Explore Jerusalem with the President

August 4, 2016

by: Itamar Eichner

In honor of Jerusalem Day Jerusalem culture center Beit Avi Chai released an application that will enable one to follow guided walks of Jerusalem, arranged by different subjects. One can choose to follow the pursuit of the fictional Tamar from Someone to Run With through the alleys of Nahalat Shiva, listen to Ehud Banai’s songs in the locations that inspired him, or follow the poems of Yehuda Amichai or the stories of Shai Agnon.

One of the app’s routes was assembled by none other than Jerusalem’s top resident, President Reuven Rivlin. The president is a native Jerusalemite whose family’s history in the area stretches back seven generations and he selected the locations that are near and dear to his heart.

Somebody following the president’s walking tour will be guided to Gymnasia Rehavia, Mt. Scopus, the Jerusalem International YMCA, the Old City and the Western Wall, the Knesset, the President’s Residence, the Achdut Yisrael synagogue and finally to Mt. Herzl.

At each of the stops, one will be able to read on the app the reason that Rivlin selected it, alongside a poem that he selected that is connected with the location.

The president wrote about Mt. Herzl, “We—Nehama and I—made our home next to this symbolic mountain, and I have walked its paths more than once. This mountain, its essence, represents the State of Israel in more than one way, from the soldiers’ graves and the names of Holocaust martyrs and victims of terrorism, to the resting place of great leaders of the nation and to the site where the torches are lit on Independence Day.”

Source: Ynetnews