Sderot in Israel

9 March 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  9 minutes

Yanchik Hill near Kibbutz Nir Am, view on Sderot and railway Beersheba-Sderot © Dr. Avishai Teicher/cc-by-2.5

Yanchik Hill near Kibbutz Nir Am, view on Sderot and railway Beersheba-Sderot © Dr. Avishai Teicher/cc-by-2.5

Sderot is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 27,635. Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the closest point is 840 m), and is notable for having been a major target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. Between 2001 and 2008, rocket attacks on the city killed 13 people, wounded dozens, caused millions of dollars in damage and profoundly disrupted daily life. Although rocket fire subsided after the Gaza War, the city has come under rocket attack on occasion since that time.   read more…

Ein Gedi on the Dead Sea

20 October 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  10 minutes

Ein Gedi Beach © Mboesch/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ein Gedi Beach © Mboesch/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ein Gedi (Arabic: Ain Jidy), also spelt En Gedi, meaning “spring of the kid“, is an oasis and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. Ein Gedi was listed in 2016 as one of the most popular nature sites in the country. The site attracts about one million visitors a year.   read more…

Dimona in the Negev

10 March 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

© מצילומי-יהודית-גרעין-כל/cc-by-2.5

© מצילומי-יהודית-גרעין-כל/cc-by-2.5

Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the south-east of Beersheba and 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In 2019 its population was 34,500. The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, colloquially known as the Dimona Reactor, is located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southeast of the city.   read more…

The Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv

1 April 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, Shopping, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Rastaman3000/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Rastaman3000/cc-by-sa-3.0

Azrieli Center is a complex of skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. At the base of the center lies a large shopping mall. The center was originally designed by Israeli-American architect Eli Attia, and after he fell out with the developer of the center, completion of the design was passed on to the Tel Aviv firm of Moore Yaski Sivan Architects. The center was not named after Israeli-Canadian real estate developer David Azrieli. The Azrieli Center is located on a 34,500 m² (371,000 sq ft) site, which was previously used as Tel Aviv’s dumpster-truck parking garage. The $420 million project revitalized the area. The Azrieli Center Mall is one of the largest in Israel. There are about 30 restaurants, fast-food counters, cafes and food stands in the mall. The top floor of the mall is a popular hangout spot for teens, and many online message boards arrange get-togethers there during national holidays.   read more…

Theme Week Tel Aviv – Maccabiah Games

23 January 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Sport, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  8 minutes

Baloons representing the participant countries at the 2013 Maccabiah Games © Maor X/cc-by-sa-3.0

Baloons representing the participant countries at the 2013 Maccabiah Games © Maor X/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Maccabiah Games first held in 1932, are an international Jewish multi-sport event now held quadrennially in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Maccabiah, which is organized by the Maccabi World Union, was declared a “Regional Sport Event” by, and under the auspices of and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee and international sports federations in 1960. The Maccabiah is often referred to as the “Jewish Olympics”. Originally, the Maccabiah was held every three years; since the 4th Maccabiah, the event is held the year following the Olympic Games. In contrast with other large multi-sport events such as the Olympics, competitions at the Maccabiah are organized into four distinct divisions – Juniors, Open, Masters, and Disabled.   read more…

Beersheba, capital of the Negev

27 July 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Moshe David/cc-by-2.5

© Moshe David/cc-by-2.5

Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the “Capital of the Negev”, it is the center of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth most populous city in Israel with a population of 201,086, and the second largest city with a total of 117,500 dunams (after Jerusalem). Beersheba has grown considerably since then. A large portion of the population is made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who immigrated from Arab countries after 1948, as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India. Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia. The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba. The city is now Israel’s national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world.   read more…

Theme Week Tel Aviv – The Rothschild Boulevard

18 January 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Degser/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Degser/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rothschild Boulevard is one of the principal streets in the center of Tel Aviv, beginning in Neve Tzedek at its southwestern edge and running north to Habima Theatre. It is one of the most expensive streets in the city, being one of the city’s main tourist attractions. It features a wide, tree-lined central strip with pedestrian and bike lanes. Rothschild Boulevard was the epicenter of the 2011 Israeli social justice protests.   read more…

Theme Week Tel Aviv – The Rabin Square

11 January 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Rabin Memorial © Dr. Avishai Teicher/cc-by-2.5

Yitzhak Rabin Memorial: “Here at this place Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister & Minister of Defence was murdered in the struggle for peace 4.11.95” © Dr. Avishai Teicher/cc-by-2.5

The Rabin Square, formerly Kings of Israel Square, is a large public city square in the center of Tel Aviv. Over the years it has been the site of numerous political rallies, parades, and other public events. In 1995 the square was renamed “Rabin Square” following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by an right-wing extremist and Likud supporter, which occurred there on November 4th of that year, right after a peace rally to celebrate the Oslo I Accord (Arab–Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflict). A memorial stands on the spot where Rabin was assassinated (at the northeast corner of the square, below City Hall). Part of the memorial is a small, open legacy wall for Rabin.   read more…

Theme Week Tel Aviv

29 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  14 minutes

Tel Aviv from Shalom Meir Tower © Shmuliko/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tel Aviv from Shalom Meir Tower © Shmuliko/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tel Aviv or Tel Aviv-Yafo is the most populous city in Israel and its capital, ahead of West Jerusalem, with a population of 414,600. It is located in central-west Israel, within the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, Israel’s largest metropolitan area, containing 42% of Israel’s population. It is also the largest and most populous in Gush Dan, which is collectively home to 3,464,100 residents. Residents of Tel Aviv are referred to as Tel Avivim (singular: Tel Avivi). Tel Aviv is Israel’s de jure capital, de facto it is West Jerusalem, which, however, is only tolerated by the international community, but isn’t recognized as such.   read more…

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