Mobile seafront banner

"People's" cinema • Facing closure?

Survival strategies in the butterfly world

The term "food chain" sounds innocent and easy to digest... but in practice...

Bat Galim memories of yesteryear • Playful with a golden heart - the story of Shmulik and Pnina Cohen

On a personal note, about three decades ago, I was invited to a large meeting in Tel Aviv,...

Flower of the week • Winter crocus

Introduction Carmel shows us flowers in all seasons. In this column...

The first house on the main street of the German colony in Haifa • Keller family house

The first house on Carmel Street, the main street of the German colony...
Banner number 131224
Carmel Castle banner
General workshops wide
Banner of the 171124 Economic Company
Wide sea front banner
Banner Gordon 240624
Haifa museums banner 021224
Live advertising - wide - animated
General workshops wide
Haifa museums banner 021224
Banner Kiryat Bialik 251124

"Emmi" cinema • A personal appeal to the mayor, Yona Yahav

Dear Mayor, I read the ruling on cinema...

turned into a beach • This is how the Bat Galim promenade looked on Friday 29/11/24

(Live here) - Bat Galim Promenade, the pearl of the coast of...

Haifa residents complain of burning eyes, dizziness and nausea

(Hai Fe) - Haifa residents are suffering from serious health effects...

Petition to the High Court: "Not only for the rich - freedom of movement for everyone in the Carmel tunnels"

(Live here on the roads) - Haifa Municipality filed a petition to the High Court...

The court!

On Monday 26/11/2024, a ruling was published by the District Court in Haifa in the case in which the Municipality of Haifa sued the "Voice of the Carmel" company, Yitzhak Meshi and the workers' company. In the summary of the judgment it was determined, among other things:All the defendants must vacate the land from any person and object within 90 days from the date of receipt of this judgment".

Following the ruling, the mayor stated:

"Returning a 'folk' cinema building" to the municipality is a significant legal achievement in the municipality's struggle to restore the historic cinema building to the public.
The municipality of Haifa will examine the possibilities of utilizing the property for the benefit of the community, with an emphasis on strengthening culture, education and leisure in the area."

In this article we will try to find out:

  1. What is the story behind this case?
  2. What does the victory of the municipality in the case mean?
  3. Why was it important for the municipality to file this lawsuit?
  4. Is the evacuation of a "popular" cinema "of every person and object within 90 days" indeed a cause for celebration by the Haifa public, as implied by the mayor's statement

"Folk" cinema - a bit of history

Ammi Cinema, which opened in 1949, is a well-known Haifa institution. Historically, it is also the last neighborhood cinema in Haifa. The neighborhood cinemas were very popular in Haifa, and in 1954 they made it the leading city in the world in the number of cinema visits per capita. They were located in the heart of the city and in the centers of the neighborhoods, and lively cultural and commercial activity took place around them.

From the beginning of the 1970s, their status deteriorated, until they finally gave way to modern, multi-screen cinemas in shopping centers. Those cinemas, which have a place in the hearts of the old residents of the city, were a significant part of the history of Haifa in the 20th century.

One would have expected that the city of Haifa would find a way to honor some of these iconic institutions, but, unfortunately, this did not happen. None of the cinemas were preserved. Most of them were demolished and replaced by towers or squalid parking lots, and others became ruins or white elephants. Nothing is left of them. Except for the "folk" cinema in Neve Shanan, which was established in 1949. Those interested in the history of the place will be able to find it HERE.

I wrote there:

Of the entire glorious list of those cinemas, only a "popular" cinema remains in alarming solitude, which managed, somehow, to adapt itself to the times (two screening halls), and to create for itself a special branding and aroma of a neighborhood and community entertainment center.

And I concluded:

Cinema/Cinema Cafe "Ammi" in Neve Shanan is the last surviving neighborhood cinema in Haifa.

This was true until October 7, 2023. "Ammi" does not have a protected space. On that terrible day, the cinema closed its doors, and to this day has not reopened.

