If you want to experience the “bad” side of Israel then Tel Aviv is your destination. Israel is a country with multiple personalities with Jerusalem representing all that is “good” and holy in the Holy Land and Tel Aviv a reflection of all that is “bad” about Israel. However, good and bad are very subjective definitions.
- Tel Aviv Traveljoiseyshowaa / Travel Photos / CC BY-SA
True, Tel Aviv is much more secular than Jerusalem and has a much smaller religious population than Jerusalem but that is no objective definition of goodness or badness. There are more blatant displays of wealth in Tel Aviv with flashier cars, more hedonistic people, and a greater number of luxury apartments Tel Aviv costing more than similar apartments in Jerusalem. However, is that a defining of good and bad? Perhaps according to the devoutly religious who consider abstinence as a virtuous trait.
The body line is that there is plenty of luxury in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem just more of it in Tel Aviv. You see, Tel Aviv really doesn’t care what they think of it in the capital and it doesn’t care what anyone thinks of it and that is part of its attraction. If you want luxury, there is all you can afford and more yet there is a vast majority of inhabitants who live in apartments Tel Aviv that are small and not particularly luxurious. Anything goes and nobody seems to care and that in many respects a sure sign of luxury travel.
Do you want to be in a place where you stand out from the crowd or do you want to blend in and be part of the 24/7 street show that is Tel Aviv? True luxury is feeling part of the scene and everyone not only feels part of the scene in Tel Aviv but actually is part of the scene.
If you want to be amongst the rich and famous, pay a trip to Kikar Hamedina, the swankiest street in Tel Aviv, full of designer boutiques stocking the best the world has on offer. However, even there, not everyone is dressed in Versace and out to be seen. It is a microcosm of Israel on a large round shopping strip that just happens to be a repository for some of Tel Aviv’s most exclusive stores.
Wait a second, the penny has finally dropped, perhaps when people refer to Tel Aviv as “bad” it is in the modern usage of the word as bad meaning good. But then where does that leave Jerusalem?
