Arad

City Organizer: Batya Roded
Walk Leader: Oren Amit

לפתיחת הליכות ג’יין השנה הדריך אורן עמית, מנהל המחלקה לתרבות וקהילה במתנ”ס ערד ומנהל המרכז לאמנות עכשווית, סיור בשכונת אבישור בעקבות מה שכונה “רוחות העבר והעתיד” שבה. כך, הוצגו בסיור עבודות אמנות שנעשו במסגרת תכנית שהות האמן “אמנות אדריכלות ערד” והוצגו בתערוכות המרכז ובפרויקט “סלון בטון”.
הנכס האדריכלי העיקרי של השכונה הוא עשר וחצי “גינות אקלימיות”, רצועות בטון שתכנן אדריכל הנוף צבי דקל בזמן הקמת השכונה בשנות השישים. בזכות תכנון גינות אלה זכה דקל בפרס קרוואן היוקרתי, ועד היום הן נחשבות למקרה מעניין וייחודי של סגנון האדריכלות בבטון חשוף – הברוטליזם.
בסיור הוצגו עבודת הווידאו של אורית ישי “עוז 21” עם תלמידות המחול של שני סניור שילוח, לצד ווידאו שצילמו רקדני פארקור במצלמות גו פרו, ניקיון השכונה ע”י חברי סטודיו ג’ים בצורה מדיטטיבית לצד עבודה של חברי קבוצת “מנהיגותרבות” עם האמנית מרב קמל. המשוטטים בסיור שמעו גם הסבר מפי אביטל יעקובי, עו”ס שכונת אבישור, על תהליך עירוני-קהילתי משמעותי המתקיים לאחרונה בשכונה, בעקבות פרויקט שיפוץ השטחים הפתוחים וגינות הבטון הפזורות בה.

City Organizer: Batya Roded
Walk Leader: Anat Raskin

“Here a city will rise, we said to each other, and here, where our feet are standing, the city’s water tower will rise … We were drunk from the landscape, from the clear dry air and from the feeling of the primacy and the primacy of the environment. In our mind’s eye, we saw the city as just as a Fata Morgana.” Thus wrote Luba Eliav, the initiator of the idea of the establishment of Arad in 1960. On this hill we climbed again this year, as part of the Jane Walks we celebrated for the fifth year. The hill, Giv’at Kefud (spark), whose name originates in the Bible, is 640 meters high – the highest point in Arad. All the neighborhoods of the city and beyond, as envisioned by its founders, are visible from the hill.
Despite its historic importance to the city, Kedud Hill stands in its desolation and only the large water pools rise above it, surrounded by barbed wire fences and decorated with paintings by Arad resident Vadim Zaslavsky, an architect. This is a neglected corner of the city despite its central location. So we chose it for our tour, to draw attention to its importance. We began with the pioneer dance, Hora, in the spirit of its founders. The teacher with her dance group swept the audience along.
We heard from the second mayor of Arad how the first settlers received their water from an oil pipeline, and only years later the water system was connected to the water drilled from a well at the Shoket junction, delicious and clear water.We discovered that there is no plan for the hill and we hope that the tour will stimulate the idea of doing something that will respect its historical value.
We ended the walk receiving the Shabbath at the house of Anat, near the hill. We ate snacks in the yard and sang together with her mother, her uncle and Yossi, who accompanied the singing with an accordion. This marked another year of Jane’s walks in the city and added layers of knowledge, excitement and experiences that strengthen the connection of the residents to our place at the edge of the desert and the presence of the Dead Sea.

City Organizer: Batya Roded
Walk Leader: Ram Eizenberg

The promenade of Arad was built almost immediately upon its establishment and extends along the ridge to the edge of the city. This is the tourist axis of the city that adopted this industry for a living. The abyss that opens at the end of the boardwalk the Judean Desert is displayed in all its glory, to the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab, which are beyond it.
However, for several decades now, Arad has suffered from the frequent “Shrinking-cities” in Western countries in the neo-liberal era. Thus the hotels were either destroyed or neglected and the tourist area was deserted. However, the promenade with its fabulous view is a regular route to the evening and dawn walks of Arad residents and the observation point at the end is a meeting place for youth groups, lovers’ pairs and is a source of pleasant and sweet memories.
With the growth processes that began in the city, it was decided to renew the promenade and adapt it to the present spirit, so as to add to the quality of life and comfort of the pedestrians, despite its desert location. We walked through the first part scheduled for change together with the architect of the promenade, Ram Eisenberg. We received explanations with the maps that had been laid out on the pavement before us, and now we are impatiently waiting for the change that awaits us.
We stopped for watermelons and cold water on this warm day, watching the enchanting landscape that surrounds us at the high point where the route ended.

City Organizer: Batya Roded
Walk Leader: (Wadi) Hessed
The Northern Park is located at the end of the built-up part of the city and for many years stood without vegetation. Today its trees provide shade, it has a fruit orchard yielding fruits, in the spirit of urban agriculture prevalent today in many cities, it has a wide lawn, shades and benches and a high metal statue overlooking the desert.

The story of the statue is interesting. The name of the sculptor – Sasson Sofer – was born in Baghdad and lived in the United States and became a famous sculptor and painter (1925-2009). He was the uncle of Avraham Sofer, one of the founders of Arad, and was persuaded by his family to donate a statue to the city. The sculptor sent the parts of the sculpture from New York, but they lay in the customs offices for a long time, and later in the yard of the Arad municipality, until the sculpture was finally assembled and built in the park in 2002. The sculptor wanted the statue to float in front of the desert, while the municipality wanted it fixed on the ground to meet the safety standards. Instead of a sculpture floating in front of the desert was greeted by a fixed sculpture surrounded by garden benches and parasols. Thus his work of art became part of the furniture of the park. The sculptor was angry and hurt and never returned to Israel.
Arad extends over a plateau, which is undermined by winter streams deeply, so that between each neighborhood there is a stream. About a decade ago, it was decided to preserve the streams and its basins as nature reserves that invade the city, urban nature. We descended from the park to Nahal Hesed, one of the beautiful streams that descends from Arad to the Dead Sea and that forms part of a large project that will connect the Northern Park with the stream. The Mayor spoke and described how the big and attractive Park will become part of the new neighborhood which is being planned, and will be built in the spirit of the principle of planning the “Good City” which has been adopted by the town.
We wandered to the river’s outlook point where we met two school boys who told us how their school cleans and keeps up the Hessed stream and that this activity connected them with the stream and the school children spend their leisure time.
Arad extends over a plateau, which is undermined by winter streams deeply, so that between each neighborhood there is a stream. About a decade ago, it was decided to preserve the streams and its basins as nature reserves that invade the city, urban nature. We descended from the park to Nahal Hesed, one of the beautiful streams that descends from Arad to the Dead Sea and that forms part of a large project that will connect the Northern Park with the stream. The Mayor spoke and described how the big and attractive Park will become part of the new neighborhood which is being planned, and will be built in the spirit of the principle of planning the “Good City” which has been adopted by the town.
We wandered to the river’s outlook point where we met two school boys who told us how their school cleans and keeps up the Hessed stream and that this activity connected them with the stream and the school children spend their leisure time.