Bikers, your time Remember the bikes-for-rent project that was stuck because the haredim at city council refused to allow it on Shabbat? Well, thanks to minor technological wonders, it seems that this is finally happening. The latest agreement is that the tender for the project will specify that the operators will not work on Shabbat, but riders will be allowed to use a smartphone app to rent a bike at one of the stations across the city. Now that a solution has been found, the goal is for the first 50 bike rental stations to be operational by the end of this year, with more stations to come afterward. It took two years to work out this compromise solution, but now it is here and the haredi city council representatives are on board. Cyclists are welcome to use the devices during the week and through an app on Shabbat, if they choose. The project is open through a tender published by Eden, the subsidiary entity of the municipality for the city center, and will be available to entrepreneurs through a BOT framework, meaning that the investor will get all the financial for the first 11 years. A bicycle in Tel Aviv. No fear in Jerusalem The Yerushalmim Party is addressing the issue of women's safety in the city by following up on a project led by young Jerusalemite Stav Piltz last year in which lighting was significantly upgraded in the alleys in Independence Park. The new project, called “A City for Women,” will map locations throughout the city that cause fear (and/or have already been the site of criminal events against women), and install better lighting there. Eventually, the project will include additional steps to provide greater security in these identified locations. No more vacation A recent decision of Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) will probably please parents of small children, but may not be so popular with owners of kaytanot (holiday camp programs). According to the ruling, schools and kindergartens throughout the country will be open during the Passover and Hanukka holidays at a basic cost of no more than NIS 30 per day. The purpose is to solve a need of parents who have to work during school vacations. This is particularly good news in Jerusalem, named the poorest city in the country. According to ministry calculations, this will save families up to NIS 1,000 per child per year. The new program kicks off this Passover. From Russia with art Zoya Cherkassky, who was born in Kiev (Ukraine) in 1976 and made aliya in 1991, will present her first personal exhibition – a study of aliya. While the topic has been the focus of much research, this is the first time it will be the focus of an exhibition dealing with all its aspects through art. The exhibition, aptly titled “Pravda” (“Truth”), seeks to examine truths about the encounter between the Russian and Israeli cultures – the confrontations, the misunderstandings and how things look from each side. Hence, this is more than an artistic event, but also a testimony through the eyes of an artist sharing her experience of what it means to leave one life behind and start a new one in another country and culture. Cherkassky has created and collected the works for this exhibition for the past eight years, and it is well displayed at one of the most prestigious artistic venues in the country. The exhibition will run at the Israel Museum until January 31. A legend in his life Haim Gouri – Palmah member, poet and witness of his time – will be the first guest in a series of evenings at Confederation House to mark 70 years of Israeli poetry since the establishment of the state. While many events marking 70 years of Israel's independence are identified with wars and struggles, this series will point to the tremendous artistic creativity of those decades. Gouri, who was born in 1923, describes through his work what he has witnessed – from the trial of Adolf Eichmann to the War of Independence and the battle to free Jerusalem from siege in 1948. The poet is perhaps the best choice among many creative minds to open the series, which is scheduled to run throughout the year. He has published some 15 books and was awarded the Israel Prize for poetry in 1988. Gouri's works will be presented on the first evening of the series through the eyes of various poets and scholars. Several of Gouri's songs will be sung by Eran Zur. Next in the series will be a tribute to the late poet Uri Zvi Greenberg, and the poetry of Nathan Zach. The Confederation House, Tuesday January 16, at 8.30 p.m. Tickets are NIS 20. For more information, call (02) 623-7000. The Botanical Gardens – think again How about taking the entrepreneurship hub model from the start-up world and adapting it to the environment? This is basically what has been done at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens with their Social Environmental Hub. The hub serves as a creative and supportive center for more than 80 organizations and entrepreneurs who promote environmental sustainability in Jerusalem. As an interdisciplinary professional network, the hub creates connections within the community and to the city, providing tools, knowledge, training and professional support. It serves as a base in which change agents can share and express their expertise. Furthermore, the hub conveys the botanical gardens' content to the community by presenting ecology-centered social programs at the gardens and throughout Jerusalem. The program is open to the public with a particular focus on those who are motivated by preservation of the natural environment in Jerusalem and the capital city's sustainability. Activists, designers, artists, urban planners, architects, farmers, gardeners, clean-tech eco-entrepreneurs and others are all invited. The hub takes a new look at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and their role in the 21st century. Community involvement in the gardens is encouraged through outreach, including a successful volunteer program and a sustainable- gardens kindergarten initiative. The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens are located at 1 Zalman Shne'ur Street and can be reached at (02) 679-4012. Running for a good cause The fifth annual Run4Afikim will kick off at the First Station on Wednesday night. Billed as the longest relay run in the world, it will cover 370 km. in 36 hours. There are quite a few non-profit associations for underprivileged children or families, but nothing compares to what Afikim is doing. The organization helps thousands of at-risk youth in Israel by enriching their lives and helping their families break the cycle of poverty. It maintains six centers in various neighborhoods across the city. Afikim provides educational programming, emotional support and financial assistance while schools are in session and throughout the year. It helps young people stay off the streets – literally – and guides them on the path to becoming contributing members of society. Afikim also assists parents with job placement, parenting classes and other important services. Children are accompanied throughout their years at school, receiving the support and help they need as they approach their IDF service and after, when they return home. Programs are designed so that no child is left to carry a problem alone. For immigrants, special attention is paid to their being part of a family that needs help, support and accompaniment as they find their place in Israeli society. Run4Afikim started five years ago and has become the organization's major fund-raising event of the year. It started with 13 runners and is slated to have 53 in the relay this year, of whom 90% are Jerusalemites. The relay run has raised more than $500,000 since 2013 from 2,500 individual donors. Each runner has a $2,000 fund-raising target. Approximately two-thirds of the money has come from donations within Israel. Already, $160,000 of this year's $250,000 goal has been raised. The event is arranged and managed all by volunteers. It was conceived by three Jerusalemites: Gila Rockman of Shalem College; Justin Rockman, who works in hi-tech; and Jason Gardner, senior manager at the new Isrotel Orient Hotel Jerusalem. This year's major projects are the complete overhaul of the Afikim Center in Talpiot and the development of a new program to support Afikim graduates after their army service. People of all ages are invited to join the first team of runners and youths from Afikim for the first 5 km. of the relay – from the First Station to the zoo – in which Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein will take part. Wednesday, January 17, 5:30 p.m. at the First Station. New wheels to start rolling Elad Malka has been focused on the poor quality of public transportation in Jerusalem for years. Now that he has returned to the City Council with the Hitorerut B'Yerushalayim Party, he may be able to do something about it. Malka hopes to break the monopoly on bus service held by Egged that he says is partly to blame for the bad service. That hope got some help from the Transportation Ministry's recent approval of some new shared taxi (sherut) lines. The first six lines will start operating in the coming months. By the end of 2019, 12 lines – including four that connect Jerusalem to locations outside the city – will be up and running. The plan will offer residents alternatives to Egged buses, which are often crowded and not very timely, something Malka has been trying to improve for a long time. The first six lines will connect Talpiot to Ein Kerem, Gilo to French Hill, Mount Scopus to Ein Kerem, Malha to Sha'arei Tzedek, Mount Scopus to Ramot and Homat Shmuel to French Hill.
