Sira Pub

Sira Pub (Hebrew: סירה) is a bar and café located at 4 Ben Sira Street in central Jerusalem, Israel. The establishment operates as both a pub and a coffee house, and like other businesses on the street, it is active on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. It regularly hosts musical performances, poetry readings, and DJ sets, and has become a meeting place for Jerusalem's cultural and bohemian circles. The building housing Sira was constructed in the early 20th century and belonged to the Armenian Patriarchate before Israel's War of Independence. Several years after 1948, David Hasson purchased the building, which today belongs to his daughters. The building sits between 2 Ben Sira Street, where Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky lived in 1920, and 6 Ben Sira Street, where painter Miron Sima lived and where the Brown JLM Mamilla hotel now operates after redevelopment. Before taking its current name, the venue operated until the early 2000s as the "Divan" pub, which laid the foundation for nonconformist nightlife in the city — a model Sira continued. Since opening, Sira has undergone a series of managerial and cultural changes. From 2005 to 2009 it was jointly managed by Lior Gutreiman and Tomer Maayan Merzel, who was then his partner. Between 2009 and 2017 Gutreiman managed the place alone intermittently. In 2015–2017 Reizel Partzunok, known by the stage name DJ Kant, joined the management; she was then Gutreiman's wife. During her tenure, Sira developed a distinct cultural character focused on electronic music, local creation, and an alternative community, becoming a magnet for the city's artistic and free-spirited scene. After Reizel left in 2017, Lanny Boss joined the management and ownership. In 2024 Boss moved to the Czech Republic and since then has not been involved in the active management of the bar, though he remains one of its owners. In 2017–2022 the pub expanded and a separate café branch was established opposite the pub at 1 Ben Sira Street, where the "Cavalier" restaurant previously operated. Among the waiters who worked at the place in the past is the poet Roman Eisenberg; during the Divan period in the early 2000s, Shaanan Streett and Sayed Kashua worked there. The pub is a meeting place for Jerusalem cultural and spiritual figures, including the poet Amos Noy, and is known as the "home pub" of Hapoel Jerusalem fans. The pub and the alley leading to it serve as a gathering spot for Hapoel Jerusalem fans before and after games. Meetings related to the management of the football club have been held at the pub and café. At the end of 2021, shirts with a dual logo of Hapoel Jerusalem and Sira Pub were distributed at the pub. The pub owners provide sponsorships to the football teams of the Hapoel Jerusalem youth department; in 2022 sponsorship was given to the boys' youth team and in 2023 to the girls' youth team. Sira has been mentioned in a song by Aner Shapira. Some regular customers who were also Hapoel Jerusalem fans left the pub on October 6, 2023, and traveled together to the Nova festival near Kibbutz Re'im. Among them were Aner Shapira and Hirsch Goldberg-Polin. At the start of the October 7 massacre, the Nova festival massacre occurred; Shapira was killed while defending partygoers who had taken shelter, and Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas to the Gaza Strip and later murdered in captivity. In March 2024, Shapira's family released "Introduction to Anarchism," a mini-album of six songs he wrote, composed, and produced. With the album's release, the single "Brotherly Hate" was published, featuring musician Shaanan Streett, who added a new verse to the song after Shapira's death. In the last verse, Streett mentioned the connection between Shapira, Goldberg-Polin, and Sira Pub, where much of the music video was filmed. A large poster was hung on the wall above the pub entrance with the inscription "Bringing Rashi home now."

