This week in Jerusalem: Remembering their names

Remembering their names

The memory of Sr.-St.-Sgt.-Maj. Yosef (Yosi) Kirma, a fighter in the police Special Patrol Unit who fell in the line of duty, will be commemorated near the place where he was killed in Sheikh Jarrah. Lt. Shir Hajaj, who was murdered in an attack in Armon Hanatziv, will be commemorated in the Nof Zion neighborhood.

A street will be named to commemorate journalist Tzipi Malkov in the center of the city.

Among others to be commemorated in Jerusalem are the following: Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, chief rabbi of Israel between 1993 and 2003; Rabbi Elisha Vishlitsky, a leading National-Religious rabbi and founder of the Torah study groups; Moshe Arens, who served as ambassador to the US and defense minister in several governments of Israel; Yitzhak Coren, MK, who served as secretary of the Moshavim Movement; Mordechai Ra’anan, Irgun commander in Jerusalem in 1947-1948; Mordecai Nisan, professor of education, one of the founders of the Mandel Leadership Institute; and Yehuda and Rahel Rozni, who during the siege of Jerusalem in the War of Independence provided the residents with fresh agricultural produce every day, which they delivered by donkey every morning to the various neighborhoods. The farm of the Rozni family is the last agricultural farm left in the area. 

Hotel in citadel

The Local Committee for Planning and Construction submitted to the District Committee a plan to preserve the Eyal Citadel and construct a hotel on the site. The site is located between David Remez Street to the west; an archaeological site to the north; the Begin Heritage Center to the east; and overlooks the Scottish Church, Givat Hatanach and the Khan Theater to the south. In the center of all this is an 18th-century citadel known as the Eyal Citadel. Adjacent to it is a one-story conservation residence with a tiled roof. Today, the citadel is hidden in a grove of trees, and there is no access to it. The proposal is to build a five-story hotel fronting on David Remez Street. It will feature 100 guest rooms, an arcade, and an underground parking garage. The plan proposes to improve the public space and connect the complex to the surrounding public areas.

Hurrah to outstanding soldiers

On Independence Day, six soldiers from Jerusalem received medals of distinction from President Isaac Herzog. They are Sgt. M.; Lt. Shaked Radei; Cpl. Avraham Bar Noy; St.-Sgt. Hadas Hepert; and Sgt. S. and St.-Sgt. M.

Sgt. M. (20), who immigrated to Israel in 2003 from Russia, lives with her mother and sister in Jerusalem. M. was drafted in December 2020. She joined the Research Department of Military Intelligence as an intelligence investigator in the northern sector and has been serving in the position for the past two years.

Bar Noy, 19, a lone soldier, left home at the age of 16 because he wanted to enlist. He joined the 97th Netzah Yehuda Battalion. He participated in an operation in which the sergeant and the platoon commander were wounded, and he took command of the unit.

Hepert, 21, came on aliyah from Philadelphia at the age of five with her family and has four siblings. Her older sister served in Unit 8200, and Hepert enlisted in December 2020. Today, she serves in the Samaria Brigade and volunteers at MDA as part of her position’s requirements.

Radei, 22, grew up in a religious home and has six siblings. She did National Service at the Foreign Ministry, and then enlisted in December 2020 to be a lookout in the Judea Brigade. She served there for half a year and joined a commanders course. Today she serves in the Etzion Brigade.

St.-Sgt. M., 21, volunteered at Shaare Zedek Medical Center and enlisted in June 2020. He has served for three years in an information security unit, where he has led several projects.

Sgt. S., 20, enlisted in December 2020, did a signals intelligence course, and served as an investigator in the North. Soon she will be a squad leader.

Hands off my neighborhood!

The residents of Gonen-Katamonim held a demonstration at Safra Square against what they call “the destruction of the neighborhood.” The residents, including members of the community administration, object to plans for the construction of high-rise buildings in the Katamonim (Katamon Het, Tet) and Gonen neighborhoods, without adequate preparation of infrastructure and comprehensive planning. The residents feel they are discriminated against compared to other neighborhoods, where, they say, the municipality avoids dictating plans without involving the residents.

Not so long ago, similar claims were made and are still being made by many residents of Kiryat Yovel, where the skyline is filled with towers, which changes the neighborhood’s appearance and character.

The plans in Gonen-Katamonim, so the opponents claim, will not only change the face of the neighborhood but will also create a situation of complete chaos, as it will become a vast construction site for many years. In order to prevent the chaos and the destruction of the neighborhood, dozens of residents appealed to the members of the city council with a request to protect the neighborhood and its future from the planned construction, which, they fear, will “destroy entire communities.”

Members of the Hitorerut list, in the opposition on the city council, joined the residents’ protest, calling for a halt to the large-scale projects that deviate from the current master plan and requesting that a master plan be promoted in full coordination and partnership with the residents and the community administration.

Planning officials at the Jerusalem Municipality emphasized that the proposed construction plan does not deviate from the neighborhood’s master plan and is compatible with the construction policy along the light rail routes, which allows for buildings of up to 46 stories. ❖