Full Disclosure

I am Haifai by birth, and I am guilty of excessive love for the city. In 2021, I published a collection of stories about my childhood years in the "Gaula" neighborhood, and in 1922, I began researching the history of Haifa's neighborhood cinemas, most of which played a significant part in my childhood.

The study included the 35 theaters and cinemas established in Haifa between 1919 and 1968.

The results of the study were published in"live here", on my website, and then in the "Album of Haifa's Neighborhood Cinemas" which was published this year with crowd funding, and gained great popularity. One of the chapters In the study dedicated to the cinema "popular".

I admit and confess: the "folk" cinema was a place I really liked. I know many loved the place as much as I did. "Ammi" was a cafe cinema with two small halls, specializing in quality films. He brought movies that you couldn't always find in the crowded and identical menu in all the cinemas in the shopping centers. You could reach it without checking the list of movies at all, and be sure that you will see a good movie there.

At "Ammi" you could order a ticket in advance by phone. There was no need to leave credit information. The operator, Eli Zeidan, who accepted the order, usually sat by himself at the cash register, and always received those who came with a warm welcome. You could always meet someone you know there or someone you haven't seen for a long time and were happy to see after years. It was a quiet and friendly corner of beautiful Israel. It was the "Cinema Paradiso" of Neve Shanan and of Haifa.

"Emmi" lobby (2023) • Photo: Yoram Katz
"Emmi" lobby (2023) (Photo: Yoram Katz)

Watching a quality movie with your partner and/or accompanied by friends. A conversation over a plate of hot soup at the nearby "Zanzara" restaurant. Both of these were nice options for spending an evening, for me and for quite a few Haifaites. But, as mentioned, on October 7, 1923, the cinema closed its doors, and has not reopened to this day.

Shortly after that I started receiving calls from people who, following the research I had published, decided that I was a source of unlimited knowledge about the cinema. They were worried, and wanted to know what had happened to the cinema they loved. Some were convinced that this was a conspiracy to hand the place over to ultra-Orthodox hands. Others simply missed their home theater, and thought I could provide them with answers I didn't have.

A conversation with Itzik Meshi

Following these conversations, because of my personal curiosity, because of my appreciation of the place as a site preserving history and of course, as a long-time customer of the place, I called Itzik Meshi. I got to know Itzik, Eli's brother who operated the "Emmi" cinema, following my research on cinemas. Itzik was the owner of the "Kol HaCarmel" company that operated the place for decades, and a few years ago, for personal reasons, he transferred the ownership of the company to his brother, Eli.

At the time, "Kol HaCarmel" also operated the Cinema Cafe "Moria" (opened in 1943), which passed away in 2015, leaving "Ammi" as the last vestige of Haifa's neighborhood cinemas. Some of us remember Itzik who operated the place. In the last years of the "Moriya cinema" he did it with both hands, when he sold tickets, operated, projected - a one-man cinema show, the place was dear to him.

Itzik is a real estate man, but his real passion is cinema. It's easy to hear in his voice and see the passion in his eyes when he talks about his dream of bringing a high-quality cinema to Haifa, and about his intentions to develop the subject into other fields, if only he were given the opportunity.

He didn't even give up on the dream of establishing the "Moriya" cinema in a new format, and to set up a small museum of the history of Haifa cinema (this, obviously, will probably no longer happen. The "Moriya" building has returned to the municipality).

The procedures opened by the Haifa municipality

From Izik I heard for the first time about the threat posed to "Ammi" from the proceedings opened against him by the Haifa municipality, and I admit that I felt worried. Since then I have followed his attempts to save the place.

I write all this as a full disclosure. I feel involved and obliged to act to see "popular" cinema alive and well. I want to see it continue to operate in the format in which it has operated for the past decades, as a Haifa cultural asset. I also want it because it is the last remnant of those cinemas, of which Haifa has left no trace.

