Born and raised in Chicago: “I grew up in a great city. My life revolved around USY, Camp Ramah, and Solomon Schechter.”
Moved to Israel in 1983: “Studying at the Hebrew University, I caught the Israel bug and fell in love with Jerusalem.”
Worked in the Israeli school system: “My first passion was teaching special education, helping special needs children integrate in to youth groups and summer camps.”
Traveling this amazing country: “My hobby is traversing every corner of this country, with my wife Sara, my children, and now with anyone who wants to join me.”
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Machane Yehuda Shuk
Mahane Yehuda Market, often referred to as “The Shuk” (or “Machne”, the “shorthand nickname” used by locals), is a marketplace (originally open-air, but now at least partially covered) in Jerusalem, Israel. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the market’s more than 250 vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, fish, meat and cheeses, nuts, seeds and spices, wines and liquors, clothing and shoes, housewares, textiles, and Judaica. In and around the market (whose name literally means “Judah’s camp”) are falafel and shawarma stands, juice bars, cafes, and restaurants. The colors and bustle of the marketplace are accentuated by vendors who call out their prices to passersby. On Thursdays and Fridays, the marketplace is filled with shoppers stocking up for Shabbat. Eventually, the bugle sound every Friday afternoon signifies that the market will soon be closing for the Sabbath. While the market stalls close before Shabbat, there are still some cafes and restaurants that remain open.
North African Jewish Heritage Center
The David Amar Worldwide North Africa Jewish Heritage Center is a cultural hub and museum in Jerusalem, Israel. Established in 1865, it is located in the heart of the Mahane Israel (also Mahaneh Yisrael) neighborhood. Built in the mid-19th century by David ben Shimon, founder of the North African Jewish community in Jerusalem, the North African Jewish Heritage Center is housed in the quarter’s oldest building. The museum contains permanent and temporary exhibits, focusing on the history and heritage of the Jewish communities of North Africa, particularly in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The restoration was funded by the Casablanca, a Morocco-based businessman, David Amar, and was renamed in his honor. Construction was completed within four years and required Moroccan craftsmen to create the intricate zellige mosaic tile work. However, it was considered quite controversial to reconstruct the building in an authentic Moroccan style. Some saw it as “importing foreign architecture and damaging a historic building”, although it is expected to become one of Jerusalem’s top tourist sites. It opened in June 2011 in the presence of President Shimon Peres and former President Yitzhak Navon. Photo Attribution: Heritage Conservation Jerusalem Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons
Jerusalem Cinemateque
The Jerusalem Cinematheque is a film archive in Jerusalem, Israel, founded by Lia van Leer in 1973. It was originally located in Beit Agron in the center of Jerusalem. In 1981, the Ostrovsky Family Foundation, the Jerusalem Foundation, the Van Leer Foundation, as well as private donors all financially supported a newly constructed building. This is situated near the Hinnom Valley and overlooks the Old City walls. In addition to screening halls, the Cinematheque houses the Israel Film Archive, an archive of films from the 1920s to current day. These include but are not limited to: The Nathan Axelrod Newsreel Collection, the Joan Sourasky-Constantiner Holocaust Multimedia Research Center, the Department for Film and Media Education, and the Lew and Edie Wasserman Film Library.
Ramban Synagogue
The Ramban Synagogue, is the second oldest active synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. In 1267, Rabbi Nachmanides and additional scholars founded the synagogue to serve the local Jewish community. The Jewish community quickly expanded due to the synagogue’s active and prevalent presence. Today there are two Ramban Synagogues in Jerusalem.
City of David
The City of David (Hebrew: עיר דוד, Ir David; Arabic: مدينة داوود) is not only the oldest settled neighborhood of Jerusalem but also a major archaeological site relating to biblical Jerusalem. It is a narrow ridge running south from the Temple Mount. It was a walled city in the Bronze Age and according to tradition, it is where King David built his palace and established his capital.
Mea Shearim
Mea Shearim is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem. It was built by members of the Old Yishuv, and is largely populated with Haredi Jews. Levi Kahana of Spain, the oldest Sephardic Haredi dynasty, has a religious cultural center in the neighborhood.
Hertzl Museum
The Herzl Museum is located in Jerusalem and focuses on the visions and ideologies of Theodor Herzl. Shortly after Herzl’s death, the Anglo–Palestine Bank acquired about 2,000 dunams (2.0 km2) in south-central Palestine, where the Hulda Forest is located today. This forest was intended to house a farm and a large building that would contain the farm’s management and double as a museum dedicated to Herzl. However, the museum was unfortunately never executed, and only in the 1960s was a museum built on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. This included exhibits on Herzl’s life, including a reproduction of his study in Vienna. In 2000, it closed due to poor maintenance, but reopened in 2005, sitting at the main entrance plaza to Mount Herzl, following the centenary of Herzl’s death.
Old City Jewish Quarter
The Jewish Quarter is one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem (part of Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem). In the early 20th century, the Jewish population of the quarter reached 19,000 people. The 116,000 square meter area lies in the southeastern sector of the walled city. It stretches from the Zion Gate in the south, along the Armenian Quarter on the west, up to the Street of the Chain in the north, and extends to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in the east.
Mount Herzl
Mount Herzl (Hebrew: הר הרצל), also Har HaZikaron (Hebrew: הר הזכרון lit. “Mount of Remembrance”), is the site of Israel’s national cemetery and other memorial and educational facilities. It is found on the west side of Jerusalem beside Jerusalem Forest and named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. Herzl’s tomb lies at the top of the hill while Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, lies to the west of Mt. Herzl. Israeli fallen soldiers are also buried there. Mount Herzl is 834 meters above the sea. Every plot section in Mount Herzl has a broad plaza for memorial services. Most state memorial ceremonies for those killed at war are conducted in the National Military and Police cemetery.
