The White City (Tel Aviv, part 1)

In 2003 UNESCO awarded Tel Aviv the title of "White City" to honor its unique collection of Bauhaus architecture, but based on our experience this weekend, Tel Aviv is anything but white.

White implies a bland cleanliness and sterility that is completely absent from the city as it exists today.  Tel Aviv is colorful, dingy, and eclectic--a far cry from the modernist regularity envisioned by its early builders.  Walking around its wide boulevards and public squares built from 1930-1950 you feel like you're in a lived-in and past-its-prime Tomorrowland. 

In its structures you recognize an unfailing optimism, a belief in progress and conformity--the simple line, mass-market appeal and instant accessibility.  As Tel Aviv materialized out of nothing except some sand dunes north of Jaffa, it came to life in this form--bright, white, and centrally-planned.  The city was a blank palate and they designed to point firmly towards the future.  In this architecture there are no cultural elements, no ethnic tensions, or diversity of form which is exactly the vision that early Israelis had for their country: a new Jewish homeland that celebrated equality and hope ("aviv" means the season of spring).  What better way to forge a new society out of random immigrants than with an "international" style and a bucket of white wash?

Today, perhaps like the original dream of equality without ethnicity, some of Tel Aviv's houses are in need of repair.  Many of the old houses are getting a nice retrofit.  White paint is being replaced by mint greens, warm yellows and tans.  Each one has developed a unique character, although for some, the character is decay.  We stayed with a friend in a building built in 1928.  The insulation is terrible and the air conditioning insufficient and the whole place is showing its age.  In a few months, all of the tenants there will be evicted as it shuts down for a retrofit.  You can see why.  The neighboring houses are either construction sites or already improved luxury boutique hotels and residences.  The location is one of the finest in the city and there's money to be made in the up and up Tel Aviv real estate market.  The investments, however, remain uneven and for every three-storey apartment building undergoing a neo-modernist renovation, there's another crumbling to gray dust.

In some cases that's ok as the houses that crumble are bulldozed away to make room for more glitzy glass towers.  Tel Aviv is once again looking like a city of the future.  Real estate prices in and around the city have gone through the roof and there's talk of making Tel Aviv into a mini-New York City.  Trump and other big-name developers have invested in large luxury towers along the beaches and cranes are a prominent feature in the skyline.  Since the Bauhaus apartments are all low-rise 3-4 storey boxes, the planned 43-storey towers should have a nice view.  Which begs the question, who will live here? 

Tel Aviv is a youthful city in which the youth are being priced out (just like New York).  With the US real estate market in shambles, perhaps the bankers of New York are now betting on Israel's center of "cool," but it seems like a condo in Miami would be a safer investment than one in Tel Aviv (within the range of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip).  On the other hand, if you read the demographic tea leaves, Israel is slated to grow and the "it" place in Israel is definitely Tel Aviv so demand to live in the city is going to remain strong for years to come as long as the security situation remains stable and the economy here keeps humming away.  Like I mentioned before, Tel Aviv, is founded on hope and optimism.

Saving the Best for Last

Yesterday we joined a coworker and her boyfriend in Tel Aviv for dinner.  When we met up and explained that, although we had been in the country since February we had not yet been to Tel Aviv, her boyfriend lit up.  "Welcome to Israel," he declared with a broad grin.

To most Israelis, Tel Aviv is the center of the world.  Jerusalem may have all of the old religious landmarks but Tel Aviv is the cultural soul of this relatively young state.  It was in Tel Aviv in 1948 that David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of Israel as the first sovereign Jewish state--a state that would "uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race," while still allowing the "Jewish people to be masters of their own fate."  The secular vs. religious tensions apparent in the Declaration are still plaguing Israel today.  Jerusalem is the religious side--strongly orthodox and very proud of its religous ceremonies.  Tel Aviv is the secular side, the 83% of the Jewish population (Jewish in ethnicity and tradition) that cares more about enjoying life than fighting over territory.  It's a refreshing and playful breath of multicultural fresh air.

