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City Guide Tel Aviv: the centennial edition

Just as Tel Aviv prepares to celebrate its 100th birthday – and not looking too bad at all, dah-ling – the second edition of City Guide Tel Aviv is available. You can browse it here, then go here to buy it.

The new edition is bigger, better and more beautiful than ever, with expanded texts and some really amazing photos by Natan Dvir.

Dalit Nemirovsky, a.k.a. Superwoman, pulled the whole project together while simultaneously planning her wedding, which took place last week and was, naturally, lovely.

The superb graphics are by Lahav Halevy, who sets the standards in his profession around these parts.

All research and writing is by moi, of course. It was tons of work, but also – truly – a labour of love. And sorry for the cliche, but it is awfully nice to work with people you like and respect, and who all live in the same neighborhood (makes staff meetings really easy to arrange).

Gal Uchovsky – who, by the way, appeared NAKED on the cover of last week’s Time Out Tel Aviv, together with our favourite transgender pop diva, Dana International – wrote the introduction.

Cynicism can be kinda funny, sometimes

Several years before Brokeback Mountain brought tragic thwarted love between closeted gay men to the consciousness of mainstream America, Eytan Fox and Gal Uchovsky made Yossi and Jagger.

The critically acclaimed hit Israeli film, about a love affair between two young IDF officers, takes place on a snow-covered army base near the border with Lebanon, toward the end of Israel’s 18 year-occupation of southern Lebanon. Yossi (Ohad Knoller) and Jagger (telenovella heart-throb Yehuda Levy), conduct their secret assignations when they go out on patrol, which is when the following iconic scene takes place:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=o9ZBQp8UkRg&feature=related]

The film’s ending is, naturally, tragic, and I’m afraid I’m going to spoil it with a rather large hint via the following satirical cartoon by Elite Illustrator, which I found today on Ori Oren’s blog.


The brown-haired soldier (Jagger) says, “What if I die today and you still haven’t told me you love me?”

Yossi (the blond soldier), replies: “Don’t be an idiot. Of course you’re going to die today.”