Not only in Jerusalem...

I was born in Tel Aviv and have been living in it for more than 40 years. Yet, only today I found out, by accident, while looking for some information on this city which I love so much, that even though Tel Aviv is maybe the most secular city in Israel, there are (in the greater Tel Aviv area) approximately 500 synagogues. I have to admit it is an amazing figure.
Anyway, as I usually do on Saturdays, I took my camera today and went around my neighborhood taking some photos. I have decided that this photo is most suitable for this post and immediately gave it the above title: "Not only in Jerusalem"...

The name Tel Aviv comes from...

Tel Aviv will celebrate its 100th. birthday on April 2009. In fact, celebrations are planned to take place throughout the whole year (2009).

In the coming months, our posts will be mainly dedicated to news and updates regarding the various projects and preparations related to these developments and celebrations.

Although this blog has been going on for some time, we have not told you yet the story about how Tel Aviv has become to be called Tel Aviv.

So the story goes....

Tel Aviv has probably had more names than any other city in the world.
It all began with the House-Builders Association that decided to build a new Jewish neighborhood outside Yafo. Later the association changed its name to Ahuzat Bait. Half a year after the establishment of the new neighborhood at the end of 1909, fierce arguments arose regarding the name of the new Hebrew neighborhood. Various names had been suggested: New Yafo, Neve Yafo, Aviva, Yefefiya (Hebrew: beautiful), and Sha'anana (Hebrew: calm & secure).

Herzliya, in commemoration of Theodor Herzl (founder of political Zionism), was favored by many. Finally, Menachem Sheinkin suggested Tel Aviv. Sheinkin had in mind Nahum Sokolov's Hebrew translation of the title of Herzl's book "Altnueland". Sheinkin was not aware of the fact that there was already a neighborhood of that name in Ness Tziona. The name Tel Aviv was eventually decided on by majority vote, scoring 20 votes compared to 15 that had been cast in favor of Neve Yafo. When the founders of Tel Aviv chose the name, they were not aware that it was mentioned in the Bible. Sokolov once explained that he found Tel Aviv to be a faithful translation from German of "Altneuland" (meaning: the old new land). Like the German term, it involves a play of words between "old" and "new". In Hebrew, "tel" means a mound of ancient ruins and "aviv" means spring. Thus "Tel Aviv" balances a sense of the new (renewed) with a sense of heritage (ancient).

Life on the border: impossible reality

During the last three week a special exhibition has been going on in Tel Aviv. It is an outdoor exhibition on Chen Boulevard. If you stroll along this street, just turn your head up and you'll see drawings on boards tied to the streets from both sides. These drawings were made by junior high school students from the city of Kiryat shmona which is located in the North of Israel on the Lebanese border. During the 2006 Lebanese War which took place during 33 days, between mid July and mid August 2006, a total of 1012 Katyusha rockets hit Kiryat Shmona. Approximately half of its residents left the area during that time and those who remained stayed in bomb shelters. I went to see these youngsters' drawings and I was trying to feel and understand what it means to be 14 years old boy or a girl living in such a horrifying reality. I bring to you here several photos of their drawings, which I think speak for themselves.

Raphael (Rafi) Perez, gay artist

Raphael Perez was born in 1965 and raised in Jerusalem. He currently resides and works in Tel-Aviv. He is a graduate of the Jerusalem school of Visual Arts (1988-1992).Perez`s creations deal with the subject of homosexuality. He puts a strong emphasis on single-sex families, pride parades, soldiers, male birth giving, portraits, and male nudity, as well as male, female and heterosexual couples. His paintings put to test the boundaries between eroticism and art, while characterizing gay relationships and love as they are expressed in everyday life.
Two primary styles dominate the Raphael Perez paintings:Naïve Style which has been influenced by his experience of working with children and the Realistic Style, in which red is the dominant color.

