Nostalgia Sunday – Save the Stadium

May 30, 2010 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Business, design, Environment, General, History and Culture, Life, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Social Justice 

“Ramat Gan” means “Garden Height” and, true to the city’s name, its citizens will brook no nonsense when it comes to their green spaces. They pay one the country’s highest municipal taxes and will stand on principle when it comes to preserving a patch of grass – particularly if it is surrounded by stadium seating with bunch of guys on it, running up and down after a ball. But more about that in a moment.

The visionary behind Ramat Gan was its first mayor, Avraham Krinitzi, who contracted Moshe Kavshani, a graduate of the Mikve Yisrael agricultural school, to plan the city’s parks and gardens. Kavshani, according to the Wikipedia (Hebrew) entry about public park Gan Shaul, “as evinced by the municipal records from the late 1930s, was a gardener of great soul, who was very aware of the importance of the connection between people and their environment. Every time a new public park was inaugurated, Kavshani would invite pupils from the local schools to the ceremony, during which he would ‘hand over’ [the garden] to their care. In this way, he created an emotional tie between the children of Ramat Gan and their city’s parks.”

Kavshani designed Gan Shaul to sprawl 25 square kilometers over the city’s hillsides. Popularly known as “Gan Ha-Kofim” or “The Monkey Park”, Gan Shaul was inaugurated in March 1938 at a ceremony presided over by Mandatory Palestine Southern District Commissioner REH Crosbie. The park got its nickname from the cages of monkeys, peacocks, turtles, rabbits and other animals put on display. In 1974, the animals were transferred to more humane surroundings at the newly established Ramat Gan Safari. Gan Shaul didn’t fare as well: its area, already cut to 16 sq km was reduced to a mere 12 sq km and an 11 meter tall water tower was erected on its highest point.

But the real blow came in 2007, when the Ramat Gan municipality announced its intention to construct a public parking lot on the Gan Shaul site. That’s when the neighborhood rallied to save its Monkey Park in a well-publicized battle that garnered popular support from members of the city council, the local Green Party, the Society for the Preservation of Nature in Israel (SPNI), the Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva v’Din) and the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS). The municipality caved in 2008, scrapped the parking plan, transferred the NIS 8 million in funding to education and social welfare and invested NIS 300,000 in new playground equipment and greenery. What an amazing city! The Wikipedia entry also notes that closed circuit TV cameras were also installed around the water tower site to stave off vandalism.

Given this proud history, it’s no wonder that Ramat Gan’s citizenry are once again up in arms over the latest plan – this time opposing the Hapoel organization’s plan to sell off the Machtesh Stadium. Although a complete eyesore on the outside, on the inside this unusual field –- built into a steep hillside– is lush and green (and flat). It’s also the historic home of soccer team Hapoel Ramat Gan (now used to train the junior leagues) and you do not mess with their fans. On Thursday, Y-net reported that the police was investigating the possibility of an improper sale of the land to real estate developer Eurocom and the neighbors are planning a public protest this coming Tuesday, June 1. Although motivated less by love of football and more by not wanting a high-rise in their neighborhood (there really is NO parking in Ramat Gan), you’ve got to admire their spirit. Moshe Kavshani would have.

Click here for more about the demonstration. You can also join the Ramat Gan Facebook fan page here.

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T likes J-town

May 26, 2010 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Blogging, design, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness 

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Gotta love when T, the New York Times style magazine, points out Israelite fashions. Mentioned in The Haul, a new posting section for T blog contributors about what they forage while on vacation are writer Daphne Merkin’s recent purchases while in the holy land.

She chose a Kedem Sasson sundress, Sarit Bar-Zohar bag and a funky necklace from Atara de Lange.

Here’s what Merkin had to say about her Sabra shopping:

“Who knew that a trip to Israel would unearth such stylish artifacts? Tel Aviv’s newly gentrified neighborhoods, like Neve Tzedek, are brimming with one-of-a-kind boutiques offering the handiwork of talented Israeli designers. But the real surprise is Jerusalem, a city catering to the soul rather than the surface. Here, on Bezalel Street, is Sofia, a tiny shop that carries a small but brilliantly edited selection of made-in-Israel clothes, shoes and bags — every bit as worth a visit as the Western Wall.”

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Nostalgia Sunday – Ghosts of Cinemas Past

May 23, 2010 by · 3 Comments
Filed under: Art, Blogging, design, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Movies, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture 

Architect Sharon Raz is a man with a mission: to capture Israel’s disappearing architectural heritage on film, and write about it, too. Going through Raz’s blog, Natush (meaning: “abandoned”) and his Disappearing Architecture website is like falling into a deep, deep well of what once was.

