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Jerusalem’s cinema-industrial complex

Only in Jerusalem could a single events venue offer both an educational celebration in a Bible museum, and a rollicking bash in a VIP lounge and movie theater.
[additional-authors]
January 7, 2015

Only in Jerusalem could a single events venue offer both an educational celebration in a Bible museum, and a rollicking bash in a VIP lounge and movie theater.  

That venue is the Cinema City Jerusalem Events and Convention Center, a sprawling, splashy complex with 19 movie theaters and halls on the lower floors and a rooftop museum featuring larger-than-life-size renderings of biblical scenes as well as a huge, wooden Noah’s Ark. Since Cinema City opened its doors last February, hundreds of families, corporations and organizations have held events there, sometimes combining the upper and lower venues. 

Simmy Allen, Cinema City’s director of international marketing and events, admits the juxtaposition is eclectic, but no more eclectic than Jerusalem itself.

“We’re a one-stop shop for popular and traditional culture that reflects Jerusalem’s diversity,” Allen said during a tour of Bible City, where pairs of animal figurines stand next to a Noah’s Ark the size of a building. 

The Bible Museum on the roof of Cinema City has hosted many bar and bat mitzvahs and other events.

“Being in Jerusalem, we wanted to provide a more substantive exhibit in addition to the movie theaters. Here people relate a lot to Judaism and Israel, even if they’re not very religious or even Jewish,” he said.   

Allen believes the 62 scenes help put a human face to the many figures who appear in the Bible. 

“It’s nice to be able to read the stories and the text and all the commentaries, and then to see an image in front of your face. Obviously no one can tell us what Adam or Eve or Abraham or Moshe looked like, but we provide a point of context.” 

Although Bible City attracts all kinds of visitors, including many Christians, it’s an especially popular venue for Modern Orthodox bar and bat mitzvah celebrations, as its guides try to make the attributes of the biblical characters seem relevant to modern life. 

During the half-hour tour, guides discuss Abraham’s great hospitality to strangers and Jacob’s strength of character and faith, and what people today can learn from them. It is more a conversation than a lecture.    

The bar or bat mitzvah child has the option of leading part of the tour (in coordination with the staff) and delivering a dvar Torah or other type of speech. There is also the option to watch a short animated film produced by Cinema City about the history of Jerusalem. 

Both the museum and adjoining dining area are outdoors, so having a simcha there during the winter months could be a gamble (though it’s possible to stay dry inside Noah’s Ark, which seats up to 100 people). Still, Bible City, with its spacious patio space, can offer a celebratory kosher meal for more than 400 guests. 

Down below, the Cinema City theater complex offers a very different way to celebrate. Its halls have hosted bar and bat mitzvah parties, private family gatherings, birthday and anniversary parties, and private film screenings as well as lead-generation events, client appreciation meetings, seminars and conventions.  

The day this reporter visited, dozens of Israeli police were attending a conference in the complex, and a representative of an Orthodox rabbinical organization was checking out conference space. 

Bar and bat mitzvah parties with a minimum of 35 guests are often held in the funky VIP lounge, where huge chandeliers, movie scenes, statues and a glass panel featuring the 12 tribes of Israel come together beautifully. For about $25 per person (depending on the exchange rate), a group receives a buffet dairy meal that includes pasta, quiches, a salad bar and mini-pizzas, plus an assortment of desserts, including individual Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cups. 

Following the meal, the guests are escorted into one of two VIP movie theaters, where comfy reclining seats and the movie chosen by the bar or bat mitzvah child await, along with popcorn and drinks. 

If requested, the theater also will screen a homemade video about the child at no extra cost.  

Bigger parties can be accommodated in Cinema City’s larger hall and one of its larger theaters. All are in brand-new condition and immaculately clean, a rarity in Israel. 

A few months ago, Jerusalemite Robin Sirkin, whose family made aliyah from Cleveland in 2011, held her son’s bar mitzvah party at the VIP lounge and theater and loved everything about it. 

“It was self-contained, it was one price, and we didn’t need to provide additional entertainment since the movie was the core event. Unlike my daughter’s bat mitzvah party, where we had different activities stations and a band, this was easy, painless and everybody was happy. It was a great value,” Sirkin said.  

The one extra that Sirkin splurged on was a photographer, who took family photos and pictures of the guests, which were then turned into magnets they could take home. 

“The kids had a fabulous time, and the bar mitzvah boy thought it was the best party ever. 

“Plus,” Sirkin said, “I didn’t have to clean up.”

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