Tel Aviv is featured in several Raphael Perez's paintings, especially those in the Naive Style. We chose this photo of one of his works featuring the promenade along Tel Aviv's coast line.

Rafi Perez's works in more detail can be found in:
http://www.artgallery18.com/?doc=150105 as well as in http://www.art4collector.com/.

Leasure feline life in Tel Aviv

It's Saturday again and I went to check out how cats manage in this city. Apparently, they are doing great...at least those I have met on my way. So, if you wish to be a city cat, Tel Aviv is probably quite a good choice...

Gay artist in Tel Aviv

We have already mentioned that Tel Aviv is the largest center of commercial and cultural life in Israel. In this post we wish to introduce to you one (out of several) gay artists who live and create in Tel Aviv.

IRIT RABINOWITS was born in 1969 and is a graduate of the Be'er-Sheva College of Visual Arts, where she studied from 1989 through 1992.
She worked as an art instructor for children and as a book illustrator, publishing two children books with her illustrations (1992, 2003).

Irit took part in the several group exhibitions in addition to three solo exhibitions.

Taken from the artist's web site home page is the following information:

"Irit Rabinowits'art deals with the process of defining a sexual identity, starting with early adolescence in the blue painting series, which are painted in cold and reserved colors conveying a sensation of detachment and isolation;

Through the revelation and enjoyment derived from the beauty and sexuality of the female body in the wood painting series, which are warm-color paintings drawn on wood;

And finally in the Naive painting series which simply celebrates love within an intimate relationship in a colorful and joyful manner.

We love Irit's art very much and it was very hard to choose one painting among all her works, so we have finally picked the one above, at the top of this post, which we hope will make you curious to learn more about this artist. It is one of her Naive Painting Series and its titled: Couple on a sofa / 2003.

More about the artists in: http://www.lesbianpaintings.com/

A new Tel Aviv Soho?!

Tel Aviv already has a Soho and it is located on Sheinkin Street. We feel, though, that Chashmnona'im St. which is in central Tel Aviv has a great potential of becoming yet another one. Parted by Rothschild Blvd, it is one of longest and most diverse streets in our city. The name "Chashmona'im" was given to the street to commemorate the Jews (also: the Maccabim) who revolted against the Greek occupation during the 2nd. Century BCE the Second Temple era).

The Eastern part of this street, beginning at Menachem Begin St. is more crowded and businesslike. The fact that you can find a store to buy a needle for your gramophone and right next to it one which sells designer clothes implies that this street is reflecting Tel Aviv's mood. Tel Avivians wish to have both vintage and prestigious items on the same place and of course to be able to pop into Office Depot on their way home to buy stationary. Chashmona'im Street is becoming one such place. Here you can find professional bike stores, running gear and the flag shop of The North Face (extreme sports clothes).

You may not know, but a Tel Aviv Street is not considered a "place worth hanging out in" unless it is blessed with at least two (or three or four) branches of the main coffee shop chains. Here we have Cup O' Joe, the first branch of the famous Israeli coffee chain and Café Café which has joined recently.
Another Israeli fashionable trend is Bakery boutiques. The first of this lot was located on Chashmona'im Street. It's called "Lechamim" (in English: "bread") and their products are delicious. Wine lovers and connoisseurs will find it interesting to visit "Derech Hayayin"(in English: "Wine Route") specialty store. This is the chain's branch in Tel Aviv where special events take place in the wine cellar: seminars, launches of special wines and wine tasting (on Fridays).
The leading producer and exporter of tea in Israel, Wissotzky, that established its first tea plant production in Israel in 1936 has located its "Tea House" on Chashmona'im Street. This Tea House offers the public an unforgettable "tea experience" and provides a wealth of information about tea.
Business and pleasure co-reside on Chashmona'im St. Many law and accountants offices are located here and at lunch time it gets quite hectic. Look around and you'll also find the fun side of life. City Sauna, at no. 113, is a sauna for gay men. Step inside and you'll find yourself in a huge video hall with private show rooms, porn films and videos, showers and a variety of other attractions.

