The Elad nonprofit group has just been awarded a permit for building the longest omega, or zip-line for children, in Israel. The installation will be 784 meters long, beginning at Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv promenade and ending at the Peace Forest in the Abu Tor neighborhood. Opponents of the project claim it will deface the unique view of the historic “basin” which includes the Old City and its environs, and that it will be a tourist attraction that is incompatible with the city’s character.
The permit was granted two months ago and work is expected to begin soon. The installation will include two 4-meter-high concrete pillars covered in wood, with the cable passing between them. For the sake of comparison, a zip line at the Manara cliff in the Upper Galilee is only 200 meters long. Elad did not submit a special proposal for constructing the installation, but was granted permission as part of a plan that was approved 40 years ago, a plan intended to preserve open spaces around the Old City of Jerusalem while allowing the construction of recreational and sports facilities, without requiring specific plans for each one.
“It’s as if this zip line is like some picnic tables and slides for children,” says Hagit Ofran of Peace Now. “Elad is transforming the most precious asset in this country, the Old City of Jerusalem and its surroundings, into a cheap amusement park with tourist attractions like in Disneyland, and state authorities continue giving them these sites on a silver platter. The Jerusalem municipality made a snap decision while bypassing planning authorities, giving Elad a building permit without informing the public or asking for its input,. They completely ignored any orderly urban planning process” said Ofran.
The zip line joins other attractions mostly connected to Elad, all of which will completely change the landscape around the Old City. Other projects include a rope bridge that will span the Hinnom Valley between Abu Tor and Mount Zion, and a cable car that the municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority are promoting. The cable car will start at the Ottoman-period train station, going through Mount Zion to the City of David and Silwan.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Russia-asking-Turkey-for-access-to-jet-crash-site-in-Syria-540955
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