Where does Tel Aviv rate?

 Tel Aviv is supposed to be Israel's big modern city. I have been there 100 times. I would say that there are 100 cities in America that blow it away. I'm talking skyscrapers, restaurants, apartment buildings, historic architecture, culture. Tel Aviv barely has any of that. It's really a dumpy place. There's so little culture there. You won't find classic theater. I was talking to a guy who runs a small cultural center in one of Israel's other dumpy cities. He had never heard of Strindberg or O'Neil. 

Try to find a classical music performance in Israel. The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra puts on pop music shows. This is from the schedule of the Israeli philharmonic.


Harry Potter.  Here's more. 



Motown and Scooby Do. Beethoven anyone? 

Compare to the Chicago Symphony.




They call it the Philharmonic orchestra in Israel. In normal countries, those consist of 80-100 players. In Israel, usually you get about a dozen musicians, never a full orchestra. Here's a video example. Sometimes famous Jews come to Israel to show support. So here's Zubin Mehta, and look at this tiny little group of musicians that they assembled for him. 



That's their orchestra. 

I'm not criticizing the musicians or the organization. They are trying. But there's not much interest in culture in Israel and all the resources go to the military. 

Here's more. I'm pulling these up randomly.



This is as big as it gets. Looks like about 50 players.


But even this is very rare.

Here's the Chicago Symphony with a choir. 



What you see in Tel Aviv and in every other chiloni place in Israel are soldiers, even former soldiers who are still soldiers. The whole country is a military base. Young people waste their lives on militarism. That's what happens when you go up like a wall and take the land by force. Your entire life becomes about fighting. 

So I want to be clear. I'm saying this only to let Americans and Europeans know what they are getting into if they move to Israel. I am not saying this out of hostility to my fellow Jews in Israel. I feel bad for them that they grow up in such a beat place. And I understand why so many leave. The aliyah junkies criticize them for that. I completely get why they do it. 

Tel Aviv sky line:




Houston, Texas



Harare, Zimbabwe


Medellín, the second largest city in Columbia



Chicago



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