A different view of Jerusalem: The city under ground
Eshkolot project, who organised the festival, note the 'invisible matrix' underneath the holy city, which has countless caverns,, tunnels, pipelines, crypts and burial places
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
A unique educational festival was held in Jerusalem last week and was focused on exploring the life of the City under ground.
The festival organisers, “Eshkolot” Project, are Moscow-based educational programmers who hold events for Russian-speaking Jews in different cities relevant to Jewish history, – Venice, Mainz, Odessa and Jerusalem.
This time, with the support from Genesis Philanthropy Group, the festival explored diverse aspects of the underground Jerusalem, from physical to metaphysical.
In building the programme Eshkolot took note of the “invisible matrix” of the underground city: countless caverns, passages, tunnels, water pipelines, crypts and burial places and their numerous reflections in history, literature, art and religion. Jerusalem is not only a material reality providing a key to understanding the history and geography of the place, but also a vast repository of myths and symbolic narratives, including «underground» social and artistic movements.
Ilia Salita, Genesis Philanthropy Group CEO and President said: “Knowledge and education has always been an essential value for Jewish people all over the world. Eshkolot festivals master the art of exploring hidden meanings and interpreting the things we read, see and live through, as an integral part of our Jewish heritage and meaningful Jewish experiences for the younger generations.”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
