Blog-log Day 6 - a giant of the 20th century

This was high on my list of visit options in Tel Aviv and managed to get there today before heading up to Jerusalem via Mobi'in.

And sure enough, David Ben Gurions house did not diappopint. Getting there early meant there was no-one else in the house so we had the whole place to ourselves.

The charm, the simplicty, the learned knowledge hungry nature of the man that I had read about stood out more than anything else.

The ground floor is so of it's time - 50's I think - the green tiling has a style that is so retro today, the furniture if unfussy.

The only element that feels like it crowds the house at all are the gifts from Heads of State and adoring associations. Just how many elephants died for high quality african tusks to be presented to him..?

But upstairs was the gem - or gems. The library. This was clearly a book thirsty, knowledge hungry, avid reader. Books everywhere - wall to ceiling. To say I felt some jealousy would be to go too far but when you appreciate the breadth of the reading and you realise that the collection is stunning...

Ben Gurion was not without his critics - his ability to leave his party and form a new movement occurred twice - relatively unsuccessfully - the last when he was over 80!

But his role on the world stage is undisputed and he was a political giant whilst being of very small stature.

There are no shortages of biographies on line and published available and it;s worth getting behind the man and his achievments to understand who he was and what drive him.

Crucially he fought for his nationality, created a nation, established institutions - he quite literally led and drove the movement that made Israel a reality and not just an intellectual concept - and at a time when pogroms and the genocide of the holocaust created such a need for hope and refuge,

Blog-log Day 5 - the British High Street legacy in Tel Aviv

So what is the visible and immediate UK legacy here in Tel Aviv?

It feels like an incredibly liberal, vibrant and positive city - many communities, still growing - the nearest thing, bar the climate, to a London-esq sense of village communities.

The amusing thing - and when Herbert Samuel arrived a Governor of Palestine the legacy must have been still very live - is the way the streets are named after British figures: Herbert Samuel, Arthur Balfour, George V and Edmund Allenby.

Happy to be corrected but I reckon most people will be aware that George V was King but little sense of his significance to Israel or Tel Aviv, as previously posted no understanding of who Herbert Samuel was, Edmund Allenby I think has no recognition - being interested in history I knew him to be a soldier and the leader of the middle east campaigns of the first world war but I think I'm in a minority.

Arthur Balfour however, in reversal of his recognition rate in the UK is heralded here as for his Balfour Declaration that led in time to the creation of the modern state of Israel... But Allenby's road/street is the larger, more significant route through the city. :-)

I'm staying on Allenby Street and I have to say it has a quality that is incredibly reminiscent to the Kilburn High Road - that sense of different by day and by night, all traders cheek-by-jowel, an amazing history that is much underplayed (though hinted at a bit) and is a key road through the midst of this whole city - much like the High Road is to north west London.

So in that comparative vein I thought I would draw in my age old tradition of looking at the variety of street signs - there is something incredibly charming and special about street names.

It's as though the way in which a community is signed is an insight into the way in which that community has a self-esteem supported by the governance arrangements that sustain it.

I think Allenby Road has an incredible sweeping effect through this city - one of the guidebooks describes it as 'enigmatic' - for me it the best insight there is into what Tel Aviv is, where it has come from and where it might be going...

All great stuff and there for anyone to see - for me this afternoon in was a great wander, stopping, looking up, taking pictures (too many over the course of just 3 hours!) and gazing at what was hidden, but yet still very visible to the inquisitive eye.

Blog-log Day 4 - Hampstead Liberal in Tel Aviv

So just howdoes the main road along Tel Aviv coast end up being named Herbert Samuel Esplanade?

Herbert Samuel, later Lord Samuel, has largely dropped from public knowledge in the UK but in terms of several elements for me he's a crucial piece of a local jigsaw.

On a simple and political level Herbert Samuel was leader of the Liberal Party - not the most prestigious period from 1931-1935 - and is one of the Leaders during an almost 'dark ages' following the splits with Lloyd George and well before the Grimond Revival.

