of local and international artists. There are also open-air concerts, workshops for children and food booths. Many of Israel’s leading pop and rock stars have performed at Hutzot Hayotzer. During the festival, the artist studios along the lane stay open late and the artists offer public demonstrations of their work.
Event Tag: Attraction
Open House Tel Aviv
Open House Tel Aviv is one of many Open House events that takes place in cities around the world.
One weekend a year, Tel Aviv opens up private spaces – designer lofts, urban villas, unique synagogues, architecturally significant public buildings, curious construction sites, plazas and gardens.
During the event weekend, the public can visit, explore and discuss these sites.
Many people have contributed in order to allow us all discover Tel Aviv from within during this weekend, including architects, developers, property owners, institutional administrators and many others who live and breathe the city ,including some who devote their time to trying to improve it.
The inspiration for the event came from OpenHouse LONDON and OpenHouse NY, and there are several Open House events around the globe.
Israel Festival
Celebrating Diversity Through Art
The Israel Festival in Jerusalem is a vibrant and dynamic celebration of performing arts that brings the city alive with a rich tapestry of cultural expression. First held in the early 1960s, this iconic festival was conceived as a platform to showcase the diversity and creativity found within Israel and beyond. It takes place at various historic and contemporary venues throughout Israel, weaving together the past and present to create an immersive experience for locals and visitors alike. The festival has grown over the years into a renowned event, attracting artists and audiences from around the world, all drawn by the promise of discovering unique performances and exploring the deep cultural roots of the region.
The Israel Festival is a joyous blend of music, dance, theater, and more, reflecting the multifaceted nature of Jewish culture and history. Attendees can expect a diverse lineup of events, including innovative contemporary performances as well as traditional acts that honor the time-honored customs and stories of Jewish heritage. The festival serves as a melting pot of cultures, celebrating the artists and performances that resonate with Jewish themes and universal human experiences. Open to everyone, the festival invites people from all walks of life to come together and partake in the cultural exchange and creative dialogue that define this extraordinary event. Whether you’re a seasoned festival-goer or a curious newcomer, the Israel Festival offers a unique opportunity to experience the artistic soul of Jerusalem.
All images from: <https://www.israel-festival.org/en/>
The Pride and Tolerance Parade in Jerusalem
The Open House has been organizing the Pride and Tolerance Parade in Jerusalem for almost two decades. Since 2002, we have been marching in Jerusalem in a stubborn struggle for its presence in our city, for our right to liberty, equality, personal security and public space, and to promote pluralism and tolerance.
In Jerusalem, a city where miracles happen every day, the parade is another small miracle that manages to combine the multifaceted character of the city and the multifaceted character of the proud community.
Since the first parade in 2002 the parade has been accompanied by extremist forces seeking to prevent its existence. These attempts culminated in two stabbing incidents, in the summer of 2005 and in the summer of 2015, when the late Shira Banki, not yet 16 years old, was murdered in Shani, who came to march with her friends. In the face of such a heinous manifestation of blind hatred, we have experienced great support in recent years. Every summer, tens of thousands of Israelis from all over the country and from diverse sectors and publics walk with us hand in hand, as well as guests from all over the world.
Although the parade is produced by the Open House in Jerusalem, it is the parade of us all. Jerusalem is the capital of the state, where the Knesset, the government and the Supreme Court sit – the decision-makers who shape the public and legal reality. It is also a city where populations meet, a complex social fabric and the spiritual center of the three monotheistic religions, a holy city for billions of believers.
The parade carries a protest and struggling nature, celebrating the community and our achievements in the face of impossible challenges. The parade marks the miracle of struggle and protest, and thanks to it, our voices resonate throughout the country and around the world.
Mimouna
Mimouna is a traditional North African Jewish celebration dinner, that currently takes place in London, Morocco, Israel, Canada, and other places around the world where Jews of Maghrebi heritage live. It is held the day after Passover, marking the return to eating hametz (leavened bread, etc.), which is forbidden throughout the week of Passover.
In Morocco, on the afternoon of the last day of Passover, Jewish families prepare flour, honey, milk, and butter to be used to prepare post-Passover chametz celebration dinners. Historically, Jewish congregations would walk to an orchard in order to recite Birkat Ha’Ilanot, and following the conclusion of Passover, would recite passages from the Book of Proverbs and the Mishna.
