This week in Jerusalem: No more tickets

No more tickets

The Magistrate’s Court ordered the cancellation of 46 parking tickets given to demonstrators on Balfour Street during the mass rallies of 2023, protesting against the prime minister’s proposed judicial reforms. The demonstrators claimed that the municipal inspection department intentionally harassed them on political grounds. Judges partially agreed and determined that the imposition of reports goes against the municipality’s general policy regarding demonstrations.

The court ruled that tickets given for “non-life-threating” offenses and the offense of “bringing a vehicle into a public park” should be canceled. The court did not accept applicants’ claims that politically motivated selective enforcement had been carried out but determined that the respondents had faced a different enforcement policy than applied to other mass events, such as sports games at Teddy Stadium.

Jerusalem remembers

Five years after the murder of a Jerusalem couple, the municipality inaugurated the Ma’alot Yehuda and Tamar Kaduri memorial site. The Kaduris were brutally murdered in their home in East Talpiot on January 10, 2019, by a Palestinian terrorist affiliated with ISIS. The terrorist managed to escape and hide for years until the Jerusalem District Police and Shin Bet tracked him down. The inauguration ceremony was attended by family and friends, deputy mayors, council members, and the police officers who helped capture the perpetrator.

Our forest, our home

The Mir Forest, between Pisgat Ze’ev and Neveh Ya’acov, will not become a construction site but will be designated a community forest, thanks to KKL-JNF’s national program – in an agreement signed between the Jerusalem Municipality and the National Fund for Israel.

Mir, which will be the 24th community forest in Israel, will include archaeological, ancient agricultural, and historical sites; a commemorative site for paratroopers who fought in British ranks and parachuted into Europe during World War II; and a variety of eucalyptus, wildflowers, and animals, including a large population of deer.

Taken for a ride?

The Jerusalem Parents Association is arguing that the municipality, which claims that funding for the transportation of female Beit Yaakov students was extended “in view of the security situation,” refuses to provide an example of other schools receiving the same benefit. Mayoral candidate Yossi Havilio intends to petition the court on the matter, while the opposing side argues that “Havilio’s appeal is flawed by hypocrisy and a lack of transparency.”

Meanwhile, Havilio and council member Laura Wharton are considering submitting a petition and demanding transportation for all students in Jerusalem or the cessation of that specific funding.

Hear the call 

Mendel Programs for Haredi Community Leadership Development is launching a call for haredi women to join the next leadership program, aimed at promoting committed, talented, and professional educational, social, and civic female leaders. Applicants are encouraged to submit nominations for female entrepreneurs and social activists who demonstrated leadership during the corona pandemic and the current war.

Underground access

The Transportation Ministry, the municipality, and the Shaare Zedek Medical Center are cooperating in the construction of an underground pedestrian crossing that, within three years, will enable pedestrians to reach the new Shaare Zedek entrance. The underground passage will begin at the Yefe Nof light rail station. The project, promoted by the municipality, will be funded by a NIS 73 million grant by the Transportation Ministry and will be carried out by the Moriah municipal company.

At a length of 130 meters, the tunnel will facilitate accessibility to the hospital. At present, to get from the light rail station to the hospital, pedestrians must traverse five crossings and more than 300 meters of sloped walkways on narrow sidewalks – a challenge for the disabled, the elderly, and those accompanying young children.

When the underground passage is completed, entrepreneurs will be given the opportunity to open shops along its length, as is currently the case at the renewed entrance to the Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem. ■