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

There's still a week to go until summer fun returns to its peak as Tu B'av, the Jewish calendar's holiday of love, is celebrated around town. Until sunset on Sunday, mourning is still the name of the game for those observing the somber fast day of Tisha B'av and the nine days preceding it. But in Jerusalem, Israel's thriving contemporary capital, the show must go on: even as many pause to mark the anniversary of the destruction of the Temples and many other calamities in Jewish history, the city continues to offer an impressive lineup of summer events.

• It's not too late to catch the last night of Zirat Machol at the Gerard Bechar Center tonight, Hazira's annual dance festival which gives up and coming young choreographers and performers a chance to showcase their art at the culmination of an intensive six month long training program.
  
  
• Brush shoulders with highbrow tourists and if you're lucky, the occasional Hollywood celebrity, at the Inbal Hotel's swinging summer Jazz nights on Tuesdays and Thusdays in July and August. Relax in the hotel's beautiful Jerusalem courtyard and enjoy enticing refreshments while a jazz band entertains you with a medley of cool blues and Ragtime selections.
  
  
• It may be hot outside but there are a host of cool events to choose from at the Jerusalem Mall (Malcha), which is, of course, air conditioned. Treat yourself to some specialty foods for the weekend at the mall's Friday culinary fair. Kids won't want to miss out on the Elmo Festival, which kicks off next Monday, and the Tim Tam gymboree park is open daily.
  
  
• First-year students from Bezalel's Ceramics and Glass Design Department display an impressive collection of works in the "Animal – Plant – Inanimate Object" still-life exhibition at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory. The project focused on observing nature and translating the experience into sculptural work with ceramic material.
  
  
• Join progressive cultural center Beit Avi Chai in marking Tisha B'Av on Sunday with a day focused on the theme of Eternal Hatred, featuring films and lectures about hatred in Israeli culture and society, its influence on our lives, and its role in shaping our environment. Entrance is free and light refreshments will be served when the fast is over.
  
  
• Oenophiles rejoice: the annual wine tasting festival at the Israel Museum begins this Monday night. The entrance fee allows for all the tasting you can handle from the a variety of Israeli wineries: from the Golan, Galil, even the Negev desert, and everything in between. Plus, all the wines will be available for purchase at discounted prices.
  
  
• Blaze Bar in downtown Jerusalem offers a great rotation of live bands plus an unparalleled assortment of domestic and foreign beers. July brings a different musical act each night, including world class guitarist Yossi Piamenta's new weekly Sunday night gig. The Noble Brats end off the month on Tuesday with a night of alternative rock.
  
  
• In honor of Beit Avi Chai's fifth anniversary, top Israeli rock band Knesiat Hasechel teams up with the Mediterranean Orchestra (previously the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra) on Wednesday night, August 1st for a fascinating encounter combining rock and classical Arabic music that will touch everyone's heart. Entrance is by invitation only, but you can catch it broadcast LIVE on Beit Avi Chai's website.

There's a whole lot more happening, and it's all listed in our full events section here.