So, this is the second time we're releasing this video
because the first one had to be taken down.
So, last week we released this video about our walk in Jerusalem at night
where a strange man appears to scam us.
This video was getting immense popularity.
It was on track to make 100,000 views in a single day.
But then, someone comments on the video and says that they know this place,
and that this was actually not a scam but a legit business.
So, immediately after reading this comment, we thought:
(descending tone)
(whoosh)
(whoosh) (bell chimes)
But we couldn't leave it like that.
We had to get to the bottom of this.
And the best way to do it is go back to Jerusalem.
♪ (string music) ♪
This time, at daylight.
And luckily for us, the place was wide open.
And to make things even better,
we found a few workers inside who knew exactly what went on
and were able to tell us everything.
But before we show this to you,
it's important to go back and watch the original video,
but this time, pay close attention to the details,
and see if you can figure it out on your own
before we reveal what the workers had to say.
♪ (music) ♪
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO
(singing)
So, Rhoda and I came to Jerusalem for a couple of nights.
We came here to take our dear friends from Florida
on a quick tour.
However, since they arrive the next morning,
we thought it might be a cool opportunity to walk in Jerusalem at night.
It's truly quite a different experience,
and you never know what famous people you're gonna bump into.
So, we started at Jaffa Gate.
And right at the beginning,
there was this huge group of people with flags.
But more about that soon.
This is the Old City, and you can see the city walls.
And everything around it is the more modern city of Jerusalem.
So, Rhoda and I are standing right outside the Jaffa Gate,
which is right here,
and we're entering through this gate into the Old City.
(singing)
So, right after passing through the Jaffa Gate,
we go into this long street that has all of these old shops,
almost like a flea market street.
And within a few minutes, we already see something
that might be a great gift for our friends' daughters.
A cute Jerusalem camel toy.
But since there are three girls, we have to get three.
A few hundred feet down the street,
we enter the alley that takes us straight to the Wailing Wall
and the Temple Mount area.
And this is when things start getting interesting.
Pacemakers.
(Rhoda) Is this the Jewish Quarter over there?
(Sergio) There? Probably. Yeah.
♪ (music slows) ♪
To get to the Western Wall, we must pass security.
And once we were on the other side, we see something incredible.
Yooo.
We have never in our lives seen so many people here.
Wow! That's the most people I've seen when we were ever been here.
At first glance we were thinking we're not sure we want to go down.
But, then again, we had to see what all this commotion is about.
(overlapping conversations)
So many people.
So, there is a reason why there are so many people here.
It happens to be Jerusalem Day,
and Rhoda and I had no idea.
Jerusalem Day is an Israeli National holiday
that commemorates the reunification of East Jerusalem,
specifically the Old City, with West Jerusalem.
This happened on The Six-Day War of 1967.
(overlapping conversations)
And, while we usually try to steer away from politics,
this time we found ourselves in the very midst of it.
- What do you think? - What do I think?
About this whole thing.
I think: Why is there a stretcher with Coke on it?
(Sergio) Yes, there indeed was a stretcher with a few bottles of Coke on it,
amongst different other interesting things,
like stretchers with an unusually large amount of rifles on them.
We were not sure if this gave a feeling of security,
thanks to the presence of the military,
or a sense of hostility,
almost as if they were preparing for a civil unrest.
Either way,
we thanked God for the governing authorities that keep order
and slowly made our way out of the crowds,
into the safety of a higher ground
that led to a dark, empty street.
Let's keep going higher.
Somehow, it made sense at the time.
But it's these dark alleys and streets, in the middle of the night,
that led us to some very interesting places.
Wow!
♪ (suspenseful music) ♪
Whoa.
We've always wanted to come up here,
and we had no idea that this area is accessible for all.
But how do we get to that balcony?
Yeah, there. But that's a rooftop.
I don't think you can get there.
(Sergio) 'Cause I've seen videos of people doing it from there.
And now that we're here,
we can attest that the views are quite fantastic.
This is absolutely amazing.
Now that we had a chance to take a second look,
we realized that it is highly possible
that all those rifles and soldiers down there
might simply be for ceremonial purposes,
like to be sworn in or some type of military graduation ceremony.
And as we turned around from this beautiful view,
we stumbled upon a couple of famous people:
Katie and Yaron.
Katie is a professional photographer
who had done some amazing work in Israel and the world.
We met her while filming a music video for Shilo last year.
At the time, she was working with a famous local director, Michael Hilsden.
(whispering) He's directing.
Incidentally, on that same filming set,
we also met Yaron Cherniak,
whom we stumbled upon here today in Jerusalem.
Yaron is a singer-songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist
who is known for his amazing ability to play the Persian Tar
and other Persian, Kurdish, and Jewish instruments.
Yaron is also part of the famous Israeli worship band MIQEDEM
who just released a very awesome album that happens to be one of our favorites,
so we're going to leave a couple of links in the description of this video
for you to check out.
And, in the meantime,
we'll keep on going into the ancient, dark streets of Jerusalem
where a few other surprises await us around the corner.
You've never been out here, right?
(Rhoda) It would be so cool to know this place by heart.
