Editor’s note: Due to the ongoing security situation, events listed below may be postponed or canceled. Check before booking, and stay safe.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26
Visit an exhibition of works by the late Jerusalem-based photographer Reuven Milon at the Jerusalem International Convention Center, curated by Eran Litwin. Viewers can see Jerusalem through the eyes of someone born in the city in the late 1920s. Milon spent his entire life in the capital’s unique urban landscape.
In 2019, he wrote in his self-published book All Is Photographs – Jerusalem as It Once Was that his private archive contains some 250,000 historical photographs of Jerusalem, “The city in which I was born and for which I fought.”
Visitors will get to see photos of the Zion Cinema, demolished in the late 1970s, as well as iconic sites, such as the Tower of David, presented in a novel manner.
10 Shazar St. Free upon pre-registration. Call (02) 655-8558 to book.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27
Watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the 1977 sci-fi movie classic directed by Steven Spielberg, at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. Richard Dreyfuss inhabits the role of Roy Neary, a man obsessed with the possibility of alien life and a chance to escape humanity.
6 p.m. In English. NIS 43. 11 Hebron St. Call (02) 565-4333 to book.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28
Take in fresh poetry with the Border/Line Poetic Dis/Order event at Skizza Gallery, featuring Canadian-Jewish poet Adeena Karasick; Leah Kogen-Elimeliah (a Moscow-born NYC-based poet and nonfiction writer); Haifa-based writer and poet Kirill Azernyi; and Jerusalem’s Lonnie Monka.
7 p.m. 8 Koresh St. Free. Call curator Marina Genkina for more information at 054-771-7464.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 29
Attend the 12th Piano Festival at the Jerusalem Theatre, focused on the musical brilliance of Johann Sebastian Bach. Led by conductor David Greilsammer, the Israel Camerata Jerusalem will perform the choral from the “Ich bin ein gutter Hirt” (I am the Good Shepherd) cantata, as well as Bach’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Minor.
The program, the first of the three-day festival, also includes one world premiere of Chaotic Order by Boaz Ben Moshe.
Those interested in learning more about Bach are invited to listen to artistic director Michael Wolpe discuss the themes of each day of the festival (in Hebrew). Free jazz concerts based on some of Bach’s works will also be offered at the theater.
20 Marcus St. Free Hebrew talk by Wolpe at 5 p.m. Concert at 7 p.m. NIS 60-NIS 120. Free jazz concerts at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. To book tickets and register for the free events, call (02) 560-5755..
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30
Watch the 1948 black-and-white film Letter from an Unknown Woman by Jewish-German director Max Ophuls. Based on the 1922 Stefan Zweig novella of the same name, the film follows a tragic love affair between an older pianist (Louis Jourdan) and a young woman (Joan Fontaine).
As suggested by the title, the musician hardly remembers who the letter writer might be, whereas their brief relationship meant the world to her.
7:30 p.m. In English. NIS 35. Cinema by Sam Spiegel, 3 Menora St. Visit cinema.jsfs.co.il to book.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31
Say goodbye to the current year at Mazkeka at Stand Down Night. To become a stand-up comedian, people must first go on stage in front of a live audience and try to make people laugh. This is not easy and, as you might have guessed, for every Doug Stanhope or George Carlin, a million people must, well, stand down.
Come get a drink and a nod at the bravery of strangers.
9 p.m. In Hebrew. Free. 3 Shoshan St. For more info, call (02) 582-2090
THURSDAY, JANUARY 1
Step into the Israel Museum Jerusalem to see Ages of the World, a new artwork installation by German artist Anselm Kiefer, curated by Orly Rabi. Various works from the museum’s contemporary art collection are now shown alongside this monumental new work.
11 Ruppin Blvd. NIS 62. Hours: Thursday, Saturday, and Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Patrons can revisit the museum within 90 days of buying a ticket and pay only NIS 31 for the repeat visit upon presenting the original ticket.
Looking ahead
FRIDAY, JANUARY 2
Attend a free classical music concert at the Jerusalem Music Center, to mark the beginning of a partnership between the center and Musethica, which promotes classical music across various sectors in Israeli society by arranging performances for the disabled, prison inmates, and Holocaust survivors.
The program includes Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74 by Antonin Dvorak; String Quintet Op. 39 by Alexander Glazunov; and Felix Mendelssohn’s String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20. This is the 7th Musethica festival and the first time that it is held in the capital.
3 Yemin Moshe St. Free upon pre-registration. Call (02) 623-4347. To learn more about Musethica, visit https://www.musethica-israel.org/english.
Throwing a special event? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Email hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let In Jerusalem know about it. Write “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. Although all information is welcome, we cannot guarantee it will be featured in the column.