This week in Jerusalem: Get on board

Get on board

A new bus line joins the network of city bus lines in Jerusalem this week – connecting south Jerusalem to the western neighborhoods, passing through stadiums, commercial centers, and a hospital. Superbus will operate line 505, which will depart from the Har Homa neighborhood, continue to Gilo, and from there to Teddy Stadium and Malha Mall, passing through the Givat Mordechai neighborhood, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the Yaffe Nof light rail station, terminating on Kanfei Nesherim Street in Givat Shaul. Its return trip will take the same route.

On Sundays through Thursdays, it will run every 12-15 minutes, and on Friday and Saturday evenings every 15-20 minutes. 

In addition, as of last week, nine electric-powered articulated buses were added to Egged’s line 15 in Jerusalem. Also, in the next six months, more electric buses will join, increasing the line’s fleet of articulated electric buses to 24, making it the greenest line in the capital.

Gloomy shuk 

Since October 7, as in many other commercial locations in the city, the atmosphere in the iconic Mahaneh Yehuda market has been gloomy, with customer traffic sparser than usual and many places closed – even on Fridays. In the first days of the war, the market was almost empty of shoppers, but it was a hive of activity. The restaurants all rallied and prepared thousands of meals for the IDF soldiers, while others were busy with donations and transfers for the soldiers and the residents of the South who had started arriving in Jerusalem. 

Everyone gave with all their heart and soul, recall some of the shopkeepers and stall-holders. Soon, however, the loss of income had become critical, with some losing 100% of their income in the month and a half that passed since the start of the war. Most, however, don’t complain because they feel it is not the appropriate time, as so many have lost loved ones or kidnapped into Gaza. 

The Finance Ministry has agreed to compensation in the region of 22%, but for most it isn’t enough.

As for the loans proposed by the state, many refuse to take them, saying that they won’t be able to pay back the loans if there is no revenue. 

Theater and war

Khan Theater has frozen a play because the writer accused Israel of “genocide.” The theater management decided to freeze the production of the play The Boy with Two Hearts, based on the book by Hamed Amiri, an Afghan-Brit, following his public attacks and accusations made toward Israel of the “Gaza genocide” in several publications. The Khan Jerusalem-based theater decided that they could not promote this writer’s work. 

Home sweet home 

It took almost 10 years, but now it is happening: The first residents have finally moved into the evacuation-construction (pinui binui) project in Kiryat Hayovel – Sderot Hayovel – the first urban renewal project in the neighborhood. It started in 2013, with the first steps in the process – the ”first of its kind” in the city, followed by the evacuation of the tenants in 2018. 

The project, located on Tahon Street, consists of three complexes where 508 new housing units were built in place of the 114 existing apartments. According to the companies that carried out the project (Kedmat Al-Yovel and Karso Real Estate), the occupancy of the first complex will be completed in the coming weeks. 

This complex comprises two 20-floor towers (above an underground parking lot), in which there is a total of 130 apartments, a kindergarten, and Commerce Avenue. 

The other two complexes in the Sderot Hayovel project are in the advanced construction stages. The second complex includes 226 new units in two residential towers – one 24-story and the other 16-story – with 700 square meters of commercial space and a cinema. 

The third complex on Tahon Street connects the project to the Red light rail line. It includes 152 new housing units in a 19-story tower and five- to eight-story boutique buildings, as well as commercial and public spaces.

No school this month 

There is another delay to the start of the academic school year as a result of the war. The heads of universities and academic institutions announced that the academic year will not start before December 24. Two weeks’ advance notice of the start date will be given, meaning that even that delayed date is still not certain. 

This decision was made because of the war and the high number of students and faculty members recruited into the reserves. Two weeks’ advance notice will be given in order to enable people to get organized for the year ahead.

This announcement applies to seven universities in Israel: The Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the University of Haifa, and Ariel University. At the Weizmann Institute and the Open University, other arrangements will be made, the details of which will be communicated to the students by the institutions. 

The heads of the universities said: “We aim for the school year to be held in its entirety and include two full semesters. As the need arises, the school year will also slide into the summer period. The individual decisions regarding the structure of the school year will be made at each of the universities.” 

However, at the request of the Health Ministry, and in order to facilitate the smooth running of the health system in Israel, special arrangements will be made for medical students. 

Take the A bus

Superbus employees are threatening to go on strike in the coming days. They claim management is thwarting negotiations for a new collective agreement and refuses to raise wages, though this raise was already accounted for in the Transportation Ministry’s budget. 

The Association of Transport Workers’ Unions claims management is shamelessly taking advantage of the war and pressure in the country to weaken workers’ rights, while holding on to the ministry funding intended for workers. Moreover, if a driver takes sick time, he/she is punished through cuts in working hours. The last collective agreement was signed in 2018, notes the association, and should have been updated by now.

Superbus management has called on the drivers to show responsibility and return to the negotiating table, but without promising anything. ❖