Monday 8 November 2010

Hedonistic Tel Aviv

During my recent stay in Tel-Aviv, I noticed the rather new phenomenon of tourists who come from Europe for a few days or a long weekend just to enjoy the fun. In the past, non-Jewish tourists mainly came to visit Israel’s historical, archaeological and religious sites and Diaspora Jews came to visit family and the Jewish homeland. Lately, however, Tel-Aviv that has no archaeological or historical significance has become a different kind of a travel destination. Situated on the Mediterranean it enjoys a long and clean beach. With its abundance of good restaurants, bars, clubs and vibrant nightlife, Tel-Aviv seems never to go to sleep. It is in a 24/7 party mode. Rothschild Boulevard is safer, more fun and not as touristy as Barcelona’s Ramblas. People are friendly, approachable and open-minded and are likely to speak your language. The weather (except for the very hot summer months) is good. Theatre is in Hebrew but there is plenty of good classical music on offer.

As an Israeli, I could not avoid thinking about the morality of this hedonistic bubble in a society that sends its sons to police occupied territories. Should not stop you from going there. See for yourself!

5 comments:

  1. לפתוח את הבוקר עם הבלוג שלך - תענוג צרוף!!!!!! אני משתהה ומתפעלת תמיד מיכולת האבחנה שלך והניסוח הקולח והממצה. עלעלתי שוב במאמרים הקודמים, וזה חידד את תחושתי שאכן כן, יש לך את זה.

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  2. I was blathering on about my limited knowledge of Tel Aviv on Saturday with a friend who had just returned from a trip last week and we got on to the subject of architucture. I said I didnt recall anything of any note, but was rebuked by an architect sitting at the same table who said Tel Aviv was full of interesting and unaltered Bauhaus buildings. Is that true?

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  3. איזה טור מפרגן.....

    טור שלם על ת"א, הדוניזם וכו..ושום מילה עליי?!?!?!?!? אנונימית

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  4. Thank you T for the compliments.

    As to anonymus - did you really want to be mentioned in my blog on hedonism?

    John - Tel Aviv does indeed have many interesting bauhaus buildings, due to the German Jewish architects who left Germany in the 30s and emigrated to Palestine and the demand for housing created by the influx of immigrants in the 30s and 40s. Your friend was right.

    I considered mentioning this fact in my blog but decided to keep it to pure hedonism and less educational culture.

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  5. you"d better think how to be jewish and not "israeli" fiction nation

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