Jaffa street of Jerusalem
© Eitan Simanor
During the 150 years of its existence, Jaffa Street has served as a main artery, running across Jerusalem from East to West.
In 1990 an ambitious development plan transforming Jaffa Street and its neighboring streets into a pedestrian area accessible by light train was laid out. Construction lasted forever, costs rose sky-high and its opening was postponed four times. In despair, Jerusalemites adopted a caustic play-on-words for this rather elusive means of transport and its interminable construction, referring to it as “Rakevet Hatakala” instead of “Rakevet Hakala”, Hebrew for “train of failure” instead of “light train”.
At the end of 2011 Jaffa Street finally came back to life and the project is now considered a real success. Like many other Jerusalemites I have now accepted the presence of the light train.
Through this photographic project I have tried to find out if Jaffa Street has been restored to its previous glory in the heart of the city and in the hearts of Jerusalemites, despite the serious concession to modernity the train has imposed on a city almost five thousand years old.