PHOTO CAPTION
Jerusalem
In honor of Earth Day and in order to raise awareness about climate change, Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat turned off the lights illuminating the Old City Walls at 20:00 today, 22 April. Barkat was joined by Swedish pilgrim and Brother of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, Jӧrgen Nilsson who yesterday arrived at the Jaffa Gate at the end of a 5 month, 5,000K pilgrimage on foot from Sweden to Jerusalem. Dr. Kusum Vyas, founder of the Living Planet Organization and a keynote speaker at the First International Jerusalem Symposium on Green and Accessible Pilgrimage, presented Mayor Barkat with an olive tree sapling and offered a traditional Hindu prayer for peace (Saanti Mantra) “May there be peace in heaven. May there be peace in the sky. May there be peace on earth. May there be peace in the water. May there be peace in the plants. May there be peace in the trees. May there be peace in the Gods. May there be peace in Brahman. May there be peace in all. May that peace, real peace, be mine.” After light out, Jerusalemites, tourists and symposium participants watched the first full-length movie screening powered by solar energy on the Old City Walls. The 78-minute Eco-Cinema movie, “Land of Genesis” showcases Israel’s landscapes, fauna and flora by following three mammals in their respective geographic habitats, as the seasons change.
Prior to lights-out, President and CEO of Energiya Global Capital, Israeli solar pioneer Yosef Abramowitz opened Cool Globes, an international public art exhibition on view in Israel for the first time, located on the Alrov-Mamilla Esplanade. Each of the 18 oversized Cool Globes artistically showcases a different solution to climate change – from solar power to rooftop gardens, green buildings to fuel efficiency.