Front "Emmi" (2023) • Photo: Yoram Katz
Front "Emmi" (2023) • Photo: Yoram Katz

In the following lines, I will try to explain the commotion surrounding "popular" cinema from my point of view, and from the knowledge I have gained in the last few months.

The legal entanglement of "Ammi"

Below is the history of the legal status of cinema, as I know. To simplify the subject for readers, I will omit details that seem marginal to me and concentrate on the main topics. The construction of the building where the Ammi cinema is located was completed in 1948. The place was owned by the "Neva Shanan Association" and was leased to the workers' company for 99 years.

The place, intended for a cinema, was transferred in 1949 by the workers' company under a sublease to the Weissman family and Zeev Chianushvili, who operated the place as a "folk" cinema. In October 1982, the municipality received ownership of the place from the "Neve Shanan Association". 1990, the Weissman family transferred their lease rights to the place to the "Kol Carmel" company owned by the Meshi/Zayden family. The place was renovated and turned into a cinema with two theaters and a small cafe. In an agreement dated April 5.4.98, XNUMX, the workers' company sold the lease rights to the property to "Kol Carmel".

Under Eli Zeidan, the new operator, the cinema reopened under the name "Cinema Cafe Ammi", and branded itself as a boutique cinema of quality films, a branding it kept until the day it closed on October 7, 2023. However, the original agreement signed in 1948 between the owners (then " Neve Shanan Association") to the main lessee (the workers' company) stated that for any sublease for a period exceeding 5 years, the owner's written consent must be obtained in advance.

About a year ago, the municipality sued the workers' association and "Kol Carmel" to court, with claims including:

  1. The workers' company, when it transferred the lease rights to "Kol Carmel", violated its lease agreement with the owner (the municipality). The workers' association, the municipality claimed, did not bring the sales agreement to it, and the municipality did not give its consent to it anyway.
  2. The employees' company committed additional violations of the lease agreement (for example, renting the property to an association that operated a school on part of the property contrary to the zoning of the place)
  3. "Voice of the Carmel" and Meshi own the property illegally and charge a lot of money as rent without the permission of the municipality and without paying it any amount which they are thus illegally enriching themselves at the expense of the public.

The verdict given this week accepted the first and second arguments, and rejected the third.
The summary of the judgment includes the following statements:

A. Declaratory relief was granted according to which, in light of the violations detailed in this Psd, the lease agreement dated November 3.11.48, 18, by virtue of which the workers' company leased the land, is annulled. b. The workers' company was not entitled to grant any rights to Kol Carmel and Meshi, since the agreements with them have no binding effect, and of which they did not present a right to own the land, XNUMX the eviction claim against them must be accepted.
third. All defendants must vacate the land from any person and object within 90 days from the date of receipt of this judgment.

What does the Haifa public gain from the municipality's legal victory?

On the face of it, no matter how hard I try, I don't see any profit for the public. What's the point of taking a well-functioning Haifa culture pillar, which is loved by all the city's residents, and moving it from the world?

Cinema Cafe "Ammi" in the format in which it was conducted in the last decades, was, without a doubt, a unique asset for the city. The arguments of the municipality in its lawsuit, even if they were true, were formalistic arguments, and were based on an improper procedure that was done a generation ago.

If the municipality was interested in preserving this cultural asset, I am sure that it would have found a practical way to handle the matter discreetly with the workers' association and the cinema operators and set the record straight with them. After all, why harm the welfare of the public, which enjoys a valuable cultural asset?

What is the logic in that? It is impossible that there is no explanation for this, and I think I understand what is behind this strange behavior.

Why did the municipality act as it did?

What I write in the following lines is my personal assessment, based on familiarity with the subject and with some of the actors.

