Happy 64th Israel!!

Composite image of fireworks display for Israel's 64th Independence Day on Mount Hertzl in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Israel. 25-Apr-2012.

Israel Air Force salutes the President with a 3-helicopter flyover above the Presidential Residence on the morning of Israel's 64th Independence Day. Foreground sign indicates left to Jabotinsky Street and right to the President’s Boulevard. Jerusalem, Israel. 26-Apr-2012.

Memorial Day

Everything comes to a stop nationwide, including the Jerusalem Light Rail, at exactly 11:00 on Memorial Day as a two-minute air-raid siren shatters the silence. Passengers stand solemnly contemplating Israel’s 22,993 fallen soldiers and terror victims. Jerusalem, Israel. 25-Apr-2012.

A mother lays her head in grief on the grave of her son in the Police section of Mt. Hertzl Military Cemetery. Jerusalem, Israel. 25-Apr-2012.

A lone IDF soldier sits by the grave of a family member or friend at Mt. Hertzl Military Cemetery on Memorial Day. Jerusalem, Israel. 25-Apr-2012.

Clicking each of the images above will take you to a different set!

 

Shimon Peres attends Israeli Police ceremony for excelling officers

Had an interesting shoot yesterday and came back with a few photos I like.

Ceremony for recognition of excelling police officers, just a few days before Independence Day, started out like this…

President Shimon Peres and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino are welcomed at the entrance to a pre-Independence Day ceremony paying tribute to excelling police officers. Jerusalem, Israel. 23-Apr-2012.

Then Shimon Peres got on stage and put up quite a show…

Israel Police Comissioner Yohanan Danino is greatly amused by story told by President Shimon Peres related to first Israel Police Commissioner, Yichezkel Sahar. Jerusalem, Israel. 23-Apr-2012.

Later, it got a bit personal…

President Shimon Peres kisses and consoles mother of Senior NCO Paskal Avrahami, killed in action in August 2011 after 25 years of service as family receives a certificate honoring their son’s lifetime achievements. Jerusalem, Israel. 23-Apr-2012.

And concluded with the Tikva…

President Shimon Peres and Minister of Internal Security Yitzhak Aharonovitch sing “HaTikva”, the Israeli National Anthem, concluding a ceremony, viewed through the bent arm of a saluting Israel Police officer. Jerusalem, Israel. 23-Apr-2012.

Preparations Underway for Memorial Day

IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General, Benny Gantz, salutes Lieutenant Hila Betzaleli, 20, killed last week after being struck by a collapsing steel lighting fixture during rehearsal for Remembrance Day ceremony, as grieving mother weeps. Jerusalem, Israel. 22-Apr-2012.

IDF soldiers of all units and beret colors take part in a pre-Memorial Day ceremony in which small flags at half-mast with black ribbons symbolizing grief are placed on the graves of all 22,993 fallen soldiers nationwide. Jerusalem, Israel. 22-Apr-2012.

IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General, Benny Gantz, places small flags at half-mast with black ribbons symbolizing grief on the freshest graves of fallen soldiers at Mount Herztel Military Cemetery before Memorial Day. Jerusalem, Israel. 22-Apr-2012.

Israel Police Commissioner, Yohanan Danino, leads a pre-Memorial Day ceremony in which small flags are placed on the graves of all 1,418 fallen police officers nationwide, beginning with the last deceased, Commander Shimon Gabai. Jerusalem, Israel. 22-Apr-2012.

Policemen stand at attention during a pre-Memorial Day ceremony with families of the dead in the Police Section of the Mt. Hertzel military Cemetery. Jerusalem, Israel. 22-Apr-2012.

Policemen stand at attention during a pre-Memorial Day ceremony with families of the dead in the Police Section of the Mt. Hertzel military Cemetery. Jerusalem, Israel. 22-Apr-2012.

