Grapevine: Not taking care of business

On many streets, cars are parked on the sidewalk, and scooters and bicycles have become so common that it is simply unsafe for pedestrians. Traffic violations are rampant, with motorcycle, bicycle, and scooter riders often ignoring traffic lights, which poses yet another threat to pedestrians. Owners of these vehicles also ride along the light rail tracks, as do some cars. This is illegal, yet it goes unchecked. Where is law enforcement?

■ OPTIMISM IS a positive trait, but building luxury hotels in a city in which tourism is at a low ebb, and where war and politics have driven tourists away, indicates an overdose of positive thinking. There are at least three luxury hotels in which construction is nearing completion. The largest is the Intercontinental on the edge of Independence Park, across the road from the National Institutions complex housing the Jewish Agency, World Zionist Organization, Jewish National Fund, and Keren Hayesod. The Intercontinental is bound to take business away from some of the nearby luxury hotels, firstly because the natural inclination of many people is to try something new; and secondly, because of its proximity to major Zionist organizations and to the Yeshurun Synagogue and Jerusalem Great Synagogue, as well as the synagogues of Chabad, and the Conservative and Reform movements. The trend for hotel investors is to build a residential complex alongside, which the owners of the Intercontinental have done, as did the original owners and developers of the Waldorf, and the current owners of the Theatron hotel. The hotel services are available to the owners of units in the residential buildings. Some of the residences are permanently occupied, while others are either holiday homes for the owners and their relatives and friends, or investments that are rented out, offering more room and privacy than a hotel suite. The Intercontinental is due to open in the first quarter of 2026.

Although tourists are scarce, American and British students are not. On buses and on the light rail, one can hear a lot of English spoken, mainly by young people of student age.

■ YOU KNOW that winter has arrived when you travel along Agrippas Street late at night and see that, with maybe one or two exceptions, all the eateries are closed, and even those that are open have less than a handful of customers. Change can be very sudden. In the first half of November, the street was full of young people late at night. Restaurants were well patronized, and there were lines of would-be diners waiting for tables to be vacated. But this week, the street was dark and empty at 10:45 p.m., and had probably been that way for a few hours, as most of the restaurants in the area remain open until the last customer leaves.

With the increase in mental health challenges, especially those cases that are being treated on a voluntary basis, more social space facilities are needed. The most recent to be acquired is in Efrat, which this month inaugurated a new therapy yurt. A yurt is a portable circular hut traditionally used by the nomads of Central Asia, which is easily assembled and collapsed. The new wood-lined yurt that forms part of the Mondlak Center in the Rimon neighborhood is a warm and inviting space designed for group therapy activities, yoga, and martial arts sessions for individuals coping with mental health problems. The yurt was officially opened by its sponsor, Igor Tulchinsky of New York, together with Rabbi Efraim Duchman from Kollel Chabad, in the presence of Mayor Dovi Shefler; Yonatan Marcus, chairman of the Efrat Foundation; and Ryan Levin, the foundation’s CEO.

Mondlak’s chief clinician, Dr. Aliza Bir, described the work of Efrat’s Community Resilience Center and its crucial role in supporting local soldiers and their families. She noted that many individuals affected by the war are experiencing PTSD symptoms, creating a significant surge in demand for therapeutic services offered by the center.

Tulchinsky, a venture capitalist and philanthropist originally from Belarus and now based in New York, dedicated the therapy yurt to Israel’s heroes. He emphasized the importance of helping IDF soldiers and their families to heal, and described “the war after the war” that is being fought by therapists, volunteers, and by soldiers and their families who are learning to breathe again. He defined the domed yurt building as “Israel’s inner Iron Dome,” emphasizing that healing is an essential component of Israel’s national security. “Just as we train our soldiers to run toward fire,” he said, “we must train our citizens to run toward healing with the same courage. Every survivor who stands back up again declares to the world: “You can wound us, but you will never break us!”