- Like, the whole Old City. - (Sergio) Yeah.
- Oh my goodness. - (Sergio) Well, we know a lot of it,
but not this area.
(Rhoda) We know they're touristy, but there are--
♪ (music slows) ♪
(Sergio) This is the man in question.
For security purposes, we're going to blur his face.
However, we're going to show you exactly what happened
so that you can experience it through our eyes as the story unfolds.
At the beginning, we did not suspect anything,
and we just went straight right past him.
But as we kept on walking up the street, he caught up to us.
I stopped the camera at this very point,
and he asked us if we would like to see a beautiful view,
to which I replied "Of course," and resumed the camera recording.
That's the lookout point!
This is exciting because I know exactly where he's taking us.
♪ (music slows) ♪
These are the synagogues and the balconies
that overhang the Western Wall and the Temple Mount area.
We've never been here before,
and I thought access to this synagogue was exclusive.
However, this man seemed to have the access to it
and told us that we can go in too for a fee of 50 shekels.
(50 Shekels = 13.4 USD)
Okay. How much does it cost?
- (man) 50. - (Sergio) 50 shekels?
(man) Yes, not dollars.
- (man) [inaudible] - (Sergio) Sorry?
- (man) Give yarmulke? I'll give you one. - (Sergio) Oh, okay.
- (man) I'll give you, don't worry. - (Sergio) Okay. Thank you.
(whispering) Here we go. We're close to the rooftop view.
At this point, Rhoda started feeling a bit suspicious.
And while her intuition was spot-on, I didn't see it at the time,
probably due to my excitement to see the balconies.
- Wow! - (man) Are you Jewish?
But if we go back and examine the body language
of the two men that were speaking with him,
it almost looked like they were on the defense.
Something was definitely off.
No way! Whoa!
- (man) [inaudible] - (Rhoda) [inaudible]
(Sergio) [inaudible]
Wow. Wow.
(chanting)
This is amazing.
It's much less people than down there where we were.
(Sergio) After a few seconds here,
he gets us off the balcony and tells us to follow him.
- Wow. - (man) To the top, upstairs.
(Sergio) Here? We can go?
- (man) Yes, really. - (Sergio) Thank you. Oh, cool.
- (Rhoda) Thank you. - (Sergio) Very cool.
(footsteps trodding)
Wow.
Oh my goodness.
This is the best view in town.
We are higher here,
and you can actually see the Temple Mount area.
(Rhoda) You could, yes.
(Sergio) You could literally see the floors.
I mean, it's dark, but I see, right there, the floor of the Temple Mount
where they actually dug the hole.
(Rhoda) Look. The houses are all on top of each other, all connected.
(Sergio) Yeah.
Wow.
And this is great because we've got this little rare access
to a really cool spot.
♪ (music slows) ♪
And this is where things get a bit dicey.
As we walk out the door, I want to give him 50 shekels, as promised,
but all of a sudden, he demands 100,
saying it is 50 shekels per person.
And at this moment, I started noticing weird things,
like other people who were looking very suspiciously at us,
but also at him...
almost like he did not belong there.
So I told him, we agreed on 50, and that's what I'm going to give him.
But he continues to demand 100,
and he starts even raising his voice.
So I said: Okay, I'll pay you 100 shekels
if you provide me with the receipt for the entrance fee,
at which point he says:
There is no such thing as receipts here.
It's a donation. There are no receipts here.
And then he pointed to the donation box in the synagogue.
But when I give him the 50 shekels to put in the donation box,
he instead puts it in his pocket,
and he starts raising his voice again telling us that we're stealing from him...
at which point, I switched from English to Hebrew language and told him:
Listen, I grew up here.
I know very well, if there's an entrance with a fee,
then a receipt is mandatory.
When he heard that,
he still kept saying that nobody does receipts here.
We’re not sure how accurate that statement is,
but we’ve gotten a receipt from pretty much
every other place we’ve been to in Jerusalem.
Fortunately, the whole situation was de-escalated,
and we all parted ways in peace.
I actually was afraid
- because he could have been some imposter. - (Sergio) Yeah.
Frankly, I'm still not certain who he was.
Perhaps he does go to the synagogue,
and that's how he knew the code to the back door.
And it seemed like he knew his way around pretty well.
But, then again, he looked nervous the entire time.
He didn't give us any receipt.
He didn't put the money in the donation box.
And others seemed to be weird next to him too.
But these are just speculations.
That same night, Rhoda and I were convinced that this was a scam
because of all the circumstances that happened.
But then, when we saw that comment appear on the YouTube channel,
we thought: Wait. What if this is not a scam?
What if this is a person who actually knows this place,
knows the synagogue, he goes there,
and he does make money on the side, and it was all good?
And so we thought: It's the right thing to take down the video,
if we're wrong,
and then go back to Jerusalem and get to the bottom of this...
ask the people, inside, who work there.
And that's exactly what we've done.
And what they have to say might surprise you.
This time, it's daylight.
And you could probably tell on my face that I'm really excited.
This could be the day we get closure.
But what are the chances that this synagogue
will be open for visitors?
Apparently, the chances are pretty high
because this is no synagogue.