Take the restaurant we went to as an example--"The Diner by Goocha."  Goocha had been a seafood restaurant serving everything from fried calamari with parsley and garlic aioli in classic Italian style to a seafood noodle dish cooked in coconut cream and thai peppers.  Last night was just a week after it had been remodeled to look like a traditional American diner.  The menu had changed to include items such as rib-eye "chops" with Hollandaise sauce and New York Cheesecake.  They had even lined the walls with chalkboards to give it the straight from Chicago or New York look.  Everything was new and shiny and it was packed, in the middle of the week, from 8:00 and later.  We left at 10:30 and it really seemed like the city had just started to wake up.  We hear that some restaurants will stay open, serving dinner items well past 2:00 a.m!  Want a bacon cheeseburger at 1:00 in the morning?  Tel Aviv is the place to get it.

We heard from our host that rollerbladers started a protest on Tuesday nights.  They gathered at 10:30 p.m. in such numbers that they shut down the streets and caused traffic jams.  Instead of arresting them the cops worked with them to create a rollerblading route of select streets that are closed from 10:30-12:00.  Now it's more of an event than a protest.

We're going back this weekend because it is an interesting place and it seems a little more like America in its hedonistic pleasures and stay-open-late (even on Shabbat) freedoms.  The food is great and the attractions are supposedly good as well.  How could we leave Israel without visiting it first?

L'chaim!

Family Values

When my coworkers were asked what their top three values in life were, "family" was a unanimous favorite.  In a work setting, when values could be anything from "success" to "developing my career," they chose "family."  I was surprised, since I would not expect the same result among my American colleagues.  Sure, family would be high on their list of personal values, but I don't think they'd be that honest about it.  Would you tell your manager point-blank, work is not the be-all and end-all of my universe?  Maybe...The ranking we gave our values was more or less the same as his own.
They were surprised that I, an American, was in full agreement.  Family has not traditionally been the stated top value of the American businesswoman.  It is either unstated or not that important, but I think the times are changing.  In my generation, more Americans are less interested in the economic or business definitions of success.  Give me enough money to ease my worries, enough status to feel useful, enough activity to fill my day, but work is work and life is what happens in the home.  This was a value that I learned during my six months in Germany (of all places!) and it has led to a very contented lifestyle. 
The Israelis seem to hold family even closer than we do.  In this tiny country, grandma and grandpa are never more than 2 hrs by car, and brothers and sisters don't move so far away.  Families are both large and close-knit.  During Shabbat we have seen restaurant tables taken over by generations of family all sitting together for the breakfast meal.  Grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles, young parents and younger kids all gather together, and not just for the holidays. 
Demographers estimate that each Israeli couple has an average of 3 children.  That means, unlike Europe where the favorite child is a dog, Israel is growing and growing younger.  Children are the future and the Israelis are very optimistic.  Like one of my coworkers said, "Kids are joy."  My coworkers have between 2 and 3, so they are definitely doing their part.
Family is the center of life and kids are the center of family.  What this leads to is a very kid-friendly country.  Our beach has a separate kiddy pool with its own lifeguard.  In swimming zones lifeguards admonish the children when they rough-house in the waves.  Restaurants have kid menus; shopping malls have kid zones; even my workplace has a day care service.  Now that it is summer vacation, some workers even bring their kids to work and they hide out in the cubicles or the lounge areas.  Kids are generally well-behaved in public spaces so no one minds.   It's common to see a woman shopping while holding a little girl with one hand and a stroller with the other.  Grandma may even be close by to help.
This is so very different from life in the states when families split up and live in different time zones.  Maybe this is changing due to the recent recession drawing kids and parents back together, but the cost of our expansive geography has often been separation in favor of individualization.  If the job is in one state and family in another, we Americans are more apt to move for the job.  In Israel the job will never be far from family--move from Beersheba in the extreme south to Nahariyya in the north and you are 3 hours apart by train!

So my thoughts for this Independence Day: celebrate all that is good in America--our freedoms to travel, to eat pork ribs, to indulge in a bacon cheeseburger 24/7, but don't forget to include your family.

Israeli Game Shows

In Israel we don't have many choices for TV.  We have a standard cable package which includes some truly terrible movie channels, National Geographic and History (all in English with Hebrew subtitles).  History combines all of its commercials between shows which is very nice, but National Geographic likes to interrupt their own English shows with commercials in Hebrew for upcoming shows--that's one of the reasons I learned the words for days of the week ("rishon be tesha" is Sunday night at 9:00). We also have a bunch of Israeli channels but they are in Hebrew as would be expected.  The English channels usually have semi-decent offerings but occasionally, like last night, the options were dreadful.  That's when I turn to Israeli game shows.  News and stand-up comedy are too hard to follow in a foreign language, but game shows with their standard formats and emotional excitement can be followed without too much trouble.  I can plot the highs and lows in tones of voice and it's clear when someone is winning vs. losing.  Losers usually disappear from the set very quickly.  They don't mince words.  The popular shows are high risk, very public, and unforgiving--but they make for great TV.