It can also be sad. It means revisiting ideals once held dear — from the fantasy architecture of early Tel Aviv and practical, functional Bauhaus to the swoops and whooshes of our Fabulous 60s (the Fabulous 50s came here a decade late) — seeing how they were expressed in concrete and stucco, and coming to terms with their current state of neglect and decay.

Raz’s special project on Israel’s shuttered cinemas reflects the state of things in general. Movie theaters have given way to small screened mega-multiplexes that, although far cleaner (one must never forget that for generations, Israeli movie goers were warned, “Do not roll bottles or crack sunflower seeds during the show”), they also lack soul.

Raz has methodically visited movie-houses around the country and created a comprehensive index of Israeli movie-houses that includes, in his words, “[the] old, abandoned, closed, destroyed, refurbished, some still standing, some under threat of the wrecking ball.”

With an architect’s eye for detail, Raz tries to present his viewers not only with general site shots but also the little things: the staircase that once led up to the balcony of Jerusalem’s Orna Cinema, now a stairway leading nowhere at the downtown McDonald’s. The Eden at the bottom of Lilenblum Street, Tel Aviv’s first movie-house — still elegant and seemingly waiting for customers to start lining up at any moment. And another Eden Cinema, this one in Jerusalem, whose whimsically round ticket booth now stands at the back end of a grotty parking lot. The Ron in Haifa, gaily decorated with mosaic musicians. Beer Sheva’s Orot, a circle of concrete diamonds, the motif repeated in the wrought iron ticket booth bars. All stand empty.

“In this life’s work, which is original, unique, voluntary, activist and Sisyphean, I work with conviction to preserve on film for future generations our constructed environment. I photograph many structures – abandoned factories, neglected vacation spots, empty houses, shops, industries, farms, centers for culture and recreation, public and private buildings — most of them old and abandoned. But of all the structures I photographed, I’m particularly proud of the old movie-houses. They are romance incarnate; structures we all remember and hold dear in our hearts, buildings where vast numbers of citizens visited, that gave birth to endless memories and longings.”

Raz’s Disappearing Architecture website and Natush blog are available only in Hebrew but there are amazing photos, including pictures of how the cinemas looked in their heyday. Definitely worth a click.

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McD’s vs. Israeli fast-food

May 23, 2010 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Business, design, Food, General, health, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life 

Rice cakes and corn schnitzels vs. Quarter Pounders and fries; which is more oily?

As seen in the weekend edition of Yediot Achronot, from McDonald’s, one of the only American food franchises to still be succeeding in Israel:

Advertisement #1: Rice cakes with white spreadable cheese, 5% — 171 calories per 100 grams, as opposed to a McRoyal meal and regular fries — 185 calories per 100 grams (how much is 100 grams out of an entire McRoyal)

Advertisement #2 on the opposite page: Corn schnitzels and white rice — 201 calories (per 100 grams) vs. a kids’ meal of a Mini Royal and small fries — 196 calories.
Or, a veggie schnitzel and pasta — 232 calories vs. a children’s meal of a burger and small fries — also 232 calories.

Calorie counting aside, what I liked was the juxtapositioning of corn schnitzels, Tivol and classic Israeli white cheese next to McD’s products. The question is, how does a falafel or sabich weigh in next to a Quarter Pounder?

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Foto Friday – Tel Aviv Contrasts with Gabriel Benaim

May 21, 2010 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, design, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Picture of the Week, Travel 

Tel Aviv is a city of contrasts, not only for the lifestyles that coexist within its boundaries but in its very appearance. Up close it seems trashy, flashy and colorful. But take a step back and what you see are light-hued buildings set against dark shadows cast by the bright unblinking Mediterranean sun.

Black and white photographic imagery — captured the old-fashioned way on film and printed on paper in a darkroom — may be the ideal way to present that contrast.

And printing on silver chloride paper — a rarity nowadays — could not be more perfect for the many shades of grays along that spectrum.

Photographer Gabriel Benaim’s work was first profiled by Israelity last year. Since then, a lot has happened. His first solo show opened last month at the Walter Keller Gallery in Zurich, and his “Tel Aviv at 100″ series has been included in the Center for Fine Art Photography’s portfolio showcase. Plus, German magazine Photonews has published a selection of Tel Aviv shots in their May issue.

In his gallery notes, Walter Keller writes: “I am taken by the alertness, the quiet attention to detail of the images. Strolling, leisurely meandering like a flaneur, Benaim captures this city that was founded 100 years ago.”

“Using a large-format camera, Benaim presents us near perfectly produced silver gelatin contact prints. And this in itself is a breath of fresh air given the current confusion within the production of contemporary photography. Almost like a moment of silence in the midst of a noisy performance, Benaim’s images are calm, unhurried; photographs that pull the brakes on the race that is our urban life.”

Visit Gabriel Benaim’s homepage to view more of his work.

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