In case you get tired of this Eastern more noisy section of the street, you are invited to cross the busiest intersection (Karlibach Street) and proceed towards the street's Western part, which is so different from its Eastern counterpart that it's almost impossible to believe it is the same street. You will be climbing uphill and reaching Rothschild Boulevard, where you may decide to take a short break and catch your breath. This is a good place to do it as it is the highest spot in Tel Aviv and hence - the most airy. Continue walking (now it's downhill) and since it is quite a steep walk you may even be reminded of San Francisco. A neighborhood café is located at the corner of Ahad-Ha'am Street: Noah's Café (yes, the biblical guy with the Arc). This place is becoming one of the places to see and be seen and more than several local celebs have chosen it as their favorite meeting point. Continue strolling till the end, at King George Street, where you'll reach a medium size public park (Gan Meir).
King George is another world to write home about and we'll do it in a later post. In the meantime,enjoy Chashmona'im Street.

A random collection of Tel Aviv buildings

Got up this morning determined to do something useful… I'll take my new digital camera and just walk around my neighborhood (Central Tel Aviv) and maybe take some shots. This will be good exercise and something to share with our readers. I took only photos of buildings: most of them renovated some fairly new and maybe one or two old ones.
Notice how sunny it is although it's middle of January…. Well, after all the meaning of the name Tel Aviv is "Hill of Spring"!!!

Tel Aviv, the final gay frontier

The following article was published on August 2007 in the "Culture" section of YNET.com. It is brought to you here, as-is.

These are the voyages of the British gay journalist (Chas Newkey Burden) in his continuing mission to explore strange new worlds

Tel Aviv resident Justin Rudzki was strolling across the city’s busy Dizengoff Square one day when he spotted an Arab man. Their eyes met and the two men approached one another.
But this wasn’t to be yet another moment of conflict between Jew and Arab in the Middle East. The pair instead swapped phone numbers and arranged a date. You might not expect such an encounter to be able to occur in Israel. But then the more you look into gay life in this country, the more surprises you uncover.




When I told friends I was visiting Israel, the common response was “Be careful, make sure you don’t get killed.” In fact, such is the level of security there, I felt far, far safer in Israel than I do in London. Similarly, when I told friends I was visiting Israel to write a feature for a gay magazine, the common response was: “Be careful, I bet it’s a really homophobic country.”

It is nothing of the sort. Workplace discrimination against gay people is outlawed; the Knesset had an openly gay member; in schools, teenagers learn about the difficulties of being gay and the importance of treating all sexualities equally. The country’s army, the Israel Defence Force has many dozens of openly gay high-ranking officers who, like all gay soldiers in its ranks, are treated equally by order of the government.

The Supreme Court has ruled that gay couples are eligible for spousal and widower benefits. Nearly all mainstream television dramas in Israel regularly feature gay story lines. When transsexual Dana International won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest as Israel’s representative, 80 per cent of polled Israelis called her “an appropriate representative of Israel.”

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Arab states, laws governing homosexuality are brutal. In Lebanon, you can face a year in prison for being gay. In Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is punishable by death. In Iran they’ve managed to come up with an even worse sentence: First torture, then death. These are not just theoretical punishments; these sentences are regularly carried out.
The legal situation in the Palestinian territories is less clear-cut but gay men are routinely and brutally tortured by their families and communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Gay Palestinians are tortured by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

So in terms of legislation, Israel is incredibly advanced by any standard, let alone that of a Middle Eastern country which is less than 60 years old.

