Notes From Tel Aviv arrives every Thursday evening exclusively for paid subscribers, a little slice of life from Israel before Shabbat.

Subscribe now

Give a gift subscription

Last week I mentioned that I don’t sound like an Oleh when I speak Hebrew, and that the origins of my Hebrew fluency would be a story for another dispatch. That story starts not in Israel, but at a Chinese restaurant in Vancouver.

Read more

This dispatch is the first in a new slice-of-life series I’m calling Notes From Tel Aviv, dropping every Thursday evening. Today’s installment will be available for all subscribers with a free trial; subsequent Notes From Tel Aviv will be exclusive to paid subscribers.

There’s a photo on my phone from Saturday, April 23, 2022, and every year it feels a little stranger to me.

That morning, I was walking my dog Igal on the Tayelet—in Hebrew, “the boardwalk”—the beachfront promenade where Tel Avivim jog, ride scooters, argue, and sip iced coffee.

On weekends, plenty of locals avoid the Tayelet altogether because it fills up with people from all over Israel.

But on this particular Saturday, I decided to brave the crowds and venture out. Even amid the heavy weekend foot traffic, you just can’t beat a springtime Mediterranean breeze. Igal needed a good walk, anyway.

Near the Dan Hotel, I noticed a group of large men in plain clothes moving quickly, out of sync with the usual boardwalk pace. Then I saw the white hair and the black polo shirt.

It was Benjamin Netanyahu, power-walking right down one of Tel Aviv’s busiest pedestrian thoroughfares.

Read more