Jerusalem is a city of lights. This man keeps those lights running

Jerusalem is a city of lights, and Michael Lidsky is one of the people responsible for keeping it that way.

The head of public lighting and power infrastructure for the Jerusalem Municipality, Lidsky is tasked with lighting up the biggest city in the country.

In Jerusalem sat down with him to discuss how he manages one of the most complicated municipal lighting systems in the world.

How did you get into this line of work?

My background is in hi-tech as an electronics engineer. Seeking a change, I pursued studies to become an electrical engineer. This transition involved extensive training, licensing, and practical experience, leading to my current role. Following a stint in the private sector, including involvement in the planning of Rawabi City [the model Palestinian city], I joined the Jerusalem Municipality.

What makes Jerusalem have such an incredibly complex lighting system?

Jerusalem is the biggest city in Israel, both in terms of population and geography. We are twice the size of Tel Aviv in terms of population and almost three times as large in terms of area. Jerusalem’s electricity bill amounts to NIS 23 million annually.

Jerusalem is also one of the most complex cities in the world. On the one hand, we’re a regular city; but on the other, we have the Old City, which is very historic and political. Every step you take and everything you do in the Old City requires a lot of coordination with the Antiquities Authority and with the owners of private historical buildings. Because the Old City has such narrow streets, light fixtures are often installed on the walls of buildings. Sometimes these walls are very old and historic, and sometimes they’re privately owned, and no one wants to see cables running on these walls, so you need to find ways to hide them. It’s incredibly complicated.

We also have to be careful around nature areas and parks. Lighting can impact the wildlife, so we need to design the light there accordingly.

I am also responsible for lighting up open sports fields throughout the city. We need to make sure they are lit up appropriately, and that they are shut off at a reasonable hour so that we don’t bother the neighbors. Additionally, keeping the lights on longer than necessary would be a waste of electricity,

There is also eastern Jerusalem, which has its own complexities. Some parts of the east city are beyond the security fence, and sometimes it can be challenging for municipal employees to go there. So providing services in those areas comes with its own set of unique challenges. Jerusalem is a very diverse and complex city.

How does Jerusalem’s lighting rate on a global scale?

I would say that we are one of the leading cities in the world in terms of lighting technology, in terms of how we implement cutting-edge technology to control the huge lighting system.

For example, we have almost 70,000 luminaires [lighting units] in the city. This means that, statistically, every night, at least 60 luminaires get burned out and need to be replaced. That’s a lot, especially because we also need to go out and find those 60 luminaires in order to fix them.

What is the latest major project you are working on?

Along with my manager Ziva Nukrai of the municipal City Improvement Division, we are in the middle of a mega-project that involves replacing all the light fixtures in the city with the latest technology – LED lighting, which will improve the lighting in the streets. Pending budget allocation, we will be able to complete the project within three years.

The project is incredibly important to Mayor Moshe Lion. His fervent dedication to it underscores its paramount importance, as he actively engages in securing the necessary budgetary allocations to ensure Jerusalem’s pioneering status in this field. The people of Jerusalem like the idea and want to see it happen. We get lots of requests for these LED lighting replacements, especially now during the war when appropriate lighting can improve people’s sense of security.

Every light fixture is installed along with a new communication device that allows us to monitor each light individually. That way, we can monitor failures easily and effectively, becoming aware of faults in the fixtures even before any of the residents notice and report them.

Tell me about one of the biggest light projects you work on in the city.

A good example is the iconic Chords Bridge which has become one of the most recognizable Jerusalem landmarks and grown into a monumental 60-meter tall screen. It’s a 60-meter tall bridge with 60 strings, each with lighting. This translates into almost 15,000 LED pixels.

This helps the bridge offer special and culturally significant content, ranging from celebratory greetings for Jewish holidays to marking historic peace agreements between Israel and other nations. For example, during the Abraham Accords, we lit up the bridge with the flags of the states with which Israel normalized ties.

When Beitar Jerusalem won the State Cup, we also lit up the bridge accordingly.

We control the bridge remotely, changing the theme every two weeks. Now, during the war, we project the image of a moving flag that looks as if it’s flowing in the wind.

Maintenance is an important issue here because, every now and then, one of these LED pixels will have an issue. This requires us to stop traffic in the area at night and use a very large lift or crane to go up and fix whatever issues come up, to make sure we maintain as perfect an image as possible.

The designs are coordinated with the spokesperson and the mayor’s staff. It’s a sensitive location, so we need to be very careful with what we project.

Have you ever had to reject any designs?

Funnily enough, we often get requests from people desirous of proposing to their partners via the lighting on the bridge. Unfortunately, we have to turn them down.

We also get requests for advertisements. We say no to these, too. According to the mayor’s policy, the bridge is just for the public and is not a revenue source for the municipality. ■