Yitzhak Meshi is a real estate man who owns several properties in Haifa. As part of this, he is in constant contact with the Haifa municipality. According to the municipality, Mr. Meshi owes it huge sums for property tax payments on his properties, which have not been paid for many years. By the way, the municipality's claims against Mr. Silks are related to assets that are not "popular" cinemas. The financial claim of the municipality regarding "popular" was rejected by the court.

I do not pretend to judge the issue, but I appreciate that the municipality's claims are not without foundation. Even Mr. Meshi agrees that he has debts to the municipality that he needs to settle, but that according to him they are much lower than what the municipality claims. This issue resulted in a head-on collision between the parties, and raised the level of anger of the legal counsel in the municipality about Mr. Meshi to extremely high levels. I am not here to cancel the allegations against Mr. Meshi, because I do not know all the details, but I have seen and felt the great anger towards him in the corridors of the municipality in conversations with various officials in the municipality.

Mr. Meshi, by the way, already offered several months ago to resolve the issues in dispute through mediation between the parties, and to my understanding, the mediation should begin in the coming weeks. In my opinion, the source of the lawsuit on the "popular" issue, as opposed to the series that could have been reached outside the walls of the court, is the anger and frustration of the municipality from the confrontation with Mr. Meshi. There may be justification for this anger, but it is not true that the result of this conflict will end up being damage to a cultural asset that is a Haifa icon, and ultimately damage to the public.

Hall 2 in "Emmi" (2023) • Photo: Yoram Katz
Hall 2 in "Emmi" (2023) (Photo: Yoram Katz)

Both sides will be respected and an agreement will be reached between them, so that the public will not lose this property.

comments

The response of the spokesperson of the municipality:

"People's" cinema is an important milestone in the history of the city of Haifa and the life of leisure culture.
Accordingly, the municipality will operate the building in accordance with its purpose and preserve the uniqueness and character of the historic building, the possession of which was returned to the municipality only two days ago.

Mr. Yitzhak Meshi's response:

"Popular" cinema operates as a cinema for quality films. Customers come to see a movie knowing that they will experience a quality movie.
The cinema was open on Fridays with a lecturer, coffee and pastry for the price of a cinema ticket.
We operated the cinema as the best film club. The films we screened were exclusively for the "popular" cinema, if the cinema had not screened them, the residents of Haifa would not have been able to enjoy them.
We have difficulty understanding why the municipality opposed the transfer of the lease to us. The cinema paid property taxes and all its debts to the municipality, and we never asked the municipality to subsidize us.
It's a shame that a place that works well and the residents of the city enjoy it will disappear.
We are asking the mayor to intervene so that we can continue to operate the place.

Summary

I really hope that the municipality will let the current management continue to operate the place. This management managed to do what no other Haifa cinema was able to do. Not only did this cinema survive, it became a cultural icon, so why punish her? Why damage something that works well?

As the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

And in general, what is the logic in investing millions of shekels (from the public purse?) in audio and video systems, and in an elevator (the place needs accessibility)? And all this to give the residents a quality cinema, which in the best case will reach the level of what already exists today?
Is it possible to draw encouragement from the municipality's response? One can only hope.

And to the readers:

I would appreciate it if you could express your opinion on the subject and on the continuation of the cinema in its current form. It is important that the municipality understands the mindset of the public.

contact: At watsapBy email

Yoram Katz
Yoram Katz
Graduate of the Israeli hi-tech industry, journalist, writer and blogger. Link to my website and to purchase the books Born in Haifa (1954), studied at Geulah School and Harieli School. Graduated in philosophy and psychology (Hebrew University) and computer engineering (Technion). Books: • "Lethal Scripture" (English) – a historical suspense novel • “Days of Redemption” – childhood stories from the neighborhood of "Redemption"

More articles from the same reporter

44 תגובות

  1. Folk cinema is an undisputed cultural asset Folk cinema has been a cultural asset since the founding of the state for a culture-loving public and quality cinema in Neve Sha'anan, it is important that the struggles we do not understand between the antagonists do not come at the expense of the public, to remind everyone in Neve Sha'anen there is no recreation and leisure center and gatherings of friends except for this place, which

    Don't wash the baby out with the bath water...