Israeli challenges
Not that this tolerance means, however, that Israeli gay men do not face personal and religious challenges in coming to terms with their sexuality. When I met 20-year-old Yossi Herzog in Tel Aviv, those contradictions and challenges were apparent.
Slim, pretty and lively, at first sight he could be any of the boys who queue outside London’s G.A.Y. club on a Saturday night. But as we passed near one of Tel Aviv’s synagogues, he nervously clipped a skull cap on his head. When he took me for a falafel in bustling Shenkin Street, he went through a pre-meal kosher blessing.
But just minutes later, as we sat on the shoreline in the blistering afternoon heat, we were discussing what we do and don’t like doing in bed with other guys. Just like any other gay guys might. Then, I stepped away to take a phone call on my mobile and when I returned, he had put his skull cap back on and was reading Jewish prayers.

I had interviewed Yossi the previous evening on Tel Aviv’s ‘Hilton beach’ – it is opposite the Hilton hotel – which is also known as the ‘Gay beach’, where men openly check each other out and pick each other up. Interestingly, it is neighboured by the city’s Religious beach which has separate bathing days for men and women. And all this is just yards from Tel Aviv’s Independence Park, which is the main gay cruising area in Tel Aviv.
Yossi says he’s never been cruising at Tel Aviv’s Independence Park. Well, the lad has hardly had a chance, he only made his aliyah four weeks prior to the interview. He grew up in the USA but had for the previous two years lived in the UK. He can therefore easily compare the UK gay scene with the Israeli one.
“I much prefer the gay scene here,” he says. “For a start, the men are so much hotter,” he beams. “Here the men are tall, slim and tanned. Not like in the UK where they are more like cottage cheese – all pasty and chunky.
“Israelis are very blunt, straightforward people and that helps make gay life here much more enjoyable than it is in England. Here, if you like someone you tell them. If you don’t like someone, you tell them. There are none of the ‘playing it cool’ games you get in England, none of the whole ‘should I, shouldn’t I’ text message extravaganza.

House Of Freedom
Jerusalem is Israel’s capital city but the gay capital of the country is Tel Aviv. Bustling and modern, with a warm air of hedonism flowing through it, Tel Aviv has a fine gay scene with a number of bars, clubs, saunas and gay sex shops on its streets. At bars like Evita, a hip, young crowd converges after midnight – none of the gay nightlife gets going much before this - to party into the early hours.
The city is also host to the House Of Freedom. Opened in the late 1990s, this is a shelter for gay, lesbian and transgender youngsters between the ages of 12 and 18 who have been thrown out of home after coming out to their parents.

At the House Of Freedom they are counselled by social workers who then visit the parents and attempt to bring about a reconciliation. Those attempts are often successful, each year hundreds of gay youngsters return to a better home thanks to this remarkable institution.

Gay ghetto? Not in here
However, the city’s gay scene does not represent a gay ghetto inside which gay men have to hide.
Brandon, 22, moved to Tel Aviv from upstate New York to study at one of the city’s universities. He has a boyfriend back home and he told me they could never consider holding hands in public there. However, when I met Brandon, he was hoping that his boyfriend would soon visit him in Israel.
“I can’t wait for him to get here so I can show him how gay-friendly this place is,” he says. “I think he’ll be surprised. I think a lot of people would be.” He has no doubts they will hold hands on the streets of Tel Aviv.
Shai Doitsh, spokesman for the National Association Of LGBT In Israel (Aguda), expands on this theme.
“It is not big deal at all for a gay couple to kiss in the street in Tel Aviv,” he says. “In fact, we now have a joke that if a man and a woman are seen kissing in the street, that is more strange!” Shai is full of enthusiasm for the gay scene in Tel Aviv and is looking forward to word getting out about it. “Our gay scene must be the best kept secret in the gay world,” he says.

'This is a lifesaver for me'
Perhaps the most surprising gay visitors to Israel are those from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Aguda organises Arabic gay evenings where gay Palestinians are invited to come and party with Israelis – and many take up the invitation. “We are their only hope,” he says. “If they came out where they live, they would be killed but they can come and party with us in Israel.”
Mahmoud (not his real name) is a 19-year-old gay Israeli Arab from a small town outside Tel Aviv. He is enormously grateful to mainstream Israel for its gay-friendliness. "I cannot be open at all in the town where I live," he sighs, "because it is a predominantly Arab town." What would happen if you came out in the town you live in, I ask. "Very, very bad things," he says and refuses to elaborate.