Wipeout לחסל
Israeli Wipeout was similar to the US version except that the winner was one of the most athletic men I've seen on t.v. and was able to complete the final course in a blistering 1:23!  No one else came close!  This definitely wasn't the "everyman" vibe that you get from the show in the states.  There was no "I could do that" moment.  It was just fierce and brutal competition.

A Star is Born כוכב נולד
The Israel version of American Idol, called "A Star is Born" was similar in its brutality.  One show featured dueling contestants where one of the two singers got to stay with the show and one was escorted off in front of live t.v.  They sang, the voting lines opened, the judges provided their criticism, and the loser was escorted out (all within 10 minutes!)  Not a show ended without 1 or more contestants permanently eliminated.  For their part, the contestants did not show any hurt feelings or have nervous breakdowns on stage.  They were much less emotional about the competition than their US counterparts.

Who's Still Standing/ Fly Million לטוס מיליון
This spirit of intense but fun competition was definitely on display in the game show I watched last night called "Still Standing."  The game is a new twist on trivia as a person stood in the center of a circle of other people all of which were standing on a trap door.  Each people in the circle has a monetary value which no one knew--there are 2 of each of the following possibilities (50,000; 25,000; 10,000; 500; 1).  The person in the middle selects a person in the circle to play against and then they start a round of trivia.  Each person has 20 seconds to answer the question.  If they answered correctly, their opponent gets a question and another 20 seconds, and they go back and forth like this until someone gets it wrong.  Then, if the person in the circle is wrong, the door beneath their feet opens and they fall through.  The money that their position guarded is revealed and banked by the person in the middle.  This can be anything from 1 NIS to 50,000 NIS.  If the person in the middle wants to continue the game, they call out another person and play for another pot of money.
If, however, the person in the middle fails to answer their question, they go into one more round with the person in the circle.  If the person in the center wins the duel, the trapdoor opens up under the person in the circle and the center person can play on.  If the person in the circle beats the one in the center, the one in the center falls through the floor, forfeits their winnings, and the person left standing gets one more question.  If they answer correctly, they get to find out how much money their number held and then get to keep that amount.  In the game I saw last night, the lucky victor got to keep 50,000 NIS!
It was a very exciting game because it was a battle of wits rather than a multiple choice test.  Both competitors could win any amount of money or end up with a dramatic exit, straight down.  I'm not sure if the lawyers in the states would approve of such an exit in that style, but if they did, it would make a wonderful import.
And apparently I'm not alone in my assessment.  NBC is coming out with a version of it in August: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4080763,00.html

Don't Drop the Millionאל תפיל את המיליון
Apparently dropping through the floor is very popular in Israel, since they use the same principle in a show called "Drop the Money."  In it, two contestants in a team are presented with a trivia question, four possible answers, and a stack of 1,000,000 NIS in cash.  The people have 60 seconds to physically place the piles of money on platforms in front of the correct answer.  Any money placed on the wrong answers falls through the floor when the correct one is revealed.  Also, any money that has not been placed disappears in the same way.  Apparently watching all of this money disappear through the floor is somewhat traumatic which only increases the suspense of the game.  The contestants can gamble and distribute the money across the answers, but they risk losing their hedge if it's wrong.  The next round is played with the remaining money and so on until the final round is just 2 possible answers and the money must be placed all or nothing.  It sounds like a really great show (even if you can't read the questions) as it is easy to identify with the gamble and the emotional highs and lows.  Obviously, they can't opt to stop playing and bank the money.  They have to play through until the end or until they have no money.  The human drama is fantastic in any language.
If you're interested, a full episode is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjJzSKkBLa4&feature=related

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Last week, on June 15th, Israel was treated to the longest total lunar eclipse until 2018.  We were extremely fortunate to have a front-row seat.  The moon rose just far south enough to be visible from our apartment window.  The next night it was too far over the building!  The eclipse started around 9:00 p.m. and was at totality by 11:30 when we decided to call it a night.  Here are some photos from the event.  We took these with a 70-300mm IS lens on a Canon 7D.