  2. My one request is that Amami Cinema will continue to operate in the excellent format it has been operating for the past few years. What can be done? Anna found a solution. Who should we contact?
    The dear person who operates Ammi Cinema has created with his own hands a place that is a gem, a coveted gem for the residents and citizens of Haifa. We pay municipal taxes and it is our right that a folk cinema will continue to operate in the same format. Finally here was a quality place that served all the residents. Every effort should be made to keep the place operating. What is the solution? Should I turn to higher quotations perhaps? The solution is to mediate and allow the same family to continue to manage the place with the excellence that they have been managing until now.

  3. Since my childhood, I have seen movies in a folk cinema and also shows The Pale Tracker and more. It is an integral part of the neighborhood. It would be a shame to close it. It screens quality films and residents from the neighborhood and from all over the city always come to see films. I hope that the mayor will prevent the closing of the last cinema in Haifa that knew how to upgrade itself to quality films.

  4. Ammi Cinema is a pleasant place for quality films, to which people come from all over Haifa and from outside the city
    I very much hope that a way will be found to return the cinema to operation soon for the benefit of the residents of Haifa.

    • oh oh…
      Such a lovely place. A little paradise.
      Shana I wonder what happened that this wonderful cinema was closed to us like this. So they said it was closed because it didn't have a protected space.
      But now that I have learned that the municipality is happy that he is back in their hands???? But what about us??
      We are really sad.
      Yona, I am one of those who were happy that you returned to be mayor. Because (I still think so) you care about the residents and it is important to you to preserve such desirable corners.
      Please, reconsider and leave us one more little thing to be happy with. There isn't much left...I think that if you decide to repent, and keep the wonderful staff that welcomed us, the little piece of God with the excellent movies, everyone will know that you
      A man forsaken!! Greetings,…

  5. I am with the municipality.
    It is very nice that the cinema worked and brought unique films. but
    A. The ultra-orthodox community in the neighborhood took over part of the place and opened a school there. unworthy! This is not what the structure of the cinema is for.
    on. All these years the place operated without accessibility. It is forbidden for a public building to have no accessibility, so the cinema operators broke the law.
    I hope that they will take this inappropriate control out of their hands and that the place will return to the municipality.

  6. I wish that folk cinema would return to what it was until 6.10.23.
    This is the cinema we loved, and we went to it, before/after we sat in 'Zanzara' for a perfect experience. We would be happy if they didn't damage this coveted item, and leave it exactly as it is!
    Thanks for the article.

  7. We, a number of tenants in Dor Carmel sheltered housing, sympathize with Yoram Katz's words and ask Mayor Yona Yahav to renew the activities of a popular cinema in its iconic format. This cinema was for us an important cultural pillar that gave us cultural enrichment and the ability to enjoy quality movies in our present day. Thanking you in advance for your positive attitude towards this important issue.
    A fruitful licorice
    Miri Shakram
    Leah Ron
    Eve Wiener
    Nitza Tal
    Itzik Etzion

  8. We have been waiting for the reopening of Amami for over a year now... a quality cinema that you can go to! It would be a great injustice to movie lovers in Nosh and Haifa in general!
    Come on, enough arguments and troubles, let's watch good movies!

  9. Two or three times a month we frequented "Emmi".. Beyond the quality movies, it was for us a nature reserve of a disappearing world where it was always possible to meet acquaintances and enjoy a feeling of home. The difference between buying the tickets at "Ammi" ("How are you Eli?") and buying tickets from Ma'una at the other cinemas tells the whole story! Give us back our nature reserve!!

  10. It would be good for all the faithful of the popular cinema cinema to issue letters/emails to the office of the mayor Yona Yahav as soon as possible. To reactivate the high-quality cinema that was there years before the abandonment took over it. And it was beautiful one hour before.. Destroying is easy... building is more difficult. Thank God there is a respite And a protected space can be arranged...that we won't need...cinema lovers united!!!