However, the gay scene of Tel Aviv offers him a haven. "I can come here and be myself," he smiles. "This is a lifesaver for me." He insists he has never faced hostility on the Tel Aviv gay scene because of his Arab roots.
So what about liaisons between the two communities? Yossi says that many Israeli Jews are attracted to Israeli Arabs. “I suppose they are the forbidden fruit for us and we probably represent similar to them. So it is an attractive prospect all round. Tourists, too, are a popular prospect among Israeli gays. Everyone wants to fuck a tourist.”

Florentin

Florentin is one of Tel Aviv's neighborhoods. Established in 1927 by Zionist Jews from Greece, Turkey and other Balkan countries, it was mainly inhabited by craftsmen. This influenced the architecture of the neighborhood: the buildings were mostly two stories high, on the top floor lived the family and on the ground floor were workshops, such as upholstery and carpentry.
The neighborhood went through many changes over the last century and in recent years the place has gained its charm back thanks to a vast renovation plan initiated by the Tel Aviv municipality. Many young people prefer to live in this neighborhood because of its special atmosphere.
Here are our favorite places in Florentin:
"Casco" - An institution which deserves special attention. Casco is a Dutch word meaning "unidentified space". It's an urban laboratory - art, food and coffee, a place where young local artists and designers exhibit their prospective of the city. Notice the graffiti on the walls and the beautiful yard furnished in a creative and innovative style. Each week live music and theater performances take place. The food served is mainly Dutch style.
Tel: 03-5182144, at 3a Florentine St. Closed on Fridays & Saturdays.

Street Gallery named "Art Look Through" a place where artists exhibit their artwork under a huge glass wall. It is located opposite a bar called "10 Florentin".

A culinary evidence to the glorious Balkan past of this neighborhood is found on 25 Florentin St., with its delicious pastry.

Cordovero St. is a place where you can see the original houses, now renovated, with their wooden shutters in delightful colors. The trees on this street are old amongst them citrus trees.

Yedidya Frenkel St. has become home to new designed spaces where antiques, carpets, home decor and accessories are sold.

On Vital St. are some special places to hang out which have become the locals' favorites: one of them is an English style bar called "Sachemo" where you can find different kinds of whisky.

If you are a history fan don't miss out on the Lechi Museum Beit Yair, located in the actual hiding place of Yair Stern - Lechi's adored leader. This is the place where he was assassinated in 1942 by British policemen. You can see the room where he was murdered including the actual cupboard where Yair hid in.
The museum is on 8 Stern St. Open daily (except Saturdays) and Fridays for organized groups.

There are also performances of black music and jazz alongside an open stage for young musicians. Be sure to check in the local paper for updated events.

"Do Touch" Deaf-Blind Unique Group

Last night I had the most incredible experience: I went to the Nalaga'at ("Do Touch") Theatre Company which consists of an ensamble of Deaf-Blind actors. It is a unique and innovative cultural center, the first of its kind in the world.
Located at the old Jaffa Port in a beautifully designed building, I was greeted by deaf waiters who welcomed the audience as they entered, and offerred refreshments and light snacks at the "Bistro".
The performance itself was very touching: we experienced an hour of performance with this incredible group of actors. They began by kneading dough for bread which was actually baked in ovens on stage during the whole performance.
I learned about their dreams, had a short peep of their both silent and dark world, was astonished to discover their humor and was appreciating the wonderful group collaboration, accompanied and assisted by some very dedicated translators.
Whenever the audience applauded, the translators tapped on the actors' shoulders to include them in the experience in real time.
There is also a special restaurant, called "Blackout", located in that center, where you eat in complete darkness and are served by blind waiters. The restaurant is separated from the theater although it is located in the same building. You need to make reservations for this restaurant.

