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Tel Aviv vs. Jerusalem

May 20, 2012 4:00 PM

Gay activist and columnist Gal Uchovsky describes the stark differences between the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

From fear to fortune: Tel Aviv's new attitude
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by jimmyrb June 1, 2012 8:36 PM EDT
Let us forget
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by sssssar May 25, 2012 9:40 AM EDT
His comments about Jerusalem are completely inaccurate. It's abundantly clear that he has never lived here, that he's basing his assessment on a couple of trips viewed through a biased lens, and that he's being informed primarily by news reports. Yes, conflict exists in this city, and it's one of the things that makes it so infuriating--and fascinating. I myself prefer Tel Aviv partly because of those underlying tensions.

But to declare there is no holiness (and I am not religious), no beauty, nothing beyond the conflict? I can't even wrap my head around how someone could reach such an erroneous conclusion even if they had been here only a handful of times. It reminds me of how I used to describe the city when I first moved here, before I had even begun to understand its depth and beauty or find its rhythm, because it's what I had heard from other people and it's the most obvious thing to recognize. Even then, though, I would have *never* declared there was nothing beyond the conflict here.
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by hannahsam May 24, 2012 3:29 PM EDT
Sounds almost like Los Angeles & San Francisco,,,every city in every country has its own vibe!!! Whats the point?? Pretty petty & rather uninteresting to me!
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by joegelman May 24, 2012 1:10 PM EDT
The only "journalist" in all of Israel that Bob Simon could find was Gideon Levy fro Ha'aretz? Levy of course is widely known to every Israeli as the most radical left-wing "journalist" in the all if Israel. I guess the thousand other journalists weren't available. Otherwise, it was a good piece.
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by GaviLazan May 21, 2012 12:58 PM EDT
What Gal Uchovsky says about Jerusalem is simply not true. "People want to say that people who live in Tel Aviv live in a bubble, but that is wrong"? If Gal thinks that Jerusalem is "[a city where] every stone is a conflict" and that "there is nothing about holyness, beauty, just fighting and conflict", then it shows that he hasn't been in Jerusalem in a while (or ever- some people here haven't EVER visited their country's capital, and they live 1 hour away!) . If Gal says that "Tel Aviv is a place where you go and forget all the conflicts and all the things that around [you]" then it proves even more the claim that Tel Aviv is living in a bubble.

I live in a suburb of Jerusalem, and I travel there daily for my studies. Jerusalem is a vibrant, active city where people from all walks of life meet and hang out. For example, take my class: we are 16 people- 8 guys, 8 girls. 3 are religious, 1 Arab, 1 Japanese, 2 gays, 2 immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and 1 immigrant from the US. Almost all of us live in the city and we all get along and have become close friends.

Though there are things that secular Israelis don't like about Jerusalem (vs. Tel Aviv)- like the percentage of bars and clubs that are open on the Sabbath- I personally enjoy hanging out in Jerusalem more than I do in Tel Aviv. Jerusalem has this special feel to it, it may be the history and the conflicts of the past, but Tel Aviv feels like a cheap imitation of New York and London.
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