Our 1,000 Metre Life

Living in Israel is always an experience in contrast. At the same time as the country leads the world in vaccine administration, it also leads the world in per capita cases of the Corona virus. There are a lot of reasons for that, which are amply covered by the press, so I won’t dwell on them. But as a result, we are living in Israel’s third lockdown which, among other things, limits one’s movement to 1,000 metres from home. Yes, there are lots of exceptions, such as essential errands, medical appointments, seeing a lawyer (?), and for some reason, going to a demonstration. (In our case, pretty much anything we might need can be found just a short walk from home.)

However, for our daily walks, we decided to concentrate on the area within 1,000 metres of where we live. Our apartment is located in an area known as the “Old North” which was built mainly in the 30s and 40s, before the establishment of the state. It is only “old” relative to the rest of the northern part of the city. Leafy and green, it has excellent access to the sea and to the “Tayelet”, a long pedestrian walkway along the beach that runs all the way from the north port down to Jaffa. I say “pedestrian” because it is meant for walkers; but like everywhere else in Tel Aviv, this restriction is loosely interpreted by the anarchic riders of bikes and scooters, conventional and electrified alike.

It always surprises me to see fruit growing in a city, and we see a lot of it here. Oranges, I now take for granted, but bananas? Kumquats?

So within just 100 metres of our house we can definitely put together a fruit salad.

We can also stroll down Ben Gurion Blvd. where, believe it or not, you can find the odd olive tree — also lots of young people walking, biking and picnicking, although there is less of the latter during the lockdown. At the foot of Ben Gurion, about a 10 minute walk from where we live, is a large square overlooking the sea. The square itself is a bit of a white elephant but the views are amazing. We could probably go down to the Tayelet for a walk and still be within our 1000 metres, but we wouldn’t have much extra distance to work with. Maybe next week.

Sometimes we just wander around, taking streets that catch our eye, many of them only a block or two long. We almost never fail to find some little park we did not know about, shaded by large trees, and fitted up with pretty sitting areas and a playground or two for kids, of which there are many up this way. This one caught our eye, because of the sculpture. This city is justifiably well known for its public art, especially sculpture, but it is not not usually found in kids’ playgrounds.

If we walk the other way up Ben Gurion, maybe 5 minutes or so from our place, we get to Rabin Square where the city’s exceptionally ugly city hall is located (see post on Tel Aviv Architecture). There is a huge space for public gatherings, often used for demonstrations or national celebrations. Now it is home to a large tent (not shown) dedicated to Coronavirus tests, and an even larger one (see below) set up to administer vaccinations. I took this picture on the night that we received our second dose. Truly, the roll-out here has been extraordinarily well organized. Less than an hour after our shot we got a confirmation from the government confirming the exact batch and lot number of both doses, in case we needed to report side effects!

Despite this very positive development, we stay locked down with the same inconsistent and often illogical restrictions that have characterized much of the world’s Corona virus strategy. And, as also seems common the world over, the police are only too happy to pounce on the minor transgressions of the inherently compliant, while steering clear of the well organized and sometimes militant segments that flout all the rules.

In addition to our daily walks, and the odd visit with Ben, we stay busy with intensive Hebrew classes (homework and all) that run five days a week from 8:30-1:00 — on Zoom. We should have been in the language school down the street, but it is closed right now. Learning in a Zoom classroom has one advantage and several disadvantages. The advantage is that in a torrential rainstorm, you can stay nice and cozy in your apartment and still be in class. The disadvantages include: far too much screen time which is very tiring, far too little personal interaction, and worst of all, the little square on the screen where you are looking at yourself…a disheartening sight that always fills me with a burning desire to get a haircut and put on make-up.