Israel Police Commissioner, Yohanan Danino (center), leads a pre-Memorial Day ceremony in which small flags are placed on the graves of all 1,418 fallen police officers nationwide, beginning with the last deceased, Commander Shimon Gabai. Jerusalem, Israel. 22-Apr-2012.

Demonstrators demand “Draft For All” – Jerusalem

Gavriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi, former Chief of General Staff of IDF, addresses audience at “Draft For All” campaign opposite PM’s office and says: “Serving our country is a great privilege and we are not suckers for doing so!” Jerusalem, Israel. 21-Apr-2012.

Geulah Cohen, former Irgun and Lehi member, politician, and journalist, addresses audience at “Draft For All” campaign opposite PM’s office demanding distribution of burden of mandatory military service, or equivalent, to include ultra-Orthodox. Jerusalem, Israel. 21-Apr-2012.

Demonstrator at renewal of “Draft For All” campaign opposite PM’s office holds an Israeli flag and wears a sticker calling for equal distribution of burden of mandatory military service. Jerusalem, Israel. 21-Apr-2012.

Yosef Kleinman, Holocaust Survivor, Will Never Forget

Yosef Kleinman, 82, Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor, is among the few remaining to give a first-hand testimony of the atrocities of the Holocaust. On Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day Kleinman bestows his legacy to younger generations.

Yosef Kleinman, 82, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau-Kaufering, survivor, is immersed in the events that shook his life. He seizes every opportunity to tell his personal story so that others will never forget. Jerusalem, Israel. 17-Apr-2012.

Yosef Kleinman, arrested by the Germans in the Carpathian Mountains region in Hungary in 1944 at the age of 14, was imprisoned in Auschwitz-Birkenau with his parents, 11 year-old sister and 15 year-old brother. “When I was inspected for selection, the German officer hesitated where to send me because of my age. He finally selected me for work. That was the last time I saw my parents and sister – there at the Auschwitz train station.” Kleinman and his brother were selected for work while the rest of the family selected for immediate death. “We were in a group of 3,000 youths that summer in Auschwitz. Dr. Mengele exterminated 1,000 of us at Rosh Hashanah and another 1,000 on the Eve of Yom Kippur. We had to get out!”

Yosef Kleinman, 82, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau-Kaufering, survivor, displays his prisoner uniform from the Dachau-Kaufering camp. He takes pride in documentation of the Holocaust through saved relics from the past. Jerusalem, Israel. 17-Apr-2012.

With great ingenuity and a good dose of luck Kleinman and his brother managed to sneak out on a transport to Landsberg-Kaufering camps near Dachau where they were force-labored to build shell-proof bunkers to serve the Luftwaffe for a secret Messerschmitt ME-262 twin jet fighter plane development project. “Our dream was to get work. We thought that working would guarantee our lives. But conditions were terrible. There was no hot water to wash and the cement stuck to our faces. I did my best to clean myself and preserve my self-dignity. Eventually the camp was turned into a camp for the sick and dying and my brother and I both became sick, but we knew that whoever lay down sick would never get up.” Symbolically inline with the theme of this year’s Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day – ‘My Brother’s Keeper’: “I survived thanks to my brother. He wouldn’t let me give up hope. I was one of the youngest in the camp. We were lucky. We were very alert and agile and took advantage of opportunities.” Liberated from Kaufering by Americans in April 1945 the Kleinman brothers became refugees wandering through Italy carrying passports marked ‘political prisoner’.

Yosef Kleinman, 82, Holocaust survivor, speaks before a packed hall at the Bereshit (Genesis) Synagogue on the eve of Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, bestowing his legacy to younger generations. Bet-Shemesh, Israel. 18-Apr-2012.

