Slice of life in Tel Aviv

An ant bit my eyelid. Now it's swollen shut and I have, for some strange reason, a low grade fever that's making me feel all yucky. Hmph. So that, plus a whole lotta overdue work, is why no major posting lately, although there's still a lot – too much, actually – on my mind.

Meanwhile, a culture break.

Adi Nes, one of Israel's most famous artists, will be featured on a BBC World segment called destinationART: Israel, about Tel Aviv's dynamic contemporary art scene. The details appear in .jpg above; click to enlarge if you can't read the fine print. Broadcast times:
Saturday August 26, 14:30 GMT and 21:30 GMT
Sunday August 27, 03:30 GMT and 10:30 GMT

I blogged about Adi here (including some examples of his wonderful photographs), and wrote an article about him for Haaretz that is reproduced here.

Speaking of photographers, a few days ago my friend Eyal Ofer called and asked if I knew any popular pick up places in Tel Aviv that were not bars or clubs. Without hesitation I answered, “The dog run at Gan Meir.” A couple of hours later Eyal called me from Gan Meir (Meir Park, named after Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv) and said, “You were so right!” (I love being right). Below are some of the photos he took. If you like Eyal's work, you can see more at www.pbase.com/yalop.

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This entry was written by Lisa Goldman and posted on August 25, 2006 at 1:04 pm and filed under Main Page. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment(Latest is displayed first) or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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23 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

Lisa, this is why I love your site because you show a slice of life of Israel that I would not get to see otherwise. I was just wondering, my family is big into israeli folkdancing, have you every tried? It's really fun!

1. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
I loved the last photo (3 way kiss)

2. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
I like the last picture.

3. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Those flip-flops have gotta go…Seriously!

4. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Another popular place in Tel Aviv is Rotschild avenue, especially the part between Maze and Nachmani streets, where 2 streets cafes reside. Lots of people, many with dogs, gather there.

5. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Yup, that's my neighbourhood.

6. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
A couple of posts back you discussed why Israelis age quickly. You said it was the sun and the worry.
But it's something else, besides. See the pictures above? Just met and they're all over each other. Gives one the illusion of openness, everything is possible. As they say ad nauseam about Israel: 'vibrant'.
But it's not. It's deeply stangnant and conservative. And for most people, finding this out around age 30 is a big shock, which is even worse for never being fully acknolwedged.
At bottom, this is a Jewish province, a shtetl. Very small, a little suffocating. And full of gefuelte fish that only occasionally pretend to be sushi.

7. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Someone hasn't had any for a looooooong time…

8. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Conservative – like any country I guess it depends on your community. Based on my from living there memories a decade ago, I would say that Israeli society is definitely in denial about its rampant sexism. I found it really hard to be taken seriously as a women there unless I postured like a tough chick. Which is not really my style.
ps: Judging by the pics, I would not assume they had just met. Looks like they know each other.

9. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
But… but… If the flipflops go Israelis will stop breathing, it's directly connected to their lungs! Much like blondes and their walkmans.
And the tought of TA being a shetl re-routed my coke, of course it is, yes! A shetl! Conservative! In the words of my Californian friend: dude…

10. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
I agree with the poster who said that flip-flops have to go. They just do. I don't care if they're wired to peoples brains, let along lungs; sorry, you'll just have to do without them somehow. Flip-flops are the root of all evil!
Lisa: can't wait for your next report…

11. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Very Tel Aviv. I don't know if I will ever get used to the dust in this country…the dog run gives me the chills.
Ant bite?! God! Be well, my friend.
I am having a bit of blog envy after looking at your 65K hits for July, btw.

12. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Are you sure the ant wasn't an assassin sent by your enemies?

13. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Brian – I have enemies? Moi?

14. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Yes, actually. You represent a PR danger to hardline Islamic militants. Now consider that a friend of yours who has been photographed in a Hamas scarf and has praised the much-maligned Saudi regime on her blog recently undertook a trip to London, a very expensive city. Given the income of most journalists, that's rather suspicious. Then there's the fact that dangerous ants are closely associated with South America, where this friend of yours comes from.
I think that Rinat Malkes tried to off you on the orders of some militant Islamist group, and arranged to be out of the country on a “vacation” so as to allay suspicions, enjoying her anticipated pay-off at the same time.

15. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Don't forget also that she went to the Bloomsbury area. I was there, too, and by the standards of Central London, there's a lot of anti-Israeli graffiti there.

16. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Oh gosh. How does one gett bitten by an ant in such an exotic place of all body parts?
Be of a good cheer. It could have been a dog, after all… You have too many of them in Tel Aviv

17. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Anonymous-Isn't it a rather odd assumption that these people have just met and are all over one another? Somehow I don't think that's the case here.
But, it does bring up an interesting point. I've always been shy of publicly posting pictures of people on the Net unless I have their express permission to do so, intimate pictures especially! In the back of my mind I can just hear someone saying, “What's my girlfriend doing with her hands all over that woman-who isn't ME!?” '->
Hope your eyelid is better. Cold, post-use black tea teabags do wonders.

18. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Hey Lisa,
Need to use your blog (as a reference only) in my next post, hope you don't mind, but I guess I will hear from you if you do.
Ciao, AM

19. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Allright, I own a dog and have no issues about them per se, but seeing those numerous dogs all over that couple is creeping me out!

20. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
i think I've hit onto something here about the flip-flops!!
I for one, think it is hard time someone wrote a story about this topic:
Flip-flops: A social phenomenon.
(Sorry, feeling kinda goofy today)

21. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Lisa, How's the eye? Can you see again? Nice photos…

22. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm
beautiful photos , they really reflect the ambiance in Gan Meir.

23. Anonymous
on December 31st, 1969 at 6:59 pm