I warmly recommend a visit to this amazing center but bear in mind that you cannot enjoy both the restaurant and the performance on the same day! For more details dial: 03-6330808.

Tel Aviv: facts and figures

Israel's Declaration of Independence took place in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, and the town served as Israel's provisional capital throughout the 1948 Arab-Israeli War due to the Arab blockade of Jerusalem, which was proclaimed capital in December 1949.

Because Jerusalem (Israel's capital city) is a city in dispute between Israel and Palestine, most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv has been described by Newsweek as one of the top ten most technologically influential cities in the world and as a "miniature Los Angeles" by The Economist.

The highest point in Tel Aviv (and therefore the coolest) is at the corner of Rothschild Blvd. and Chashmona'im St. It is 45 meters above sea level and 45 meters from where I live (and therefore the coolest..).

February 6, 1950, was the only time in its history that Tel Aviv was covered with snow. As a child this historic event was told to me every winter and I must admit that I am still praying every year for this miracle to reoccur.

The 18th. of May, 1988 was the hottest day in the history of Tel Aviv: 43.5 Celsius degrees were recorded. I hate the heat, so I took refuge in my air-conditioned apartment.


70% of Israeli residents claim that Tel Aviv is the city they wish to live in.... but,


The price of a single apartment in one of the most luxurious apartment buildings (the G Tower) being built in the center of Tel Aviv, is $2.5M. In other words, for 1 sq. meter in such an apartment you'll pay approx. $8,500. And, you'd better hurry up, since 32 out of 37 apartments had already been sold!!!

According to Forbes, 4 out of 7 Israeli billionaires who live in Israel, reside in Tel Aviv (or its suburbs).

In July 2003, UNESCO proclaimed Tel Aviv as a World Cultural Heritage site, naming it "The White City". In Tel Aviv one can find the world's largest grouping of Bauhaus buildings (about 4,000!) which was built beginning in the 1930s until the establishment of the State of Israel (1948).

Tel Aviv is known in Israel as "the city that never sleeps", which means many places (pubs, bars, restaurants and mini markets) are opened around the clock.

Tel Aviv is home to three of Israel's largest museums (the Eretz Israel Museum, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Beit Hatefutsoth).

Israel's only Stock Exchange, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ("TASE") is naturally located in Tel Aviv.

Seaside Revelation

On September 24, 2007 David Kaufman of the TIME magazine, portrayed Tel-Aviv's profile under the title: Night and Day, Tel-Aviv weds local charm to worldly confidence. "Awash in foreign investment, the city's culinary, cultural and clubbing scenes are all reaching world-class status - only without the high-end prices", states Kaufman who believes that Tel-Aviv is quietly emerging as the Mediterranean's most unlikely capital of cool. Needless to say, we completely agree with him. Visiting the city's oldest quarter, Neve Tzedek, which was founded more than a century ago you'll find a maze of Ottoman-era villas and artists' studios as well as the city's first true boutique hotel, chic yet casual shops and cutting-edge restaurants.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the White City takes its name from Tel-Aviv's vast trove of Bauhaus architecture, whose functional, boxy aesthetic arrived in the Middle East along with Jewish refugees from 1930s Europe. Today, meticulously renovated Bauhaus gems line major thoroughfares such as posh Rothschild Boulevard and quaint Ahad Ha'am Street. Along with its cultural renaissance, Tel-Aviv is going through a major urban upgrade and the building frenzy is only just beginning as the city prepares for its 2009 centennial. Next up: new luxury residential towers by the likes of Philippe Starck, Richard Meier and Donald Trump. Tel-Aviv today, with its haute hotels and chic cuisine is adopting a cool vibe that is no mere passing fashion. It has come a long way from the city's traditional falafel in pita, but the nicest thing about Tel-Aviv is, that if you are a falafel in pita guy, you can still easily find it and have it for only $2.99.