Foto Friday – Running Around the Holyland
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel
The sixth annual Pope John Paul II Pilgrimage Peace Marathon took place on Thursday. Although not truly a marathon — it is best described as a non-competitive 10k walk-run from Manger Square in Bethlehem to Notre Dame outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls — it is nonetheless a unique and truly moving event.
Italian and Palestinian participants did the first 2k within the Palestinian Authority, then met up with their Israeli counterparts — myself included — at the Rachel Crossing checkpoint, and ran the remaining distance together. The photo is of the festive ceremony at Notre Dame where everyone got a medal…
…including my pal Yaron Rochin, of Jerusalem’s Beit HaLohem, who organized the Israeli group.
Yaron is quite a story in an of himself. An IDF veteran with legs wounded by shrapnel, he is nonetheless a fixture at all Israeli running events where he always picks up the rear — which is where you can find me — with his infectious energy.
Yaron led the Papal Peace Pilgrimage pack with cries of “Yalla, hevre!” and the next day, did the Tel Aviv Marathon — a true 42.2k — in a hand-powered bicycle.
More about this unique event can be found in a previous post and on this YouTube video, courtesy of Italian news service Rome Reports:
As for the Tel Aviv Marathon, the energy and spirit among participants was great and, hopefully, the city’s residents won’t be too hateful and the event will be allowed to continue and grow. Here’s the starting line. I’m the one in the orange shirt.
Yaron crossing the finish line.
And the winner, Daniel Kones of Kenya, who finished in 2:38:06.
More information about running in Israel, as well as registration for events, can be found at Shvoong. The site is, unfortunately, only in Hebrew. Another event organizer is ProSport – and they do have an English site. On-on and happy trails!
Foto Friday – Holyland Hashers run Tel Aviv
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel
My running club, the Holyland Hash House Harriers, held a traditional Red Dress Run in Tel Aviv this weekend in celebration of our 777th run. The Hash, for the uninitiated (and yes, there is an initiation!), is an international running and beer-drinking dis-organization that specializes in fun runs. And here’s your proof:
Here we are, doing a bit of cult-to-cult dancing with some Hare Krishnas.
Ynet did a really nice video of the run, noting that, as Israelis tend to take their sports very seriously, they seemed mighty perplexed by the stampede of “Ameri-kookim” tearing down Rothschild Boulevard.
But that was nothing compared to the week before, when the Holyland Hash House Harriers met up with 40 Royal Navy sailors and flummoxed Haifa.
We are now getting set for the Tel Aviv Marathon, 10k and 5k runs on April 24th. (Despite all outward appearances, the group includes some very serious athletes). So be on the lookout! Come run with us! Or at least have a camera ready.
Gearing up for Tel Aviv’s 100th
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Travel
A poster in competition for the Tel Aviv Centennial.
Arriving there from Jerusalem is always like entering a different country, that’s moving a noticeably more rapid pace. Yup, Tel Aviv has alot to be proud of, and starting next month, the city is launching its Centennial celebrations with six months of exhibits, shows, programs, and educational and cultural offerings.
Just a few highlights from a press briefing that Mayor Ron Huldai and Centennial director general Hila Oren gave this week
* A NIS 500,000 statue of Tel Aviv’s first mayor Meir Dizengoff, designed by artist David Zondolovitz will be unveiled in front of the mayor’s home on Rothschild Boulevard to coincide with a conference on April 23rd at the Cameri Theater on the descendants of the city’s founding fathers. (By the way, a recent survey of high school students showed that most thought famed Dizengoff Street was named after the Dizengoff Center shopping mall – so there’s something to be said for those educational programs they’re planning).
* The city has embarked on 15 major renovation projects to mark the Centennial, including the restoration of the Jaffa Port, the Manshia train station at the edge of Jaffa, the restoration of the Trumpeldor Street cemetery where many of the city’s founders are buried, and new wings for the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, the Museum of Art and Habimah Theater.
* A gala opening celebration at Kikar Rabin on April 4th
* The Tel Aviv Marathon on April 24th
* Little Tel Aviv’s White Nights nostalgia festival on May 27th
* The Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade on June 12th
* The Blue-Mediterranean Festival in Jaffa on June 16th
* A gala performance of Verdi’s Requiem by La Scala at Ganei Yehoshua on July 16th
Huldai spoke about the actual 100th birthday of the city – marked as April 11, 1909 when several dozen families gathered on the sand dunes outside Jaffa to choose plots for land for a new neighborhood called Ahuzat Bayit, later renamed Tel Aviv. Since they couldn’t decide who would get which plot, they held a lottery by gathering 60 gray and 60 white seashells. Akiva Arieh Weiss, chairman of the lottery committee, wrote the names of the participants on the white shells and the plot numbers on the gray shells, and paired the names with the plots.
“Every day it’s a miracle. When I think about 100 years ago and those families standing on the sand dunes and picking up shells for the lottery, and then seeing this metropolis today, it’s just a miracle,” said Huldai.
So, if you’re planning a trip in the next few months, think about Tel Aviv and join in celebrating the miracle.
Nostalgia Sunday
Only 241 more days till the Tel Aviv Centennial celebrations start and I can’t wait. It’s going to be party, party, party all day and all night from April 2009 till December 2009. Why? Because that’s the kind of city we are.
Tel Aviv has a grand old tradition of revelry in the face of adversity and austerity – I could wax nostalgic for hours about the open-house parties of the Eighties – but will suffice by saying this: we are not a trite city. We simply take our fun very seriously.
Every month during the centennial celebrations will have a theme: April – The Grand Opening; May – Education and Heritage; June – Little Tel Aviv; July/August – Summer; September – Spirit of Peace; October – Green City; November-December – History and Community.
One community project is called “Revealing the Hidden City,” in which volunteers will scan and save old photos of the city from private collections and upload them to the Tel Aviv 100 website. Many will be displayed in 11 exhibits planned for the centennial year. The English part of the site isn’t ready yet, but you can check out some photos on the Hebrew site already.
But really, the monthly themes will be party, party, party! April features the opening ceremonies and the newly reinstated Tel Aviv Marathon; May will have art and film exhibitions; June will be a series of Tel Aviv “White Nights” all-nighters, the Tel Aviv Book Fair and the RS:X European Windsurfing Championships; July-August includes the 18th Maccabiah Games, a Children’s Festival and La Scala; September takes a more spiritual turn each Friday with a city-wide kabalat Shabbat to welcome the Sabbath; October’s ecological theme means a bike race and an international harp competition; and while November-December sounds serious (founders conference, business conference, Calder retrospective), don’t forget that December 31st is New Year’s Eve! More partying for us. Yay! Everyone’s invited, so start planning your visit now.
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