This is the chapel at the Swedish Theological Institute in West Jerusalem. A visiting bishop presided over worship this past Friday, so Christy and I supported several Swedish friends and colleagues (who are regulars at Christy’s church) by joining them for their Swedish-language worship.

NCD (New City Disorder) Cult is a a collective of street artists who exhibit primarily in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I’ve seen this image more than anything else connected to the group, so until I get an invite then it will remain a familiar if enigmatic feature of the city.

The next Jewish holiday on the calendar is Sukkot, aka the “Feast of the Tabernacles,” which begins on September 25th. I’ll post more as the sukkahs built to commemorate the holiday go up around Jerusalem. Can’t promise any pics of “blazin’ boards” but ya never know.

As night fell on the start of Yom Kippur, Riley and I encountered an impromptu reptile exhibit outside a shop in downtown Beit Hanina. The snake was pretty tame — perhaps it had recently eaten — so this young lady stole the show with her reactions.

We took a walk the following morning to see what, if any, street traffic there was on Yom Kippur. This is Ramallah Road, a main thoroughfare in Beit Hanina. On a regular Monday this would be jammed up with vehicles honking at each other.

You can see the barricades that prevent vehicles from driving onto Highway 60 (“The Bible Road”) that leads into downtown Jerusalem. Cars could go into and out of downtown Beit Hanina, which is a predominantly Muslim neighborhood.

Across the intersection is the road into the Jewish neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev. Other than the police vehicles pictured, you can see the complete absence of traffic on that road due to Yom Kippur observance.

Although the children of Pisgat Ze’ev were enjoying their time hanging out with the police.