The Kleinmans were able to board the “Four Freedoms” illegal immigration (Ha’apala – Hebrew‎: ascension) boat from Bocca di Magra, Italy, to Palestine in August 1946, carrying nothing more than a worn rucksack with a few personal belongings. Boarding took place under the cover of darkness in order not to be discovered as 1,024 Holocaust survivors were taxied out to sea on a small motor boat to climb aboard the “Four Freedoms” on a rope-ladder. The British Navy intercepted the boat, named for Roosevelt’s famous “Four Freedoms” speech, after eleven days at sea, just 30 miles off the coast of Tel-Aviv. Passengers put up a tough fight that lasted three hours but were finally defeated. The Kleinmans were imprisoned for six months in Cyprus, before finally arriving to Palestine, only to be imprisoned once again by the British in the Atlit detainee camp, established to prevent Jewish refugees from entering Palestine. After one month they were freed to begin a new life.

Silhouette of Yosef Kleinman, 82, Holocaust survivor, as a movie clip is projected of his 1961 testimony in the trial of Adolph Eichmann, at the Bereshit Synagogue on the eve of Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day. Bet-Shemesh, Israel. 18-Apr-2012.

In 1961 Yosef Kleinman was one of 110 witnesses to testify on behalf of the prosecution in the Jerusalem trial that condemned Adolf Eichman, to death by hanging (Nazi Lieutenant Colonel in charge of mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps in German-occupied Eastern Europe, captured by Mossad agents in Argentina in 1960).

 

Yosef Kleinman will never forget. He is wholly immersed in the events that shook his life and the lives of millions of Jews throughout Europe. He seizes every opportunity to tell his personal story so that others will never forget. On the eve of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day Kleinman speaks before the congregation of Bereshit (Hebrew: Genesis) Synagogue in the town of Bet-Shemesh, focusing his attention to the youth in the audience, many of who have visited the concentration camps in Europe.

Kleinman is afforded a great honor in laying a flower wreath on behalf of survivors of Dachau-Kaufering-Landsberg at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in the main Wreath-Laying Ceremony on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day in the presence of President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and many other dignitaries, accompanied by, and taking great pride in, his IDF-serving grandson.

Yosef Kleinman, 82, lays a wreath on behalf of survivors of Dachau-Kaufering-Landsberg at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum on Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, accompanied by his IDF-serving grandson. Jerusalem, Israel. 19-Apr-2012.

FAITH – Holy Week 2012 – Jerusalem

Greek Orthodox Maundy Thursday at the Holy Sepulchre – Jerusalem

Thousands assemble at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Maundy Thursday services led by Theophilus III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the traditional Washing of the Feet ceremony. Jerusalem, Israel. 12-Apr-2012.

Thousands assemble at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Maundy Thursday services led by Theophilus III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the traditional Washing of the Feet ceremony. Jerusalem, Israel. 12-Apr-2012.

Barefooted priests await their turn in the traditional Washing of the Feet ceremony, conducted by Theophilus III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, at the Holy Sepulchre Church on Maundy Thursday. Jerusalem, Israel. 12-Apr-2012.

Theophilus III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, wearing a white robe, kneels before priests to wash their feet in the traditional Washing of the Feet ceremony, at the Holy Sepulchre Church on Maundy Thursday. Jerusalem, Israel. 12-Apr-2012.

Thousands assemble at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Maundy Thursday services led by Theophilus III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the traditional Washing of the Feet ceremony. Jerusalem, Israel. 12-Apr-2012.

PM of Italy Mario Monti visits Yad Vashem – Jerusalem

Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, and wife, Antonioli Monti, receive instruction from Dr. Yael Nidam Orvietto as they gaze up at enlarged Pages of Testimony displayed on the ceiling of the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem. Jerusalem, Israel. 9-Apr-2012.

12, 1012 or 2012?

Christian African pilgrims await the opening of the doors to the Holy Sepulchre Church on Good Friday. Jerusalem, Israel. 6-Apr-2012.

… and many more images of devoted pilgrims HERE

 

Believers at the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Thursday – Jerusalem

Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, arrives at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to lead services on Holy Thursday. Jerusalem, Israel. 5-Apr-2012.