A cloud passes in front of the moon as it rises

Eclipse is starting!

The moon is disappearing

Further into the eclipse

As we approached totality, the moon went red and very dark

Total eclipse, very dark

Turning Point 5

As you may have heard, Israel is conducting military preparedness drills called "Turning Point 5" today--5 because it is in the fifth year, having started in 2007.  It is a nation-wide defense drill involving everyone with drills in the morning during the work day and in the evening at home.  We were warned repeatedly about the impending drill (they will sound the air raid siren in all Israeli cities at 11:00 and 7:00 p.m. today) so I was a little worried about how the day would go.  If I had been alone, it wouldn't have been so scary--when the sirens sounded we went to the shelter/copy room on our floor and waited for 10 minutes--but my co-workers did their best to make me wish I was back home and safe in California where all we have to worry about is natural disasters.

While we were in the shelter, staring out the window at the traffic below, my co-worker turned to me:
"Do you know how it was? Back in 2006?  They sounded the siren and you didn't know if you were going to be hit or not.  They sounded it whenever a projectile was detected and they didn't know what type or how fast it was going.  You didn't know if it was a 5km range missle that was going to hit the far north or if it was powerful enough to travel all the way to Haifa.  They would sound the siren everywhere at all times and you just didn't know where it would land.  Now they are able to tell the missle type and the trajectory, they think, but back then, sirens were just part of life."
"Some times you were caught outside [when the sirens sounded] and then what could you do?   You could continue driving or you could stop but you weren't safe.  You had to make calls like that every day.  And it didn't really bother people.  The adults, well, they/we are all soldiers so you didn't worry.  Everyone has faced down worse.  But the kids, that's what you had to deal with, the kids didn't know what was happening.  You had to keep them safe."
"How long of a warning did you have?"
"About 10 minutes, you didn't know."

The intercom announced the end of the drill.  They thanked us for our participation.  Apparently last year, many employees didn't even play along with the drill.  "We follow the news; there are no rocket attacks today."

Outside the window I saw firemen setting a large pile of wooden crates on fire in an empty lot.  Others were tending to a "victim" on a stretcher or as my co-worker called it "a tanning bed."  Occasionally a fireman picked up a crate on the edge of the fire and heaved it into the flames.  "That's interesting," I said.  "In the US we don't usually set fires for our fire drills."  "The wood has to go somewhere," he replied.  "They don't want to haul it back home, that's for sure."

What a strange country!  I can't understand the threat of rocket attacks that lasts for months or a nation where everyone is a brave soldier in the home and in the workplace.  I couldn't live here knowing that some one hates me, my city, my home enough to inflict that kind of torture.  Thank goodness that Operation Iron Dome has had some success shooting down the missles.  My co-worker tells me "it's amazing what you can get used to."  I hope I never have to try.

Numbering the Days

One of my goals while living in Israel was to learn a little Hebrew.  Well, my Hebrew is pretty miniscule, but I have learned enough to successfully order a large orange juice from the beach bar ("Mitz Tapuzim, geduld, bevakasha").  So yay for small triumphs.  My cube mate recently decided to take me under his tutelage and teach me my numbers so after I order the OJ I can figure out that the nice man is asking for 12 "shteym-esre sheqalim" (I think Shekel is feminine?). 

As I was learning to count to ten, I realized that the days of the week are also numbered 1-6.  Sunday, the day after Shabbat, is literally "the first day," or "yom rishon."  Monday is the second day "yom sheni" and so on until you get to the seventh day which breaks the pattern because it is Shabbat and therefore behaves according to different rules.  But how wonderful is that to consider that the biblical "On the second day God created..." is being repeated every single week.  We slog through our work week of creative toil until we get to rest on the Shabbat.  It makes a lot more sense than giving the days away to Norse gods and godesses, although Frigga will always hold a dear place in my heart (TGIF!)

In the table below I have an illustration of how Hebrew counts the days.  "First" has a different root word than "one," but after that I have highlighted the Hebrew root in both the number and the day. 

Hebrew roots are more useful than Latin roots in English due to the general lack of vocabulary in the Hebrew language.  Where English might swap to a from German to French to Latin while meaning nearly the same thing, Hebrew has one word that serves many purposes.  I am repeatedly amazed by my co-workers mastery of both Hebrew and English.  I only wish that I were better able to reciprocate the favor.  All I can say is "Ani lo hevanti" (I don't understand) and smile.