UBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" This Week In Jerusalem: A round-up of city affairs Sunday, February 28, 2010       14 Adar, 5770         Web JPost.com create JPOST.COM your Home Page       Jerusalem 13 °C fresh York 1 °C London 5 °C   Home | Headlines | Iranian Threat | Jewish World | idea | Trade | true Estate | Local Israel | Blogs | Arts & Culture | Français  | Classifieds  Israel | Middle East | International | Health & Sci-Tech | Features | go | Cafe Oleh | Magazine | Sports | Israel Guide | Subscribe | Services Archives JP Toolbar Christian World Youth Magazines RSS Feeds News Ticker More Services JPost Store Israel Hotels Vacation Rentals Philanthropy Green Israel Car Rentals Learn Hebrew JPost Mall Sderot Dove JP Travel Guide Links Purim E-cards Christian World Ten Tribes Advertise on JPost Media Kit לימוד אנגלית      Breaking News     JPost.com Christian In Israel Features   .large_body p, .large_body span { font-size: 18px; } .small_body p, .small_body span { font-size: 12px; } Photo by: AP This Week In Jerusalem: A round-up of city affairs By PEGGY CIDOR 26/02/2010 17:08 Porush senior, who died this week aged 93, was somewhat of a legendary figure in the city.   Christian charity in the capitalWhen Uri Lupolianski became mayor, one of the many problems he faced was the strong opposition of his fellow haredim to accepting funds from evangelical Christians. In other words, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, one of previous mayor Ehud Olmert’s legacies, became a sort of burden for Lupolianski, and the fund and its director, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, were politely yet firmly requested to spread their charity elsewhere. At first, high-ranking workers in the municipal Welfare and Social Affairs Department were devastated, however they learned to acquire by without funding from the IFCJ.With Nir Barkat’s election as mayor, there were hopes that the ban on the IFCJ would be lifted. That dream is about to approach accurate. On Wednesday, at a unique meeting at City Hall, Barkat and Eckstein announced the resumption of cooperation between the IFCJ and the municipality. According to the agreement, the first sum to be donated this year is NIS 13.5 million,  which will be allocated to what has been called a joint fight against poverty by the municipality and the IFCJ. Most of the funds will recede to aid support the Ethiopian population.Thought for schoolsJerusalem has the highest number of art schools in the state, but many students are constrained to leave the city after they complete their studies due to the lack of opportunities for art graduates. In the framework of the mayor’s efforts to hold students, young couples and young households in Jerusalem, all the city’s art schools will hold a joint open day on March 3, which is a day off for high schools nationwide.Some 3,500 students attend the nine art high schools in the capital. The event will be promoted by a radio campaign in which celebrity graduates, such as actor Yiftah Klein, singer Ohad Hitman and journalist Sarah Beck, will participate.A legendary JerusalemiteEarly last Monday morning, one of the leading figures of the local haredi community, Menachem Porush, died at 93. He was an MK for over three decades and a deputy minister, and the father of Meir Porush, the deputy minister of education and former candidate for Jerusalem mayor.Porush senior was somewhat of a legendary figure in the city and a first-tier leader of the Agudat Israel institutions and political party. It was he who stood behind his son Meir and supported his running for mayor, even though the polls showed that former mayor Uri Lupolianski had a better chance of winning. On election night in November 2008, Menachem Porush arrived at his son’s headquarters at 3 a.m. and burst into tears when it became evident that his dream of seeing his son run the city would not be realized. In profound distress, he spoke to the hundreds of young yeshiva students who volunteered for the Porush campaign in Yiddish, saying, “It’s over. Go home.”It is stated that as a deputy minister in the Rabin government, he burst into tears and begged prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to retain Rachel’s Tomb following the Oslo accords. Fearing that Rabin was not going to alter his mind, he hugged him and said in Yiddish: “Momme Rochel, Momme Rochel” until Rabin finally relented. And the rest is history.All’s fair The annual Bezalel fair begins next Friday. It will hold space on the sidestreets surrounding the replace with Bezalel building downtown as part of the joint efforts of the Bezalel School of Art and Design and the city’s Culture Department to revive the city center.The fair will display paintings, handmade woodwork, textile and glass pieces, ceramics, as well as photographs and various artwork selected by the school’s artistic forum. Social activist organizations will also have booths  material about their activities and enlist new volunteers. The fair, which is co-produced by Bezalel, the Culture Department at City Hall and the Lev Ha’ir Community Center, will take place every Friday between 9 a.m.  and 3 p.m. until the end of Succot. As part of the effort to promote the local population, the fair will employ only citizens of the city. Throughout the summer, there will also be open night screenings and a singalong on Thursday evenings.Stubbing out smokingGood news for non-smokers: Municipal inspectors are now enforcing the ban on smoking in public places more vigilantly. Some of the inspectors operate in plain clothes, which is much more effective. The municipality has also initiated surprise inspections in pubs, malls, restaurants and hospitals. Altogether, 500 fines were issued in 2009, and 28 since the beginning of 2010. By comparison, only 108 fines were given out in 2008. Archeological PurimIn honor of Purim, the Israel Antiquities Authority has uploaded an Internet exhibition of masks and noisemakers found at various archeological sites. Among the artifacts displayed are clay masks from 8,500 years ago, which depict human faces and were used mostly for ritual ceremonies. The exhibition can be viewed at www.antiquities.org.il A manner of speakingIn ancient Greece, it is said that the noteworthy orator Demosthenes used to put pebbles in his mouth, and that was the secret of his celebrated skills. The ability to bring forth a good speech is something we can encourage and develop among our youth. That is exactly what was happening this week as the final round of the Young Orator contest took place in City Hall on Tuesday. The contest, sponsored by the Rotary Club and under the patronage of the mayor, featured 12 candidates from almost all the high schools in the city, religious and secular, who had to present their skills before a highly qualified jury,calm by veteran Voice of Israel radio announcer Dan Kaner. The laureate will represent Jerusalem at the national young orator contest, which will take place next month in Tel Aviv.       Rate this article         Send big little Print       Most Talkbacked UK interviews 'passport victims'Dubai Police chief Dahi Khalfam Tamim: We have DNA, fingerprints of hit team.Talkbacks (55)27/02/2010 08:08'Iran moves uranium above ground'Official: Teheran's odd move is akin to painting bull's-eye on stockpile.Talkbacks (44)27/02/2010 13:35IAF expands training for rapid refuelingExclusive: Long-range destinations like Iran would necessitate risky practice.Talkbacks (21)28/02/2010 03:47     Uri Lupolianski Ehud Olmert Yechiel Eckstein Ohad Hitman Sarah Beck Nir Barkat   Web JPost.com     JPosts Sites: The Jerusalem Report JPost Mall Philantropy Center Green Israel Jpost Edition Francaise Invest in Israel Christian World America's Voices Our Magazines Sites Of Interest: Car Rental Israel Car Rental in Israel Jpost Store Israel Hotels Vacation Apt. 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