Jerusalem – A “beach party” that was to be held outside the Old City of Jerusalem is to be moved to the Malha neighborhood, but the incident has left a bitter taste among religious and Hareidi residents of the city, who accused Mayor Nir Barkat of gross insensitivity to Jerusalem’s religious heritage.
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The city has decided to move the party after religious groups complained about the location and timing of the event. The city had planned to truck in 80 tons of sand and spread them on Rehov Alrov, the main street of the Mamilla Mall, visible from the Old City, and conduct a “beach party” on Friday, July 29 – just a few days before the beginning of the Hebrew month of Av, and in the midst of the Three Weeks mourning period for the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Deck and beach chairs were to be set up on the street, with the municipality distributing ice pops and watermelons, and supplying “beachgoers” with backgammon boards and “matkot” beach tennis rackets and balls, popular with Israelis as a beach pasttime. Two live bands were set to provide background music, which party attendees could hear through headphones they could rent for a small fee.
Rabbi Efraim Holzberg, who is close to senior Hareidi leader Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Elyashiv, said that Barkat is mistaken if he thinks he is giving the people what they want. “Tourists and visitors come to Jerusalem for its holiness, not to see 80 tons of sand at a beach party. Barkat may understand tourism, but he does not understand chemistry – the chemistry of what attracts people to Jerusalem. People go to Holland to see canals and to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, but they come to Jerusalem to see the Holy City.”
“The mayor is bringing the Judgement of Heaven down on us, G-d forbid,” he added. “One day it’s a gay parade, another day it’s a beach party. What’s next?”
Tolerance goes both ways!
Why can’t they just go to Tel Aviv if they want the beach? That’s what Tel Aviv is for.
Holzberg should lighten up a bit and not assume everyone who comes to yerushalayim only wants to to visit har habayis and the kevorim of gadolim. It is a city where hundreds of thousands of live and those include both frum and secular Israelis. This will be a fun and tasetful partyand also provide much needed entertainment for younger Israelis.
Don’t blame Barkat – he is a Tinok SheNishba..
Blame those frum factions who, because of political reasons only, refused to support Porush in the last elections. (Their publications didn’t even mention that there was a municipal election.)
Our foolish disagreements and infighting since the Churban Bayis Sheini continue to plague us.
When will we grow up already?
I wonder if barkat is planing to run in the upcoming elections as a beach party candidate ? then for what other reason such stupidity ?!
I am at this moment visiting Jerusalem. There is presently a light show at night with all kinds of colored lights illuminating the walls of the Old City, and light effects resembling shooting stars in the trees. There are strands of lights in the trees resembling what you see at the end of December in the US. A rock band plays on the sidewalk.
All the people who wrote that people/tourists come to Jerusalem to see the Holy City are right. The numerous tour buses filled with tourists don’t come here to see kitchy light shows and to hear rock and roll music.
Somehow these lights and young people hanging out don’t seem to go together with images of the walls of the Old City and the Beis Hamikdash.
Jerusalem is a holy city. To replace the holiness with light shows, beach parties and rock music is insensitive.
Barkat appeared at a pre-election rally with the other leading candidates held at the Great Synagogue. He spoke in English and said perfectly clearly that his intent for Yerushalayim was for it to become an “International DESTINATION city where the practitioners of the “Three Monotheistic Faiths” could feel welcome but also where seculars from all over could also find something of interest to draw them there. We didn’t have much choice. Gadamyak was a joke and probably ran as a spoiler and too many people who knew Rabbi Porush’s record as an “insider” were leery.
Let me get this straight (no pun intended)– does the mayor intend to drag Haredim from their shuls and batei midrashim, and compel them to attend this beach party? If not, then what’s the big deal? Nobody’s talking about holding it at the Wall, so if residents and tourists are interested in this, they’ll go– if not, they won’t. Regardless, there should be room for everybody.
Having lived in the old city for 2 years, I can testify that there is beach party in the old city virtually everyday from March till late November, that includes the month of Av.
thousands of tourists including gays and including Yidden flock the streets in less than less modest attire, every single day.
Only the sand the beach chairs are missing. I guess that is the issue at hand. I agree with Haredim, having beach sand and beach chairs in close proximity to the Kosel, would cause a major stir and show disrespect towards us.
whether it is tasteful or not, bottom line is that it is a WASTE OF MONEY….instead of milking us for arnona, parking, etc…give us a break and skip the beach party!
i work in the old city, and every other day there is some new festival or concert- thats nice, but this is over the top!
Let it go for 10 -15 more years. After that, a chiloni in Yerushalayim will be as easy to find as a polar bear in New Delhi. It is not worth fighting Barkat. Charedim now should be looking for a good candidate – maybe Rav Pindrus – who can send Barkat home after the next election.
The charedim shot themselves in the foot last time. Forget any Chassidus making trouble – we should have put our differences aside and let Lupolianski run again.
The Holyland should not be thought as just another Western country. It is the land of G-d. To have a public beach party during the 3 weeks sponsered by the goverment makes a mockery of the sanctity of Jerusalem and the Holyland. Judaism insn’t liberalism nor is it democracy. These two philosophies often do not allow for the proper respect to holy and sanctified places. You must readjust your western thinking when it comes to the sanctity that G-d has prescribed for His people. To do what one feels like doing and to act immodestly and to celebrate during the 3 weeks is immoral. Even though there are private individuals who do this it is beyond the control of the spiritual leaders of the Jewish People. However, these type of events should not be sponserd by the public through the means of the goverment which can be controlled and stopped. We cannot be held responsible to the acts of private individuals but we can be held re4sponsible for the goverment’s behavior if we have the power to stop it.