President Reuven Rivlin with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during a tour at the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem, May 6, 2017. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90
President Reuven Rivlin on Saturday night invited German President Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbende on a tour of Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market, which transforms each evening from the traditional market stalls and shops to a nightlife hub of entertainment, cafés, restaurants and bars.
President Steinmeier requested to start his visit with a tour of Jerusalem at night, and President Rivlin was only too happy to oblige. They met with leading entrepreneurs from the market, and heard about the transformation the market—and the city—had undergone in recent years.
President Steinmeier is member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), holds a doctorate in law and was formerly a career civil servant. He was elected President of Germany in March 2017. Steinmeier supports a two-state solution and calls for an end to the Israeli “occupation” of Judea and Samaria.
Steinmeier welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted with the approval of US President Barack Obama during the final moments of his presidency, December 23, 2016. The resolution states that all measures aimed at changing the demographic composition and status of “Palestinian territories occupied by Israel,” including construction and expansion of settlements, transfer of Israeli settlers, confiscation of land, demolition of homes and displacement of Arab civilians are in violation of international humanitarian law, Israel’s obligation as the occupying Power according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and previous resolutions.
Rivlin should have taken him to a Melaveh Malka in Pisgat Ze’ev…
During the tour of the shuk, the two Presidents tasted Israeli craft beers, and toured the “Shuk Gallery” created by graffiti artist Solomon Souza. Souza paints graffiti works on walls throughout the market, depicting famous Israeli and world figures.
Souza himself was on hand, surprising Rivlin with a new piece, depicting of the President’s late great-grandfather, Yosef Rivlin, who was among the founders of the initial construction of neighborhoods outside of Jerusalem’s Old City.