TourismStreet was destined to make way for another luxuryresidential complex. Given the theater’s mythologicalplace in the City’s cultural history, signatures andshekels counter-attacked in an epic battle worthy of amovie to grace it’s screen. A favorite theater for localswith its art-house cinema atmosphere, café and quantlocation, the Smadar also boasted being the only theaterin <strong>Jerusalem</strong> where patrons could bring in beer from thebar, along with a carton of popcorn. Given the villagelikeatmosphere of suburban <strong>Jerusalem</strong>, patrons alwaystended to know someone else in the theater.The <strong>Jerusalem</strong> Post, a writer of books and a senior fellowat the Institute of Security Studies at Tel Aviv University(TAU) – lives in nearby Talpiot but finds the atmosphereof the German Colony so “cerebrally in-spiring”, thathe chose to rent an office on Emek Refaim in 2010 towrite his latest book. “A friend of mine’s secretary in hiscompany’s office overlooking the popular muni-cipalpool, took maternity leave, so I rented the space andgave birth to my book.” The result “which took less thannine months” was ‘The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival’.Hirsch’s latest offspring won the National Jewish BookKety KatavSidewalk Café. To relax, dine, socialize and work, the restaurants and cafés of the German Colony are a constant hive of activity.Embedded into local culture no less than thecharacteristic rock of this hilly and holy city, the Smadarnot surprisingly appears in one of Yehuda Amichai’spoems, ‘Tichye Reviit’. The Smadar was a symbol ofpluralism in <strong>Jerusalem</strong> and was the first theater to stayopen on Shabbat, offering a Sabbath alternative forsecular <strong>Jerusalem</strong>ites.And so the Smadar Theater – first used by the Britishsoldiers during the Mandate period before opening tothe general public in 1935 as the ‘Orient’ – survived.It stands as a landmark, not only architecturally but astestimony to the power of the people to preserve culturalicons. “It screens mostly arty movies,” says Devar “butadding to its attraction are its café and bar situated in itslobby.” It’s well worth a visit whether to take in a movie,admire the architecture or enjoy a cup of coffee at itspopular café.Numbering amongst the many local residential literati isSaul Singer, an American-Israel journalist and author whoco-wrote with Dan Senor, the international bestseller,Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.On the other hand, Hirsch Goodman, a former editor ofThe <strong>Jerusalem</strong> Report, a regular op-ed correspondent forAward in the history category for 2011.Goodman says he used to enjoy walking to and fromwork each day. “It’s such an exquisite area, full of oldworldcharm, character and color; so many different typesof people, languages and what a choice of restaurantsand cafés to satiate the body other than the mind.” Thenet result, says Goodman, “I had way too much coffee.”GenesisClearly the first residents of the German Colony wouldhardly have approved of today’s vibrant, cosmopolitanatmosphere. The Templers, who settled in the areain 1873, were Christians who had broken away fromthe Protestant church and encouraged their membersto settle in the Holy Land to prepare for Messianicsalvation. Their homes, built in a style to which theywere accustomed to in Germany - farmhouses of one ortwo stories, with slanted roofs, shuttered window andbuilt of stone rather than wood and bricks - ran alongtwo parallel streets that would become Emek Rafaimand Bethlehem Road. Their wait for the Messiah cameto an abrupt end during the World War II, when theSpring-Summer 201222
Kety KatavMagical & Majestic. <strong>Jerusalem</strong> stone-walled homes, covered inlush flora abound throughout the ‘Moshava’s’ streets and lanes.Spring-Summer 201223
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