  11. I really, really hope that the cinema will renew its special activity. I loved first of all the films that were shown there, and the feeling of homeliness. It had a very special atmosphere.
    And to hell with the luxury - long live modesty.
    "People's" cinema • Facing closure?
    -
    Nega Karmi - CEO of Chai Poh
    The professional and comprehensive news corporation in Haifa and the surrounding area
    Haipo.co.il • 052-2410689
    Do you want quality and focused customers in Haifa and the surrounding area?

    I really, really hope that the cinema will renew its special activity. I loved first of all the films that were shown there, and the feeling of homeliness. It had a very special atmosphere.
    And to hell with the luxury - long live modesty

  12. It's a shame that a neighborhood gem falls victim to the greed of uncivilized money
    I ask that you return to close the cinema

  13. I'm not a follower of the Zeidan/Mashi family to say the least, but popular cinema was an icon of excellent films with an outstanding atmosphere. I have no doubt that under the administration of the municipality the place will not be as it was but a source of pumping public funds without the public benefiting from it. Yona Yahav, don't spoil a good thing. We have experienced that a place that will be operated by one person named Eli Zeidan and with great success, will be a source of income for many, mainly protectionists, and there is no benefit.

  14. They came from far and wide with loyalty to our neighborhood gem. High-quality movies, selected, a family atmosphere, how important it is to maintain it, an older population in the neighborhood that enjoys proximity to a place of cultural entertainment, including coffee, I am hopeful that this is not pressure from religious parties who do not respect coexistence with secular people and do not accept opening on Shabbat

  15. The Ammi Club Cinema is a historical gem, a cultural and social corner, it is forbidden to change or damage the existing one, it is part of the historical essence of the great Neve Shanan neighborhood

  16. Folk cinema is an important part of my life and a significant part of my years as a resident of the neighborhood. It was used not only for screening films but also as a hall for national ceremonies on memorial days and many important events. It served as a social gathering and cultural center over the years. My parents had a permanent place in the hall (row 14, chairs 8,9) that Weissman would keep for them every night. And later, when it became a cinema for quality films, coffee and pastry lectures, they came to it from all over the city, and even from distant places. More than once I encountered spectators who came from the valley Jordan and the surrounding communities. Folk cinema was a focus for quality cultural activity, and it is unthinkable that it will disappear from the map Looking forward to its reopening.

  17. We must continue to operate the Ammi movie theater in Neve Shanan, which was a pleasant family movie theater for decades, for the residents of the neighborhood and the neighbors from Ahozeh and the Carmel, who loved coming to the movie theater. I hope that all parties will agree to the agreement for its reactivation.

  18. So infuriating. In reformed countries that are organized with great respect towards those who appreciate, preserve and upgrade monuments, such people in our country destroy every good part, what's more, there are no past public places left in Haifa that look like folk. How bold to do such things. Really infuriating.

  19. Oh nostalgia. As a native of Haifa, I lived in the lovely Neve Shaanan during my youth. I spent a lot of time with my friends in the "folk" cinema. More than 60 years ago... when I was studying at the "Tel Hai" school next door with my friends from the "Olim camps", they were also neighbors (I.... was to the left of them... in "Shomer HaHatsir"). Later I lived opposite the Technion and studied there. Yes.... I heard about an increase in ultra-Orthodox in this working-class neighborhood and that would be a shame. Don't close the cinema, it is part of the neighborhood's identity. Please leave it!!!

  20. Please, please, open Cinema Amami again!! We miss the neighborhood movie theater so much! It was so different from the alienated and uninspiring cinemas of the malls. Popular cinema was a cinema in a personal and homely atmosphere with quality films. The last and comforting place of recreation we have left in the sleepy and dreary Neve Shaanan neighborhood.

