Month: April 2018

What do the Carmel Market and the Donalda Golf Club have in common? Well, in general not very much, except if you happen to be having lunch with the irrepressible Sol Nayman and his lovely wife Queenie.  In that case, in both locations you will have an endless stream of visitors to your table, exchanging greetings, and generally paying homage.  It’s a bit like sitting with the most popular mayor ever!

Sol is a Holocaust survivor, and  at the time of our lunch had just arrived in Israel via Poland,  together with his young charges from the Toronto delegation of the March of the Living. They had come in time to observe Yom HaZikaron and Independence Day, an uplifting start to the Israel segment of the trip.  Everyone was only too happy to soak up the vibrant colours of Israel; the sunshine, and the fresh food…especially after the gloom of Poland and the grim memory of the death camps.

A gap in their packed schedule enabled us to meet Sol and Queenie at the Carmel Market…and although we were lucky to find a somewhat out of the way restaurant in the market area, a surprising number of kids, chaperones, and others found their way to our table to say hello.  (Why am I surprised? The same thing happens at home! Think bees to honey… lobbyists to politicians…you get the idea. )  I probably met more people in that two hours that I have in my whole stay in Israel. (Unfortunately, I will never remember any of their names.)

Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) , which I wrote about last week, and which Sol and the MOL group experienced in Poland, led to Yom HaZikaron this Tuesday/Wednesday.  This time the sirens sounded twice; for one minute at 8:00 in the evening, and the next morning for two minutes at 11:00.  Again the nation came to a stop.  As the evening siren sounded, we could see whole families coming to stand in respect at the windows of their apartments.  In the morning, we stood outside for two minutes with office workers, students, and teachers at our Ulpan, and also with the drivers who stopped to stand by their cars, to honour the memory of those who fell in battle, and those who died in terrorist attacks.  Following that, there was a small and emotional ceremony upstairs. We each lit a memorial candle, some of us read poetry in both Hebrew and English, and my normally bubbly young teachers stood with tears in their eyes as they recalled those they knew personally. This is the reality of Israel.  Everyone here is directly connected to someone who has died for their country.

It was a relief, although in some ways a bit jarring, to move directly from the sombre mood of the day to a joyous evening of Independence festivities.  I had been told that this would be an evening that puts Purim in the shade, and this is to some degree true; partially because so much public money is poured into the celebration events, all of which are free.  And  more importantly, even though many of the events go on well into late evening, the city’s families are out in force.  No early bedtimes on Yom Haatzmaut!   It is nowhere near as boozy a night as Purim, but no less upbeat. The security presence is  both reassuring and very efficient at ensuring the flow of  huge throngs of people.  (Canada at 150 could have learned a few things from this.)

In Tel Aviv,  Independence parties go on all over town, but the main event takes place in Rabin Square, which is packed with people of all ages watching fireworks and a nostalgic stage show that intersperses folk-dancing with famous songs of each of the decades since 1948.  It is fascinating to see and hear the evolution from the Russian-style music of the 40s and 50s to music that starts to reflect a more European influence in the 70s and onward.

There are lots of flags on display all week.   Apartments,  stores, offices, buses  and cars are all decorated: some more imaginatively than others. For example, the local butcher had tiny Israeli flags placed on all his cuts of beef.  They were the smallest we saw.  And our building might take the prize for the most elongated flag in Israel.  Just look to the left of the balconies;  Hard to capture on an I-phone but very cool to see in person.

There are also those who wear the flag…and/or carry big blow-up blue and white hammers(?)  as below.

Or these cute girls that have lit-up bows in their hair!

To add to the general atmosphere of happy chaos, there were vendors everywhere selling, oddly, tins of spray foam, called “snow spray” that kids of all ages used with wild abandon to foam each other, and not infrequently, innocent bystanders. We had to take evasive action more than a few times. Why this is such a “thing” here is hard to fathom.

The next day, the party went on with ten of thousands  down at the beach to watch the annual airshow.

The family&friends barbecue is a major tradition in Israel, and all through the city we could smell  steaks , burgers, and sausages  on the flame.  We were feeling a bit sorry for ourselves since we had nowhere to go, and no balcony or barbecue, but luckily Ben came to the rescue and we got an invitation to join his friends, a charming and eclectic group of people, so all ended well.

The next day, the city was quiet…everyone was exhausted…and so were we.

Well we are back, and my first morning here began on a sombre note.  It was Yom HaShoah and at 10:00 in the morning, sirens sounded throughout the country for two full minutes.  Cars came to a halt, even on the highways; buses pulled over, people stopped whatever they were doing, and everyone stood still in remembrance of those who perished in the Holocaust.  Mike was in Cafe Neto at the university, and as one, the students rose in respect. It is very moving to feel the collective mourning for the lost six million, and I expect a similar wash of emotion on Wednesday morning as the country stops for Yom HaZikaron, in memory of its fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

However in welcome contrast to these serious moments, the city is awash in spring colour.  In the short three weeks that I had been gone, spring had swept into town.  This was oddly surprising to me.  Of course, I know that spring follows winter, (except in Canada, where winter follows winter), even so it caught me off guard.  I suspect it is because winter in Tel Aviv is mild and occasionally rainy,  (and quite green), like our spring is supposed to be. I probably imagined we would leap right into a hot summer, and come to think of it, that is exactly what I packed for.  This has created a few wardrobe challenges, the only temporary downside to the whole situation.  But I can’t complain; it was a pleasure to return from Toronto, which was still  in the icy grip of a particularly awful April , to some of these lovely sights!

I especially like the purple trees, whose flowers precede their leaves. They are so lacy and delicate.

