Safra Square - City Hall, Jerusalem

Safra Square - City Hall, Jerusalem

Safra Square is the name of Jerusalem's new city hall complex and adjacent plaza.The old Jerusalem Municipality building was one of the four public buildings constructed in Jerusalem by the British administration. Since its erection in 1930 the city has grown tenfold and the municipality offices, which multiplied and expanded accordingly, were scattered in nearby buildings and elsewhere throughout the city. These include the houses on the other side of Jaffa road that were built by the Americans at the end of the last century and were leased to the Municipality.

The need for a single building that would house all the municipality offices and enable the citizen to receive all the municipal services under one roof led to the construction of the new City Hall, which opened in 1993. Many offices are still located in nearby buildings of historical value that were preserved and renovated, thus saving the planners a great deal of money as well as contributing to the preservation of the city's past.

On the right of the new building stands an environmental sculpture fashioned as an ancient tool for raising water, known as Archimedes Screw. The movement of the rotating screw in a narrow channel raises the water, which flows into a horizontal conduit.

The planting of trees on the site aroused opposition at the time, since it was argued that they were not in character with Jerusalem. A spacious stone plaza leads to a stone platform roofed by an iron pergola. To the left stands the Municipality building, with a copper dome rising above its top floor containing the City Council Hall. Next is the platform which provides a breath-taking view of the city's northern neighborhoods and Mount Scopus.

The square - named after the Brazilian Jewish Safra family who were major contributers to the project - is used for various assemblies and events, including street basketball competitions, known as ''Street-Ball'', and an annual ''Hebrew Book Week'', generally held in June - a book fair in which most of Israel's publishing houses offer their publications to the general public at reduced prices for about 10 days, from late afternoon until midnight.

Bears exhibition "United Buddy Bears" in Safra Square – August 1-30
The largest bear's exhibition ever, with the contribution of 133 countries, the statues were designed by world renowned artists.
Since 2002, the “United Buddy Bears“ have been presented in as many as 11 exhibitions on 4 continents, including Berlin, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Vienna and Cairo. This summer it is in Jerusalem and will continue its world tour to Addis-Abeba, Beijing, Buenos-Aires and further on.
The 133 bears represent the 133 countries in the UN, under the title of "Art of Tolerance". The Bears' raised open arms are the symbol of friendship and optimism. The purpose of the exhibition is to allow the visitors to know their fellow countries, learning to live in peace and understanding together.
In order to create an international project with a message of unification, local artists designed the bears drawing their country's characteristics into attention – its culture, history, people, view, music etc.
The circle of bears changes in each country, taking into consideration the local conditions but also the request of the hosting country. For example, in Jerusalem the Israeli bear is standing beside the Iranian and the Iraqian bears, in order to send a message of tolerance and o peace.
The target of the project is not only to raise awareness, but also taking action, at the center of which I raising money for children in need. Donations and auctions of bears around the globe made profit of more than 1.1 Million USD for UNISEF and other local organizations for children.
Following the huge success of the exhibition and the money collected, new bears were created to form a new circle of bears.
Let the bears take you to a journey around the world. Page updated 14/07/2007