A devoted nun kisses the Stone of Unction in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Thursday. Jerusalem, Israel. 5-Apr-2012.

Sunlight flows in from a window in the ceiling of the Rotunda, above praying nuns and priests, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during services on Holy Thursday. Jerusalem, Israel. 5-Apr-2012.

A man lights candles in worship in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during services on Holy Thursday. Jerusalem, Israel. 5-Apr-2012.

Jonathan Pollard remembered on Passover – Jerusalem

On Passover Eve, signifying the exodus from bondage, MK Uri Ariel (L) joins Efi Lahav (R), campaign manager for the release of Jonathan Pollard, in a mock, traditional, Pesach Seder opposite the PM’s residence with a chair reserved for Pollard himself. Jerusalem, Israel. 5-Apr-2012.

Bereaved father Kobi Sarusi on 5th day of hunger strike

Kobi Sarusi, who lost his 14 year old daughter, Linoi Sarusi, to a terrorist attack in October 2002, wears a pendant engraved with daughter’s picture and protests in a hunger strike opposite the PM’s residence against Social Security Administration. Jerusalem, Israel. 5-Apr-2012.

New Archaeological find reveals the birth of Christianity – Jerusalem

Together with Professor James Tabor of the university of North Carolina and Professor Rami Arav of the University of Nebraska, Jacobovici and his team commissioned a state-of-the-art robotic probe to explore deep beneath a Jerusalem apartment building, discovering never before seen 1st century artifacts. Among the discoveries are the earliest testimony of faith in the resurrection of Jesus, pre-dating any New Testament Gospels, the earliest Christian symbols ever discovered, the oldest 1st century Christian symbol found in Jerusalem, the earliest representation in Jewish art of a biblical story and the earliest record of a teaching, or saying, of Jesus passed on orally, perhaps by someone who heard him say it.

Simcha Jacobovici explains the ornamentation on painstakingly reproduced replicas of the still buried ossuaries and the significance of drawings of the biblical story of Jonah and the whale in regard to faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Jerusalem, Israel. 4-Apr-2012.

“The Resurrection Tomb” will be aired during Easter Week, across the United States and Canada on April 12th (Easter is celebrated on Sunday, April 8, 2012).

Matthew 16:4 – “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah. And he left them and went away.

Matthew 12:40 – “…For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of earth.”

Luke 11:30 – “For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevities, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

Prof. James D. Tabor explains the ornamentation on painstakingly reproduced replicas of the still buried ossuaries and the significance of Greek writings in regard to faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Jerusalem, Israel. 4-Apr-2012.

A Busy Jerusalem Day…

Christians celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Coptic Chapel. Jerusalem, Israel. 1-Apr-2012.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal (C), joins priests carrying palm branches in a Palm Sunday procession at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Jerusalem, Israel. 1-Apr-2012.

A group of South Sudanese refugees protests opposite the Prime Minister’s Residence as collective protection from deportation for South Sudanese expires today. Jerusalem District Court has issued an injunction forbidding deportation before April 15th. Jerusalem, Israel. 1-Apr-2012.

A group of South Sudanese refugees protests opposite the Prime Minister’s Residence as collective protection from deportation for South Sudanese expires today. Jerusalem District Court has issued an injunction forbidding deportation before April 15th. Jerusalem, Israel. 1-Apr-2012.

Thousands take part in Palm Sunday procession ascending from Gethsemane to the Lions’ Gate, carrying palm branches, singing ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’ and accompanied by musical instruments. Jerusalem, Israel. 1-Apr-2012.

Two nuns descend from the Mount of Olives in Palm Sunday procession carrying palm branches in celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Israel. 1-Apr-2012.

 

And what did you do today?

