Jerusalem hotels, restaurants, attractions, tours & events. Helping since 2008

2012 gets off to a fast start this week in Jerusalem, with concerts, ice skating, wine tastings and more.

• There's fast and then there's fast. Thursday is a minor fast day in Judaism commemorating the siege laid on Jerusalem by Babylonian conqueror Nebuchadnezzar over 2,500 years ago. Whether you refrain from eating or not, once the sun goes down, head to Brasserie in Ein Karem for their Thursday night winter wine celebration to kick off the weekend.
  

  Young alternative rock band Umlala, a five-piece ensemble that emerged from the creative hotbeds of local music academies, hits the stage at the Yellow Submarine tonight. The highbrow electro-rock act has garnered a formidable following, relocating to Tel Aviv, gigging in Germany and releasing a studio debut in recent months.

• With the days starting to get longer, that means more time on Fridays before the city shuts down for Shabbat. Get up early enough, and you can have a full day at the Bloomfield Science Museum, where the new Transparent Light exhibit showcases the works of fourth year design students from Bezalel. The exhibit's innovative light fixtures were developed in the special conditions of the museum's "transparent studio."
  
  Ein Kerem's Eden Tamir Music Center's 43rd concert season continues in 2012 with a variety of spectacular weekend concerts. This Friday features new works by Young Composers of the Composition Class at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
  

• On Saturday night, the appropriately named Nighthawks regale the Blaze Bar with everybody's favorite soft rock and country covers.

• If you've ever visited the Tower of David Museum, chances are you've seen the animated film Jerusalem, by Emmanuel Luzzati and Giulio Giannini, which serves an introduction to the exhibits. Now through May 18th, the museum is offering a behind-the-scenes look at what went into creating the stop-motion piece of art, with the exhibit Jerusalem in Four Hands.

• Itching to try out that triple axle move or just get the chance to skate in circles without heading all the way up to Kiryat Shmona? Starting Monday, Jerusalem's Malcha Mall transforms one of its plazas into a winter wonderland, complete with an ice skating rink (pictured).
  

  Colony's rising chef dinner series, continues this Monday with another banquet conceived and prepared by a rising sous-chef talent. This week, Ariella Brofman of the Barti restaurant in Tel Aviv combines a variety of styles in which she specializes, with an emphasis on presentation.

• What better way to help mankind's furry and not-so-furry friends than by listening to some good tunes at a benefit concert for the Jerusalem Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals? And what better band to play such a righteous show than Assi Zigdon and the Tzadikim, who hit Hatza'tzua on Tuesday?
  

  Also on Tuesday, Rubens, Venus, and Adonis: Anatomy of a Tragedy opens at the Israel Museum providing context and background on Peter Paul Rubens' seminal 17th-century painting The Death of Adonis. The exhibit is the first in the museum's ambitious "Focus" series.

• Jazz up your Wednesday night with a visit to the Anna Ticho House for some Gershwin, Garner and Ellington at one of the heppest spots in the city.
  

  Later, warm up at Spaghettim with Italian winter-themed specials. Special winter menus include items that are specifically suited for the colder months in Jerusalem, including pasta with a wide variety of sauces, first courses, meats, pizza, fish and seafood creations.

And check out our full events section for everything else happening around town.