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A Few Clouds Kid-friendly Jerusalem
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By Michael Orbach
Looking for something good to do with your children over Sukkoth in Israel? Perhaps an art workshop in the Islamic Museum of Art or a Bible Lands tour where actors dressed as Abraham and Isaac lead children on a scavenger hunt of biblical proportions? Or perhaps a wood working class in a cozy store in Katamon known as Gheppeto’s Workshop? Look no further than Joanna Seybern, who made aliyah from Los Angeles two years ago.
“Jerusalem, is very kid-focused and there’s a lot of events. People take their kids out till eight or nine o’clock at night. But you have to check three newspapers and four different websites. I basically do all the legwork,” said Seybern.
She runs Fun in Jerusalem (www.funinjerusalem.com) a website that lists the best activities for children in Jerusalem. She started the website as a project for a social media marketing class in June and since then it has blossomed to a full-time job for the mother of two.
“I had been keeping notes looking for what to do, and I would put up the information that I had. I sent it out to a couple of friends and it just grew; people kept on saying it’s fabulous and it became the central feature of the blog. “
She says that while she features popular events like museums and theatres, she also tries to focus on some little known gems like the bird observatory in Talpiyot, and kite festivals around the city. Seybern also says that there’s no end of theater for children in Jerusalem. Most of it is in Hebrew, though, which Seybern says has helped her children adjust to the move.
“When you live here you hear that there isn’t a lot of culture in Jerusalem compared to Tel Aviv, but for children I’ve found there is so much stuff, and just not enough time to do it.”
The difference, she says, between children’s activities in America and in Israel, is that in Israel they focus on the Jewish holidays.
“You really feel the Jewish calendar here and the events are totally around it,” Seybern explained. “As soon as the summer ends, it’s chagim and as soon as chagim end it’s all about Chanukah and after Chanukah, Pesach.”
For Sukkoth, Seybern recommends the Singing Bus that travels around the Old City Walls and a stop at Ir David (City of David) where she says her kids always have a good time.
“I saw someone on the street, she knew who I was,” Seybern recalled. “She screamed across the street: ‘You saved my summer!’”
Online source for childrens' activities in the holy city
By Michael Orbach Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769 Looking for something good to do with your children over Sukkoth in Israel? Perhaps an art workshop in the Islamic Museum of Art or a Bible Lands tour where actors dressed as Abraham and Isaac lead children on a scavenger hunt of biblical proportions? Or perhaps a wood working class in a cozy store in Talpiot known as Gheppeto’s Workshop? Look no further than Joanna Shebson, who made aliyah from Los Angeles two years ago.
“Jerusalem, is very kid-focused and there’s a lot of events. People take their kids out till eight or nine o’clock at night. But you have to check three newspapers and four different websites. I basically do all the legwork,” said Shebson.
She runs Fun in Jerusalem (www.funinjerusalem.com) a website that lists the best activities for children in Jerusalem. She started the website as a project for a social media marketing class in June and since then it has blossomed to a full-time job for the mother of two.
“I had been keeping notes looking for what to do, and I would put up the information that I had. I sent it out to a couple of friends and it just grew; people kept on saying it’s fabulous and it became the central feature of the blog.”
She says that while she features popular events like museums and theatres, she also tries to focus on some little known gems like the bird observatory in Nayot, and kite festivals around the city. Shebson also says that there’s no end of theater for children in Jerusalem. Most of it is in Hebrew, though, which Shebson says has helped her children adjust to the move.
“When you live here you hear that there isn’t a lot of culture in Jerusalem compared to Tel Aviv, but for children I’ve found there is so much stuff, and just not enough time to do it.”
The difference, she says, between children’s activities in America and in Israel, is that in Israel they focus on the Jewish holidays.
“You really feel the Jewish calendar here and the events are totally around it,” Shebson explained. “As soon as the summer ends, it’s chagim and as soon as chagim end it’s all about Chanukah and after Chanukah, Pesach.”
For Sukkoth, Shebson recommends the Singing Bus that travels around the Old City Walls and a stop at Ir David (City of David) where she says her kids always have a good time.
“I saw someone on the street, she knew who I was,” Shebson recalled. “She screamed across the street: ‘You saved my summer!’”
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