Further, Herbert was a school boy at UCS, University College School - then in Gower Street, now in Frognal, Hampstead. Thus making him an Old Gower (as frmer pupils of UCS are known).

And finally and crucially he was the first Governor (Commissioner) of Palestine under the British Mandate - making him the first Jewish ruler of what is now Israel since ancient times. It's for this third role that he generate the kudos to gain the main street in Tel Aviv being named after him... There's a short video on him here: www.youtube.co.uk/474towin

I just wonder how many other UCS boys have a main road in a city named after them?

Blog-log Day 3 - the white city of Bauhaus

Regular readers of this blog knew it was coming at some point - I was always going to reflect the amazing architecture of Tel Aviv.

It is the singlemost feature that struck me when I was first here and not much has changed. Well, there's a slight sense of an economic down-turn in the air which might reflect the slightly un-maintained housing, but the city remains awash with architectural gems.

In short most of it is from the Bauhaus tradition - it's essentially minimalist - reflects the beauty of white, simplicity and using the cleverness of lines and sight.

The effect is great sweeping balconies and structured mirror images in what might otherwise be very ordinary properties. Tel Aviv was the beneficiary of the 1930's wave of architects who fled Nazi Germany and brought the tradition from there to Tel Aviv.

The Cinema in Tel Aviv is world famous and is I think quite literally a former cinema now a Hotel and is connected and managed by the same team as the Central Hotel.

It's just on the junction of Dizengoff central junction - which has a serious pedestrian flyover with water fountain from it's former flower bed layout - presumably to cope with the traffic!

The result is a city with loads of Bauhaus architectural treasures hidden away on streets and corners. This is just a brief reflection of them and does them no justice at all.

But it was this Bauhaus tradition that led to Tel Aviv getting world UNESCO preservation status and securing a special place in the hearts of those who have visited and seen it gleaming for themselves.

The last picture just seemed to take up the theme of being the White City....

Blog-log Day 2 - Yitzhak Rabin Square

It's pretty shocking at any level - to lose your Prime Minister through violence - but the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin sent a serious shock wave through all those seeking peace.

It was probably the biggest world event for 1995 - considering the impact of the Middle East on world affairs...

So for me heading to the now named 'Yitzhak Rabin Square' was always going to be a core staple of being in Israel and specifically Tel Aviv.

What I hadn't quite thought through was the extent to which not only is he honoured and recognised - the bust and the plaque etc, but the entire assassination is almost rehearsed through - the plaque of all the key players (including the un-named murderer), the spots on which they were all standing and the graffiti wall with the peace posters that went up now preserved.

Hmmm, lots to think through - but when I was first in Israel - it was the personal dynamic between Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres that was a key factor in all of the politics and diplomacy for Israel and the Middle East. That was shattered with the bullets of an assassin.

If nothing else it's a clear confirmation that the removal of weapons is the crucial lesson for all roads to peace. At the end of one year and the start of another the prayers for peace from Israel seem all the more poignant.

Blog-log Day 1 - the beach at Tel-Aviv

At first glance this could be any holiday snap taken anywhere - beach, inclement weather, historical features, art galleries, meals out - but somehow its not just anywhere: it's Israel.

The beach is stunning - fine sand, lovely depth, surfers, animal lovers, swimmers and families - all the usual components.

But being Israel there's a significant hesitation in people's voices when they ask 'why holiday there?'

But as you can see a beach is a beach is a beach.

But of course, as we all know it's not quite that simple - Tel Aviv is only 100 years old this year and Israel as a modern state was only founded in 1948. That first year was no simple delcaration of independence - in the days immediately after Israel found itself at war for it's very survival. This monument, on the beach at Tel Aviv, speaks of the role of the Altalena ship.

My short hand version is that the Israeli Government shelled the ship, which was carrying arms and ammunition for Israeli paramilitaries and it was the show of force between the Government (establishing itself) and the paramilitaries not yet incorporated into the mainstream army.

It's all pretty heady stuff and part of the rich tapestry that comes about at the formation of states, however controversial...