Tag: jerusalem

  • Birthing at Hadassah Ein Kerem.

    I have heard the horror stories: laboring in a janitor’s closet, giving birth in the elevator, no epidural available, recovering in the hallway. I have heard the beautiful stories:  sweet, caring midwives, a tendancy towards leniency, rooming in available,  wonderful aftercare. While I cannot say for sure what it’s like to birth at Hadassah Ein…

  • Facing the streets.

    I like this. Especially since reading the Israeli news lately has been painful (then again, when is it not?). Look at Barkat being all cultural and whatnot: Jerusalem streets to put a face to name Capital’s municipality to replace all street signs named after famous people with new signs featuring personality’s image, story You’re driving…

  • Homebirth in Israel.

    UPDATE (April 2011): After this post was written, down the road, for my second child, we did a home birth in our apartment in Tzur Hadassah. I’ve got more info on the subject now from firsthand experience and am happy to share: My home birth story: Israel, Tzur Hadassah, apartment, bedroom. Registering your newborn after…

  • Rain, rain, come our way.

    Jerusalemites are celebrating the rain that began as a lightning show last night. I woke up just now to pleasantly discover that it’s still going. We’ve had a bad winter so far this year, the kind where everyone – to an annoying degree – talks about how terrible the situation is and starts judging each…

  • Birthing in Jerusalem hospitals.

    As my third trimester quickly approaches, I’ve been getting serious about touring and registering at hospitals, considering alternative birthing options and doing the doula dance. Yep, this is the ‘bureaucratic’ and technical aspect of being pregnant. In the last month we’ve done hospital tours in two popular Jerusalem hospitals: Hadassah Ein Karem and Shaarei Tzedek.…

  • Tracking Jerusalem.

    The light rail project for Jerusalem has been underway for some time, as anyone who has been through town lately can attest. I rarely go to town anymore; last night was the first time in a while, long enough for me to be shocked by seeing Yaffo street covered in braces: It’s exciting to see an…

  • Birkat Kohanim at the kotel.

    I had never seen it, and my dad is of the priestly persuasion, so the three of us went down to the kotel in the Old City yesterday to hear/see/be present at the ginormous Birkat Kohanim for chol hamoed Sukkot. Birkat Kohanim – known as ‘duchaning’ in Ashkenaz circles – is like a representation of…

  • Avoiding headaches over Yom Kippur, Jerusalem-style.

    Ok, coolest thing ever. It’s not the fact that there might be a way to prevent headaches over fast days; I’m not much of a headache-sufferer myself. It’s the fact that Shaare Tzedek – the Jerusalem hospital that is conducting the study – totally started it and framed it in a way trying to ease…

  • Sex and the Holy City…

    …and I’m not referring to Israeli TV show Srugim, although from what I’ve heard, maybe I should be. Riding on the bus through town today, I spotted this piece of culture sunbathing with all the rubble of the Yaffo – light rail construction site: The Kama Sutra in Hebrew. Even Jerusalemites need a few new…

  • Another bulldozer attack.

    I get a URL sent to me at work. I open it. I’m about to reply to my coworker, why are you sending me old news articles? when I decide to look at the date. July 22nd. That’s… today. I didn’t write about the first tractor attack in Jerusalem in the beginning of the month,…

  • The Israeli rabies experience.

    Well, now I know what it’s like to wonder if you have rabies from a stray cat… in Israel. Last night, hanging out in the hood, a small kitten – probably two months old – ran into our friends’ house and after several other attempts, we were resorted to chasing it into corners, until it…

  • Tonight's rally for the release of Gilad Shalit.

    Amidst the cries for Olmert to quit, be embarrassed and work harder towards the release of the kidnapped soldiers, there was plenty of emotion to go round. Of course, the major focal point of sentiment came from Noam Shalit’s short but necessary speech to open the rally outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem. It’s…