Yeah.
Uh, this gets really interesting.
♪ (music) ♪
As I walk inside,
I'm following the same steps as we did a week ago.
And then suddenly I see multiple workers passing me by.
And as I make the left turn, I find a couple of workers
with whom I'm able to share the whole story.
When they finish listening to me,
they literally start laughing and saying:
We don't have no entrance fees.
We don't offer such service.
And this is no synagogue.
This is an events hall.
At this point I'm really shocked
because I assumed it was a synagogue or a yeshiva,
or something of that sort because when we entered it,
the guy asked that we would wear a yarmulke,
a kippah on the head.
But this place, I don't think requires a yarmulke.
This is an events hall called Lev Shalom...
"Heart of Peace."
In hindsight, it is kind of obvious.
The bar stools, tables.
The podium, the workers, the kitchen.
And this event hall is like no other,
Offering quite phenomenal views for almost any venue.
We were able to find quite a few famous people
in their picture catalogue.
So, okay. So we got some closure.
There were some very nice people there that explained to me that,
hey, it's...
they don't have such a thing that they let in.
It's not a synagogue.
It's actually an event hall.
And what a difference to us to speak with these workers at daytime.
It was like a day and night difference... literally.
They were so nice.
They even let me walk through and said: Yeah.
We don't have any fees. Just go in. Take a look.
Take as many pictures of the views as you want.
And I did.
I went in and I took more pictures and more videos during the daytime.
So, where does this leave us?
Well, this is interesting
because while most of the workers did say that we were most likely scammed,
one of them said: Well, if he had access to the back door,
he had the code, and he knew where to walk,
maybe he has some kind of deal with the owner of this place
where he takes tourists into this place
and shows them a beautiful view for 50 shekels per person.
Now, if that theory is correct,
then I still don't understand why he would tell us to wear a yarmulke.
But, let's say it was a confusion, and he also thought this was a synagogue.
Or there is another religious reason
why we should wear a yarmulke in this place.
So, because of this chance that there is a possible chance
that they do have the authority to do this, this person,
then we can't call this a scam or something bad.
We have to give it the benefit of the doubt
and then you just have to consider:
Hey, is it worth 50 shekels per person or not?
Even if there is the slightest chance that the person was legit
and it was a big misunderstanding,
then, all the blessings to him.
And if you guys think this view is worth 50 shekels per person,
by all means... go in.
But, on the same level, just outside of this spot,
there is a street balcony,
kind of just a street that leads you to the edge,
and there is a fence, and you can see almost the exact same view
from a street without entering or paying anything.
Which, again, would make it not worth paying money
when you can see the same thing for free just a couple yards away.
(overlapping conversations)
Very good.
(Sergio) It's amazing. Wow!
- Mmm. - It's very good.
Actually, it's a really good falafel.
But, all in all, if you watched this video, and if you think:
Is it safe to walk in Jerusalem at night?
I believe the answer is "absolutely."
I bet there's not that many places in the world
where you can walk at night safely
without concerns of being attacked or something happening to you.
And that's why we felt so safe,
even following this man who showed us this view.
Truth be told, this was one of the most amazing nights
Rhoda and I had spent in Jerusalem,
and we had a fantastic time.
In the end, here's the big lesson.
If a strange man asks you to follow him into a dark alley at night,
it would probably be wise to say: No, thank you.
Even though Jerusalem is relatively safe to walk at night--
but, of course, "relatively" is a relative term--
so, discretion is advised.
"The remains of a magnificent main road from the Roman-Byzantine period
serving [as a] thoroughfare for shopping."
(gasps) It's the Agora.
Maybe Jesus walked here.
(Sergio) So, after the events,
Rhoda and I kept on exploring the Old City for a little while longer.
In Jerusalem, the streets look like they are just about to end, right?
You look in, and you're like, oh. That's a dead end.
But, is it a dead end? Is it?
It is not a dead end. (chuckles)
And, all in all, it was an amazing night.
(cat meowing)
(Rhoda) He just wants petting.
- Here you go. - (Sergio) (snickering)
(Rhoda) My favorite walk in Jerusalem.
- (Sergio) In Jerusalem? - Mm-hmm. 'Cause it's just us.
And, also, we've gone to these places that we've never gone before.
We've never walked here, so it's exciting.
(Sergio) Yeah. It's so wonderful to do it together.
We are grateful to the Lord for His protection tonight.
Sometimes I just forget
how much involved He is in our lives.
"He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:3-4
Well, we hope you guys enjoyed this little night tour of Jerusalem.
Not really a tour, just a walk-through. (chuckles)
- A kind of spontaneous walk-through. - Spontaneous. Unscripted.
Very unscripted because we didn't know we were going.
(both chuckle)
That's a good way to put it.
Well, until next time, may God bless you.
- And the best is yet to come. - Amen.
(camera beeps) (Rhoda) He's so soft.
Hi, kitty. Jerusalem cats, they have an attitude.
- Come here. - (Sergio) He's not even coming to you.
He doesn't want your petting.
(Rhoda) Excuse me, high-class cat.
- It's gorgeous. - (Sergio) Yeah. Beautiful.