July 5th -Tel Aviv field trip

Today we went to Tel Aviv with Dr. Mendelsson to explore what it says about Israeli nation building and in many ways as a juxtaposition to our Jerusalem experience. Tel Aviv in its 100 year history has served to represent "the new hebrew," a secular yet cultural identity, to build the city in sand dunes, to replace the arab port of Jaffa with a new Jewish destination. It isn't a mistake that the title of Herzl's novel was translated as Tel Aviv in Hebrew.

Our first stop was a very telling visit to Independance Hall, where the declaration was read to make Israel a soveriegn state following the end of the british mandate. The first important detail to note is that this historic site is not managed by the state of Israel but rather by the municipality of Tel Aviv. The "hall" was formerly the house of the mayor of Tel Aviv and maintains a still humble prescence. The main room has been reconstructed to reflect how it looked on the day of Independance and the speech of David Ben-Gurion plays as well as the national anthem. As with many sites in Israel, here you are meant to have an experience, a connection with the site and its place in Israeli history, and the creation of national identity. One is supposed to think of the unity of the Jewish people in this place, however the state has chosen not to keep this as sacred a site as Mt. Herzl or any of the more grand national monuments.


Walking down the street gives greater insight into the planning of the city, the original homeowners drawing lots and building the streets and throuroughfares of Tel Aviv themselves. Also we noticed, the style of international architecture pioneered in the Bauhaus. A socialist style, it features clean simple lines, functionality and lots of natural light, a style I rather like although it is starkly modern.