The celebration begins after nightfall on the last day of Passover. In many communities, non-Jewish neighbors sell chametz back to Jewish families as a beginning of the celebration. Moroccan and Algerian Jews throw open their homes to visitors, after setting out a lavish spread of traditional holiday cakes and sweetmeats. One of the holiday favorites is Mofletta. The table is also laid with various symbols of luck and fertility, with an emphasis on the number “5,” such as five pieces of gold jewelry or five beans arranged on a leaf of pastry. The repetition of the number five references the five-fingered hamsa amulet common in both Jewish and Muslim North African and Middle Eastern communities from pre-modern times. Typically all those in attendance at a Mimouna celebration are sprinkled with a mint sprig or other green dipped in milk, symbolizing good fortune and new beginnings.
Early in the day of the Mimouna, families go to the sea, splash water on their face, and walk barefoot in the water, to replay the scene of the miraculous crossing of the Reed Sea, which is held to have taken place on the last day of Passover.
In Israel, the Mimouna has become a popular annual happening featuring outdoor parties, picnics, BBQs, and politics: A central celebration in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park draws about 100,000 people, usually including the president and prime minister. Israeli law now requires employers to agree to grant an employee unpaid leave for Mimouna if asked. One source estimated that in 2012 nearly two million people in Israel participated in Mimouna festivities.
Photo credit: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Cave of Patriarch
The Cave of the Patriarchs stand over the tomb that Abraham purchased, as recorded in the Book of Genesis. The Cave of the Patriarchs was built by Herod the Great over 2,000 years ago and is still standing and in use up to this day. These caves are the burial plots of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Bible; Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebekah, and Jacob & Leah. For 700 years, from 1267 to 1967, Jews were barred from entering the Cave of the Patriarchs. In 1967, Rabbi Shlomo Goren reclaimed Jewish control over the Cave of the Patriarchs in the name of the Jewish people, and people of all faiths can now freely enter and worship at the holy site.
Haifa Wine Festival
The Haifa Wine Festival is the largest wine festival to take place in the north, featuring wine, champagne tastings, food stalls offering cheese and deli selections, as well as live music. The event will showcase some 30 local winemakers and serves to promote the local community and wine culture in northern Israel.
White Night in Tel Aviv
Laila Lavan (White Night), Tel Aviv: The Biggest Cultural Night of the Year
Since 2003, Tel Aviv has marked the anniversary of its UNESCO-listed “White City” – the collection of 4,000 Bauhaus buildings strewn about the city – with Laila Lavan, or White Night. A dusk-til-dawn celebration that has the streets and beaches humming until sunrise. The city-wide program of music, art, and late-night gatherings draws both locals and visitors out into the warm late summer air.
The all-nighter has free and paid events scattered around town, with the city relaxing some of its typical regulations, allowing the vibe to extend into the wee hours. You may find open-air DJs set up next to Bauhaus-era buildings lit in shifting colors or dancers spilling into the courtyards while food stalls serve local favorites like bourekas, sabich, and falafel. Museums and Tel Aviv’s eclectic restaurants keep their doors open well past midnight, and street performers claim corners until the early morning.
Some neighborhoods feel like block parties, while others offer a quieter experience, with intimate performances tucked away in hidden corners. The mix of high-energy crowds and the magic of wandering into unplanned moments is part of the draw. By dawn, the Mediterranean light has returned, the sun kissing the White City.
Purim Street Party
Purim is one of the most important Israeli holidays, celebrated all over the country with the biggest events taking place in Tel Aviv. The very nature of the holiday is religious, but these days religious traditions are successfully merged with all night clubbing and carnival atmosphere. The highlight of Purim celebration is the street party and festival with people celebrating all day and night long.
Kaparot at Machane Yehuda
Kaparot consists of carefully passing a chicken over one’s head three times while reciting the appropriate text. The chicken is then slaughtered in a humane fashion in accordance with the laws of kashrut. The chicken itself is discreetly donated to a charitable cause, such as a yeshiva or orphanage, where it is eaten just as any other chicken. Alternatively, the chicken is sold and its value donated.
https://www.gojerusalem.com/events/250/Shuk-Kaparot/