Sira Pub is located at 4 Ben Sira Street in Jerusalem, in a building constructed in the early 20th century. Before Israel's War of Independence, the building belonged to the Armenian Patriarchate, which owned many buildings in this area of central Jerusalem. Several years after 1948, David Hasson purchased the building, and today it belongs to his daughters. The building stands between 2 Ben Sira Street, where Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky lived in 1920, and 6 Ben Sira Street, where painter Miron Sima lived and where the Brown JLM Mamilla hotel now operates after redevelopment. Before it was known as Sira, the venue operated until the early 2000s as the "Divan" pub, which laid the foundation for nonconformist nightlife in the city — a model that Sira continued. Since its opening, Sira has undergone a series of managerial and cultural changes. From 2005 to 2009, the place was jointly managed by Lior Gutreiman and Tomer Maayan Merzel, who was then his partner. Between 2009 and 2017, Gutreiman managed the place alone intermittently. In 2015–2017, Reizel Partzunok, known by the stage name DJ Kant, joined the management; she was then Gutreiman's wife. During her tenure, Sira developed a distinct cultural character focused on electronic music, local creation, and an alternative community, becoming a magnet for the city's artistic and free-spirited scene. After Reizel left in 2017, Lanny Boss joined the management and ownership. In 2024, Boss moved to the Czech Republic and since then has not been involved in the active management of the bar, though he remains one of its owners. In 2017–2022, the pub expanded and a separate café branch was established opposite the pub at 1 Ben Sira Street, where the "Cavalier" restaurant previously operated. Among the waiters who worked at the place in the past is the poet Roman Eisenberg; during the Divan period in the early 2000s, Shaanan Streett and Sayed Kashua worked there. The pub is a meeting place for Jerusalem cultural and spiritual figures, including the poet Amos Noy, and is known as the "home pub" of Hapoel Jerusalem fans. The pub and the alley leading to it serve as a gathering spot for Hapoel Jerusalem fans before and after games. Meetings related to the management of the football club have been held at the pub and café. At the end of 2021, shirts with a dual logo of Hapoel Jerusalem and Sira Pub were distributed at the pub. The pub owners provide sponsorships to the football teams of the Hapoel Jerusalem youth department; in 2022 sponsorship was given to the boys' youth team, and in 2023 to the girls' youth team. Sira has been mentioned in a song by Aner Shapira. Some regular customers who were also Hapoel Jerusalem fans left the pub on October 6, 2023, and traveled together to the Nova festival near Kibbutz Re'im. Among them were Aner Shapira and Hirsch Goldberg-Polin. At the start of the October 7 massacre, the Nova festival massacre occurred; Shapira was killed while defending partygoers who had taken shelter, and Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas to the Gaza Strip and later murdered in captivity. In March 2024, Shapira's family released "Introduction to Anarchism," a mini-album of six songs he wrote, composed, and produced. With the album's release, the single "Brotherly Hate" was published, featuring musician Shaanan Streett, who added a new verse to the song after Shapira's death. In the last verse, Streett mentioned the connection between Shapira, Goldberg-Polin, and Sira Pub, where much of the music video was filmed. A large poster was hung on the wall above the pub entrance with the inscription "Bringing Rashi home now."

• 2024

  Lanny Boss moves to Czech Republic, remains owner but not involved in active management

• 2023

  Sponsorship given to Hapoel Jerusalem youth girls' team

• 2022

  Sponsorship given to Hapoel Jerusalem youth boys' team

• 2021

  Shirts with dual logo of Hapoel Jerusalem and Sira Pub distributed at the pub

• 2017

  Lanny Boss joins management and ownership; café branch established at 1 Ben Sira Street (2017–2022)

• 2015

  Reizel Partzunok (DJ Kant) joins management (2015–2017)

• 2009

  Gutreiman manages alone intermittently (2009–2017)

• 2005

  Lior Gutreiman and Tomer Maayan Merzel begin joint management (2005–2009)

• 2000

  Venue operated as 'Divan' pub until early 2000s, laying foundation for nonconformist nightlife

Alternative cultural hub and home pub for Hapoel Jerusalem fans in central Jerusalem

• Beer

• Pizza

• Coffee

• Alcoholic beverages

• Live music events

• DJ sets

1. 1Sira Pub on Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2סירה (פאב וקפה בירושלים) – Wikipediahe.wikipedia.org