The Worlds of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (new author)
February 4th, 2007Hello! I am the newest contributor here at Mideast Youth. My name is Jonny, and I have recently moved to Jerusalem, Israel. Though I joined the blog months ago, this is my first post as only now have I found the time to write a piece amongst the hustle and bustle of moving to Israel. My goal here at Mideast Youth is to post an insight into the social life of Israel and Jerusalem, and if I can find the energy, analysis on the conflict in the region.
This is a piece I kind of wrote on a whim, reflecting my thoughts on the schism between the worlds of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Enjoy.
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The Worlds of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Driving down towards Tel Aviv these days, mid-way through the forty-five minute journey, you can see the finished product of Israel’s soon-to-be newest achievement: a high speed train link between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Its construction is ahead of schedule, something rarely heard of in this country, and within a few years citizens of Israel’s “eternal capital†and its self-described “hip city†will be only a hop and a skip away from one another.
And yet as a train is being built to appendage the two cities, seemingly they seem to be drifting further apart. Because as it stands to many who live in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel’s two largest cities represent a world apart from each other. And I am not talking about the sea and the mountains! In Jerusalem they pray while in Tel Aviv they play, or as once I have heard.
I think graffiti discovered during the recent anti-gay marches in Jerusalem puts it best. A thug, or thugs, had the gall to spray paint on a synagogue in Jerusalem, “If we cannot be safe in Jerusalem, you will not be safe in Tel Avivâ€. Forgot for a moment the actual problems the proposed gay parade in Jerusalem caused for the country. Forget the riots and the bickering over whether it should have been allowed or not. And rather, think about what the event further solidified within the social reality of Israel: Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are worlds apart.
The parade, in my opinion, visibly demonstrated to the country the profound schism between the majority secular population and the growing religious population. Now, I will steer away from semantics and variances of beliefs within these two groups, just to make things simpler. The reality of Israel today is there exists the world of Tel Aviv, representing individualism and liberalism, secularism and lives before land; and there exists the world of Jerusalem, representing communitarianism and more conservatism, religious identity and land before lives. Call it what you will, I prefer to call it the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv schism of Israel. And even though it exists more or less throughout the country, nowhere is it more profound then when comparing the two cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
What else can be said that characterizes this schism? Jerusalem is on edge- literally. Take a look at the map and you will see Jerusalem surrounded by the green line and today, surrounded by the security barrier. Jerusalem is divided. There is an entire eastern half, legally a part of the city, that is a social no-go area for the cities’ Jews, and very much likewise the western half for the cities’ Arabs. Tel Aviv, on the other hand, seems more at ease with itself. It has room to grow and air to breath, even if that air is polluted. The only ethnic division is that of Jaffa, and even then it’s hardly conflictual. But all these are but jut details to the wider schism between the two.
I have recently moved to Jerusalem and am now feeling what I have written here. Tel Aviv really does seem far apart. Yet I will not come down on Jerusalem too hard, because Tel Aviv has its share of problems too. Jerusalem is a gorgeous city with an energy that is more nuanced than Tel Aviv, and that to me is a good thing. Jerusalem is less of a hustle, even if there is a lot of flow.
But the schism remains, and ever so slowly it grows with demographic adjustments and attitudinal shifts. In a few years from now, the high speed train line will be complete, and Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will be connected more than ever. One wonders, however, if such a connection will have any effect of the schism between the worlds of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
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Mundane questions. Where did the design and engineering experience come from? Second. How much will the round trip cost? What is the speed?
Cultural comments: this kind of divide in countries, is just another of the break up of communities caused, in my opinion by the free-market economy/philosophy. I haven’t read any books on this topic, but the free market thrives on dividing large groups into smaller groups for the purpose of marketing products and services, called “segmentation”. The more segments the better. The issue is really to see how much segmentation in a community can occur and the community cease to function as a community any more…People just don’t have enough of the important things to bring them together, and the economic forces in the society benefit more by keeping people apart. However ironically there is in the US a market for the opposite, if there is a concentration of need to feel part of a community…
Third QUESTION: How would you describe the two aspects of the culture’s concern for environmental issues? COme to think of it, what are the major environmental concerns? Smog is a minor thing until people come down with lung diseases, I don’t think CO2 is that severe in Israel is it?
Lots of questions!
About the train itself, I am not sure where the design and engineering experience came from. Israel has recently redeveloped its train systems from the south of the country, Ashkelon, to the north, Haifa. There is now a train line between the airport and Tel Aviv, and some other suburbs as well. Just a point: there already is a train line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, however it is very slow (I heard almost 2-2.5 hours!) and difficult to get to. The engineering for this train is very unique because of the ascent between Tel Aviv, which is essentially at sea level, and Jerusalem, which is in the mountains.
About your cultural comment, I can not really say much about the economic reasons for the divide because I am not too well versed in it. The economics I can see in the schism is that in the Tel Aviv world, consumerism is a fact and it is growing. Go to Tel Aviv on Shabbat (Saturday) and you will see many stores and cares openly defying the Shabbat law that says all commerce must cease on Shabbat. Not to mention the fact that real estate prices have risen dramatically in Tel Aviv lately, making it one of the more expensive cities in the world. Jerusalem, though it has its high prices and consumerism as well, is more nuanced about it.
Nonetheless, the schism is very much on a cultural level on the scale of religion and principles/values/ethics. It’s almost a schism of what does Israel mean as a Jewish Democratic state.
Third: Environment: Israel does have a CO2 problem though its not as bad as many other countries in the world. I cannot really say anything about the environmental divisions within the schism. However, realize that with consumerism comes degradation of the environment…
thanks for your time.
I live in Japan, and the country is big on its bullet (Shinkansen) trains. recently Taiwan started its train: Japanese engineering of the train technology, German drivers.
i live in yaffo – recently escaped telaviv (1 minute walk from where i live hehe) but love both jerusalem and telaviv with a passion..
This is very interesting. I seem like the Tel Aviv type. Is the division kind of like the Red state/Blue state divide in the States? Also, would you say this division reflects global Jewry. If we look at Jews in NYC, LA, and Israel there seems to always exist the schism between secular liberals and religious Jews. I like to think of the West LA/Manhattan/Tel Aviv axis against the religious Fairfax/Brooklyn/Jerusalem axis. Is this accurate?