Reel Nostalgia, Clip #4 Reel Nostalgia, Clip #4

WATCH: Snow in Jerusalem in 1957

February in the Holy City that year began with a rare, ‘very strange’ snowstorm

By Ramona Tausz 12 August 2015, 2:55 pm 1

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Men shovel out snow after a rare Jerusalem snowstorm in February 1957 (Screenshot of newsreel footage from YouTube)

Men shovel out cars, dogs burrow through snowbanks, and crowds of Jerusalem children build snowmen in this newsreel from February 1957.

“A rare event this. They haven’t had snow in the Holy City for years,” the newscaster announces as a man pats his arms for warmth on the screen. “And somehow it all looks very strange.”

Nevertheless the children — much like Jerusalem children during last winter’s snowfall — delighted in the weather.

“Traffic and communications were almost brought to a full stop, but there are always some people who revel in weather like this,” the narrator comments as a lively snowball fight commences on screen. “All they worry about is getting a direct hit.”

(The Associated Press and Movietone News recently released their vast video archives on YouTube, allowing the public to freely access a million minutes worth of historical news clips dating back to 1895 — including many iconic scenes from Israel’s history featured in this Times of Israel series.)