  21. In my opinion, the municipality wants to transfer the building to religious people who will not see a cinema operating on Shabbat.
    The religious kindergarten on the roof of the building proves this

  22. Understand - anything that is culture, education, art - in the eyes of the municipality, its value is garbage. The municipality supports religious institutions - otherwise they fly from their comfortable armchairs into the street, and eat food.... This is how a generation of beasts is raised, and beasts, as we know, obey whoever holds the whistle.

  23. The municipality in Haifa (and in every city in Israel) operates according to the principle - to initiate, produce, build and promote - they are not capable, so in order to demonstrate a stage presence (a.k.a. the cricket ball) they knock and destroy and sabotage everything, and call it action. My opinion - that this building It will end up as a gray concrete tower yielding real estate, or - more logically - as a religious institution that will be handed over to dossies for free, there is no money.

  24. A folk cinema remained for many years, the "last Mohican" in the neighborhood of Neve Shanan in the southern neighborhoods of Carmel, after the cinemas in the center of Horeb were "destroyed". It served a wide population of citizens, including senior citizens, by offering a selection of quality films. After it was closed, the residents of the city felt the lack of it, and therefore the city's franchisees had an obligation to allow its continued existence to the general public

  25. Popular cinema cinema was one of the favorite corners of culture in the city. please. Bring it back to work, as it was.

  26. What 7.10.23 the destruction of the house began and unfortunately popular cinema is part of the destruction. Every good part disappears. A very painful article. We even had a popular subscription and no one bothered to inform the ticket buyers that there was no more cinema. Every word in the article resonated with me. We will wait and see what the municipality will do about the last survivor. I am another one of those who enjoyed the Moriah cinema and the magnificent Shavit cinema which became a ruin.

  27. Let's separate the nostalgic outpouring of neighborhood cinemas and your experiences in folk cinema from the disgraceful way in which the Haifa municipality does not manage its assets and land, an omission worth billions of shekels, empty abandoned properties or where unregulated parties operate, which has also reached the state auditor's reports. In about a month they will demand The residents of Haifa put their hands in their pockets and take out another 8% additional property tax The honorable gentleman who runs the cinema acts as the last of the criminals: does not pay the taxes, does not inform the municipality of a third party tenant and operates in the building without regulating this activity.
    No wonder the corridors of legal advice are boiling.
    The municipality of Haifa was supposed to have a property company that would manage the properties for the benefit of the city treasury. Including parking lots, including public buildings, including abandoned lands and buildings and will work to generate revenue from them, if only to stop robbing only the public's pockets in a violent and blatant manner with the scandalous property tax increases. She doesn't do it. Here, suddenly, she remembered after decades to do something.
    In the Moriah folk cinema building, again the municipality does nothing. It is used by the sanitation department and garbage trucks park in Spector Square, as if we have so many such squares that nothing will happen if one turns into a parking lot for garbage trucks.
    For decades people in the Carmel Range have been complaining about the lack of competition in food chains. In the Shambor neighborhood in front of Emmi Moriah Cafe, there is no supermarket at all - not a big one, not even a small one. The Haifa municipality claims that it has nowhere to approve more trade along the Ridge axis. And the lies: the building of the Ammi Moriah Cinema Cafe could be demolished and allow the developer building rights for an apartment tower for rent to young families, and below it commercial floors with shops and a food chain, for the well-being of the residents of the neighborhood and lowering the cost of living in the ridge.
    You think to yourself: they really haven't done anything with a large lot of Cinema Cafe Moriah for 10 years, why? And what do you think of the giant Shavit cinema near the center of Carmel - abandoned for 30 years?
    Ammi Neve Shanan Cinema:
    These are small halls with medium-poor sound quality. In all the times I've been I've never seen more than 30 people there at a screening. Sometimes only 2-3 pairs. With all the sadness, there are much better uses for the field and the structure. Even if you want to preserve the cinema, it would be appropriate to demolish the old building and erect the cinema as part of a building with additional uses such as apartments for rent or during the day more kindergartens or a day club for the elderly, for example.
    Beyond the obvious nostalgia, the municipality must use its assets in the most efficient way to generate income from them and that there will be no white duplicates. The municipality that filed the lawsuit did well.