 

Summing Up The Week…

Click on any of the images for more details and photos;

“Shalechet”, fallen leaves, a work in progress since 1997 by Menashe Kadishman on display at The Tel Aviv Museum of Art on ‘Art Weekend’, launching Tel Aviv’s ‘Art Year’ with major art projects artistically flourishing the city. Tel-Aviv, Israel. 22-Mar-2012.

Jezebel IV by Jonathan Hirschfeld on display at RAWart Gallery on ‘Art Weekend’, launching Tel Aviv’s ‘Art Year’ with major art projects artistically flourishing the city. Tel-Aviv, Israel. 22-Mar-2012.

The Ramatayim Men’s Choir, conducted by Richard Shavel Tzion, in Rainbow Of Music presented by the Jerusalem Performing Arts Festival and the Malki Foundation in memory of Malki Roth, murdered in August 2001. Jerusalem, Israel. 25-Mar-2012.

Tenor Guy Mannheim performs in Rainbow Of Music presented by the Jerusalem Performing Arts Festival and the Malki Foundation in memory of Malki Roth, murdered in August 2001. Jerusalem, Israel. 25-Mar-2012.

Ten years to the Park Hotel massacre OneFamily Organization leads a memorial ceremony for families of victims of deadliest terror attack in Second Intifada that claimed 30 lives and injured 140 on Passover Eve. Netanya, Israel. 27-Mar-2012.

Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger takes part in a memorial ceremony for families of victims of deadliest terror attack in Second Intifada that claimed 30 lives and injured 140 on Passover Eve 2002. Netanya, Israel. 27-Mar-2012.

South African born, Reverend David M. Neuhaus SJ, serves as the Latin Patriarchal Vicar of the Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel. Father Neuhaus, born Jewish to refugees of Nazi Germany, speaks of the Christian community in Israel. Jerusalem, Israel. 28-Mar-2012.

Father Juan Maria Solana LC, charge of the Holy See at Notre Dame in Jerusalem, pictured on the roof of Notre Dame overlooking the Old City, is the visionary behind an ambitious project erecting the Magdala Center in the Galilee. Jerusalem, Israel. 28-Mar-2012.

Volunteer Work on ‘Good Deeds Day’ – Jerusalem

Female IDF soldier of the Shachar Battalion paints the hallways of old residential buildings on Stern Street in Kiryat Yovel on 'Good Deeds Day'. Jerusalem, Israel. 20-Mar-2012.

Boys of Al-Fak School in the Arab neighborhood of Tsur Baher decorate schoolyard on 'Good Deeds Day' as Municipality participates in a national project that encourages work for the community. Jerusalem, Israel. 20-Mar-2012.

Mayor Nir Barkat and businesswoman and philanthropist Shari Arison plant a tree in a community garden on Stern Street in Kiryat Yovel on ‘Good Deeds Day'. Jerusalem, Israel. 20-Mar-2012.

Second International Jerusalem Marathon in Cold and Rain

A Chasidic Jewish runner crosses the finish line of the 21Km Half Marathon in traditional clothing. Jerusalem, Israel. 16-Mar-2012.

Women Sing “No!” to Discrimination

Infuriated activists protest with song in front of Rehavia neighborhood restaurant, Heimishe Esin, threatened by ultra-Orthodox Agudath Israel to invalidate its Kashrut certificate unless it stops employing female waitresses on Thursday evenings. Jerusalem, Israel. 15-Mar-2012.

Boyar High School students in “Hefetz” by Hanoch Levin

Amateur actress Merav Lapidos portrays Shukra in a Boyar high school students’ production of “Hefetz” by play writer Hanoch Levin (1943-1999). Hefetz deals with relationships based on humiliation and degradation. Jerusalem, Israel. 14-Mar-2012.

Amateur actor Ron Paldi portrays Hefetz in a Boyar high school students’ production “Hefetz” by play writer Hanoch Levin (1943-1999). Hefetz deals with relationships based on humiliation and degradation. Jerusalem, Israel. 14-Mar-2012.