Then there are the big “in your face” pops of colour:

And the shy delicate ones, that you only notice when right next to them:

Even the lily pads are getting into the act:

At this time, the mood is reflective, the weather mild and sunny, and the flowers immensely cheering.  On Thursday, the mood will lift when Independence Day is celebrated with even more enthusiasm than Purim, or so I am told.  Is this possible?  I’ll let you know.

We are in Toronto for a brief visit, and it is hard not to compare it to Tel Aviv from time to time.  It is a given that there is no shortage of differences between the two.  It probably seems unlikely that I would  be struck by similarities, but actually there are some.

Both cities are financial centres, both have abundant art and culture, and both have out of control housing markets; Tel Aviv arguably more so than Toronto when quality and price are weighed together.  And I would also say that the expression, “it’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there”, does not apply to either city!  If anything, it is nicer to live in Tel Aviv and Toronto (if you can afford it)  than to to be a tourist there.  It seems to me that it can take a bit of time to get to know and love both of these cities.

As a tourist destination in Canada, Toronto is usually eclipsed by Vancouver, Montreal, and  all the “great outdoors” destinations.  In Israel, Tel Aviv is often outdone by Jerusalem, and a host of other dramatic religious or historical sites. However when you live in either city, especially if you walk a lot,  you come to know the many varied and interesting neighbourhoods, as well as the quality and pace of life, that a casual visitor cannot appreciate.  When I first visited Tel Aviv, I did not think much of it.  Now I love it.  I often hear the same about Toronto.

Another random point in common…both cities have a major street named in honour of a King George: (George III for Toronto, and George V for Tel Aviv).  In Toronto, it is not such a surprise that we would have a street named after a king, since the British ran the place for a long time.  In fact, the city fathers wisely just called it King Street to cover off any future kings that might have different names.  In Tel Aviv it is a bit less obvious. They have streets named after King David , King Saul, King Solomon…and King George?  Well, originally it was called Carmel Street, but was re-named during the Mandate period, (the 30 years of British administration), in honour of George V’s jubilee year.  After independence, there was talk of changing the name back to something more Jewish, but President  Ben Zvi was adamant that it remain named King George Street, since George V was on the throne when the Balfour declaration was made.

And by coincidence, both Tel Aviv and Toronto  limit (or eliminate) private cars on their respective King streets,( and on no others as far as I know),  to allow for quicker transit.  And how is that working…?

Although Tel Aviv’s King George street is the newer of the two, (built in the 1920s)  it is narrower, with only two lanes.  And while it is a vital artery connecting Rabin Square in the north, with Allenby and the Carmel market in the south, it is fairly short, only about 1.5 kilometres. It is packed with stores, restaurants, and people, and well over a dozen different (and busy) bus lines pass through it.  Unlike the central stretch of Toronto’s King Street,  cars are sometimes permitted, but even when they are not, buses, taxis and private mini-buses can easily fill the street. Since there are only two lanes to move all the traffic, limiting private cars makes quite a lot of sense, and indeed the buses move pretty well until they inevitably meet up with regular streets and encounter the usual traffic madness that characterizes the city.

So intent is the city on keeping the bus lanes clear, they tolerate parking of delivery vehicles (and even cars) on the sidewalk!  And although you might think that limiting car traffic would encourage cyclists, scooter drivers etc. to use the road, you would be wrong…they also prefer the sidewalk!  No one really wants to dodge Israeli bus drivers. The poor pedestrian has a lot of competition, and it can be quite unnerving to walk in Tel Aviv, as I can attest.

Toronto’s King Street is older, its first stretch built initially around 1797, and even then it was  wide, two lanes each way, notwithstanding the fact  that at the time, travel was by horse and buggy.  It is a much longer road, 8 kilometres, and at both ends it meets up with Queen… (which I think is kind of charming). The “pilot” project, that now prohibits car through-traffic, covers a long stretch from Jarvis to Bathurst, applies to all hours, and includes taxis (!), except late at night.

One streetcar line runs the whole length of it, and there are one or two shorter offshoots that cover the central stretch.  It is apparently the most heavily used streetcar route in the city, although I have to say as I walked the 3 kilometres from the easternmost end to Yonge, at rush hour, I found the street to be strangely empty.  Without the usual car traffic, I expected to see more streetcars, possibly even some buses to take advantage of the newly liberated space, but that was not the case.  I found out subsequently that the TTC did not add more streetcars to the line, since they don’t have any extras! (This does seem to defeat at least part of the purpose).

But as nature abhors a vacuum,  there were a few skateboarders having a great time on the road…all that open space being an irresistible temptation!   I imagine the average Tel Aviv resident would be astounded to see such a wide street so lightly used, and it does seem suboptimal, notwithstanding the laudable goal of moving streetcars faster. On the other hand, the city has raised over $500,000 in ticket revenues from drivers who accidentally (or otherwise) flout the new rules.

So while these two King streets share a name, a pedigree, and a similar approach to cars, I feel that Tel Aviv has the better rationale, and the better outcome, in terms of maximizing use of available road space. They simply have way more surface transit, using a much smaller space.

When it comes to  the pedestrian experience however, Toronto rules…(so to speak). For the first time in four months, I have felt at ease walking.  No bikes or skateboards, (well maybe a few),  and definitely no motor-scooters, unicycles, segways, or other electrified contraptions swerving around me from behind or in front…as I walk… on the sidewalk. (Sorry Tel Aviv.) This is very calming.  Really.  And no cars or other vehicles parked on the sidewalk…in fact, not all that many people on the sidewalk either.  Not to mention that Torontonians are also much better at picking up after their dogs. This is one spacious and orderly city. Even more so in the winter, (all eight months of it), when there is no construction.

But don’t get me started on the snowstorms in April.