    • Surely another building for the religious sector, they are slowly and quietly taking over the neighborhood

  28. The original owners of the cinema, until Neve Shanan, transferred/sold the cinema to the municipality of Haifa. It is interesting to check how much the municipality paid for the property and whether the consideration took into account the existence of the lessee.
    It is possible that it will be discovered that the consideration was low, and then it is not fair that the municipality will win a free property that is not leased
    It is interesting to whom the cinema equipment will be sold, as there is no stipulation in the judgment to leave it in the cinema.

  29. Indeed, a folk cinema is an asset to Haifa and it is very unfortunate that instead of the Haifa municipality encouraging this cultural activity and preserving history, it will probably become a white elephant like the other historical cinemas that were in the city.
    I agree with every word written in the article. It's a shame that the public will pay for this financial conflict. The municipality must find a way to continue operating it for the sake of the residents since the municipality's role is to provide the best service to its citizens.

  30. . It is known which public exerts pressure on the municipality and it is quite clear which public the municipality will take care of. The cinema was a center for the culture-seeking public, secular and religious. High-quality films and lectures attracted people from all over the city. There is no reason to harm the culture-seeking enlightened public and the place should be operated in its previous form.

    • It's a shame a unique movie theater, great movies, quality movies, I really hope it will continue to work for the general public who enjoy the experience.

  31. I agree with every word that has been written about operating the cinema as a neighborhood and for quality movies and in that there is no alternative!!!
    She adds that there is a class action lawsuit against the operator for accessibility for the disabled which is actually easily resolved... so this excuse can also be removed from the chapter and claims that the municipality must honestly reveal its intentions regarding the building... and believes that in the first place the very existence of such a long litigation that has its place outside the walls of the court with tenants even on difficult days When they came to screenings, they made it possible, to their credit.

  32. When I saw the title "popular cinema" I was happy, here I am returning to the hall that I loved so much.
    The Ammi cinema brought wonderful, special films, it was pleasant to come to this warm folk place, like entering a loving home.
    I really hope that the films and the people will continue to visit this cinema.

  33. It's a shame that it's closed. When I was young, I visited and enjoyed the cinema. It's a shame that there are no more cinemas. There were days

Leave a comment

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

All the articles are alive

A 27-year-old man was injured in a violent incident in Haifa

(Hai Pa) Tonight, Saturday 7/12/24 at 22:54 p.m., a report was received at MDA's 101 hotline about a violent incident on Rabbi Raphael Ankoa Street in Haifa. The event is inside a bus, teams...

Exciting: Maccabi Haifa players participated in a rally for the return of the kidnapped in Haifa

At the end of the week (Thursday, 5.12.2024) the rally for the return of the abductees and the abductees was held in the evening at the Auditorium Square in the Carmel Center in Haifa, which was organized by the headquarters of the families for the return of the abductees and the missing in Haifa. At the rally...

Aliran (Tal) plots in the big city(s) • Position column / Adv. Ron Aviv*

Editor's note: In a severe and unusual audit report, the municipality's auditor presented the conduct of Eliran Tal in his position as head of the Haifa municipality's spokesperson and publicity department, beginning...

A car was completely burned in Daliyat El Carmel

(Hai Fe) - Tonight (between Friday and Saturday 7/12/24) an urgent call led the fire fighters of the Haifa station to the scene of a fire on the main road in Dalit El Carmel,...

Smoke rises in Haifa Bay • Fire at a recycling plant

(Hai Pa) - Haifa Bay: Smoke billows due to a fire that broke out in a recycling plant. Fire and rescue work on the scene with many forces. Smoke in Haifa Bay: At this time,...