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During Passover; animals and children
abound at the zoo.
DIANE SCHAEFER STAFF WRITER
D
mer neighbors or even friends
tiring the interme-
they haven't seen in 10 years.
diate days of Pe-
But the beautiful grounds at
sach, Israelis from
the Tisch Family Zoo aren't
all walks of life
used just for burning off holi-
take advantage of the leisurely
day energy. They appear to
vacation days and usually
serve a dual purpose as picnic
balmy weather to go on family
areas for the thousands of fami-
outings. Pilgrimages to the Ko-
lies that brave the zoo crowds
tel in Jerusalem, train trips
each Passover. When Moms
from Tel Aviv to Haifa, and vis-
and Dads load their sweaters,
its to the Gan Safari (Safari
strollers and diaper bags into
Zoo) in Ramat Gan are among
the popular Passover day
trips for families with
children.
Diane Schaefer
Another favorite
lives with her husband, Akiva, in
Passover destination in
Neve Yaakov Mizrach. When
Jerusalem is the Tisch Fam-
not caring for her two small chil-
ily Zoo, which opened four
dren, Mrs. Schaefer works with
years ago and replaced the
computers at an international
aging Biblical Zoo. Though
company based in Jerusalem.
the new Jerusalem zoo is
relatively small and pales
in comparison to its Ameri-
can counterparts, a visit during
cars and buses in preparation
Passover is a unique experi-
for a trip to the zoo, they also
ence.
are packing bags and boxes
Imagine a zoo that, while
filled with soft drinks, matzos,
not boasting a large selection of
chicken and fruit.
animals, offers spacious and
The picnic lunch or dinner
scenic grounds that are par-
might be the culmination of a
adise for the smaller visitors.
day spent looking at vultures,
Instead of being kept strictly in
leopards and gorillas, or it
hand by their parents, the little
might be offered as a welcome
ones are given great leeway
break to children who are
during this holiday of freedom,
rapidly becoming tired or
and spend as much time frol-
bored. In either case, it is near-
icking on the grass as watching
ly de rigueur during Pesach.
the monkeys and birds. And
The meal might turn into
while they are running around,
what is known as a "Jerusalem
often making new friends in
Experience." As the children
the process, their parents are
leave their half empty plates be-
busy greeting neighbors or for-
-
hind and begin running around
with boys and girls from the
neighboring park bench, the
parents also fall into conversa-
tion with their neighbors. Then
"Jerusalem Geography" comes
into play, and it typically turns
out that the woman whose lit-
tle Danny is playing with 4-
year-old Moshe is the
sister-in-law of Moshe's former
baby sitter, or some such other
obscure connection.
Once the picnic, the animals
and the delights of the zoo
gift shop have been exhaust-
ed, the family often extends
the outing with a visit to the
neighboring Jerusalem Mall.
Roughly the same age as the
new zoo, it was the first
"Western" shopping mall to
open in Jerusalem and is
billed as the largest in the
Middle East. Smaller, more
crowded and 10 times noisier
than the typical American
megamall, it still holds a fasci-
nation for the young and old
Jerusalemite alike.
Little shopping is performed
during these post-zoo visits. In-
stead, families spend their time
strolling around, trying to keep
track of their children in the
crowd until they are too ex-
hausted to do anything but go
home. Most likely, during their
stroll they will recognize other
families who just visited the
zoo and also decided to add a
trip to the mall to their
Passover outing. 0
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ICE COMPANY OF 1997
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