Jerusalem Post, Billbaord; December 23, 2005
It's hard for American hip-hop stars to get by with the tons of cash and fame that can be attained with a hit album. These days such stars just have to have their own record labels, their own restaurants, their own nightclubs, or their own bars. It's no different for the Israeli king of hip-hop, Subliminal (born Yaakov Shimoni), who, in the spirit of American hip-hop entrepreneurs Jay-Z and Diddy, has expanded his music enterprises to include a massive dance bar on Rival Street in Tel Aviv.
'Geha Mega Bar,' which cost over NIS 4 million to build, is the largest in the Middle East, stealing the title from Lanski. Long, immense black bar decks supported by metal girders and chains seem to float throughout Ge'ah's large industrial space. Brick walls recall some dark New York alleyway, warm and cryptic.
'It's a solution for people who go out at night,' said Subliminal at a recent fashion party at Geha featuring catwalks by Elite models. The place was sprinkled with hip-hop personalities, including Subliminal's right-hand man HaTzel (The Shadow) and American hip-hop stars De La Soul, in Israel for a concert at Hanger 11.
The Israeli hip-hop king opened the bar a few weeks ago with two other owners, but the place will probably become known as 'Subliminal's place.'
'You have a lot of bars, but none of them really have good sound,' Subliminal continued. 'Discos are not as popular as they once were, and bars are taking over. This combines both: a bar, a nightclub sound system, and a dancefloor.'
And talk about a steamy dance floor! It's made out of a 4 m x 4 m glass-framed panel that encases a hot tub, which bubbles when the dancefloor is elevated. That usually only happens during private parties, yet it's a nice thing to show off and it makes you feel like some Israeli version of Snoop Dog will arrive at any moment, surrounded by bikini-clad platinum blondes with black roots and plastic boobs.
'We kept it ghetto, but made it chic,' said Subliminal, referring to the design. 'It looks like a subway station, like a jail.'
This theme also carries into the crowd - from the Adidas-clad, rich ghetto wannabes to the black-collared, high-class arse (greaser).
The VIP section (for those who order champagne in advance) is open for all to see, and giant selectors make entrance seem formidable. In all, a mixture of pretense and the sense that it's obvious everyone's trying a bit too hard explode at about midnight - when the dancefloor is picked up by hot air, literally.
Geha, Rival 9, Tel Aviv. Music: Hip-hop, dance, Israeli, mainstream. Hours: From 10 pm. Tel: (03) 537-2661.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Thursday, December 22, 2005
U.S. Studios Court Israeli Programmers
The Jewish Journal; December 22, 2005
Click here for original
Danna Stern, head of acquisitions at YES, Israel's only television satellite company, was surprised to see that Mark Burnett, reality TV guru and producer of hit shows like "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," had only one framed press clipping in his office: a feature on him that had appeared in Ha'aretz, an Israeli daily.
Stern and her associates get wined and dined every year by television network executives at a weeklong Los Angeles screening of shows in May, during which 2,000 television executives from all over the world sit all day in front of studio screens to view the new fall season pilots for sale.
Hollywood exports are a big business, and U.S. studios sometimes rake in more from international licensing than domestic. Even though Israeli acquisitions account for only 2 percent of overseas television exports, Stern thinks Israel gets special attention.
"They're always interested way beyond our share in the market -- and the same goes for the talent," she said. "Because we're a very recognizable country, they're very accessible to us."
In addition, she added, most of the marketing people and executives are Jewish, and are "always interested in Israel."
Stern has mingled with Geena Davis, Teri Hatcher and Jennifer Garner, who take the time to meet with the foreign visitors at studio parties.
"The stars are really interested in hearing what works well," she said. "They always promise to come [to Israel], but they never do."
Last month, YES held its first-ever press screening at Israel's largest cinema complex, Cinema City, in Herzilya, modeling it after the Los Angeles screening, to show-off its newest acquisitions. Among them are: "Prison Break," "Grey's Anatomy," "My Name Is Earl," "Commander in Chief," "The War at Home," "Supernatural Invasion" and "How I Met Your Mother." YES directors believed that the number and quality of acquisitions justified its screening, in which dozens of Israeli reporters got to watch U.S. television for an entire day.
While the new shows will be broadcast early next year, the turnaround time between a show's U.S. premiere and its Israeli premiere is much shorter than in the past.
YES was founded about five years ago, increasing competition in the Israeli television market. Before that, only one cable company and two Israeli networks, Channel 2 and IBA, vied for U.S. and European shows. Now, YES competes with a whole slew of television outlets: a new Israeli network (Channel 10) and locally run niche channels for lifestyle, music, action, children, comedy, parenting, sports, documentaries and even Judaism.
Prior to this television growth spurt, visitors or immigrants to Israel were hard pressed to find their favorite U.S. TV show on Israeli channels, and if they did, they were stuck with shows from a season or two earlier. "Seinfeld" first aired only after the third season premiered in the United States.
"Everyone is trying to shorten the time because of piracy -- people are already downloading shows the next day, so we can't afford to wait as we usually did," Stern said
The YES executive said that the current delay of a few months still has advantages. Israel does not air reruns, and a U.S. buzz around a show has enough time to echo in Israel.
YES has been the leader in importing U.S., as well as British, TV shows, including "The West Wing," "Weeds," "Entourage," "The Sopranos," "The Comeback," "Arrested Development," "The O.C.," "Hope and Faith," "Scrubs" and more. Last year's acquisition, "Desperate Housewives," is the biggest hit. Other shows, like "Nip/Tuck," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Lost," were picked up by other Israeli networks.
Sometimes Israeli buyers view new shows via broadband, but May is the time the big sales occur, when Stern and her associates choose among 30-40 programs. She noted that shows with religious themes, like "7th Heaven" and "Joan of Arcadia," don't do well in Israel.
"I think Israelis are a little more sophisticated than the average American viewer," she said. "They tend to like things with an edge."
Click here for original
Danna Stern, head of acquisitions at YES, Israel's only television satellite company, was surprised to see that Mark Burnett, reality TV guru and producer of hit shows like "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," had only one framed press clipping in his office: a feature on him that had appeared in Ha'aretz, an Israeli daily.
Stern and her associates get wined and dined every year by television network executives at a weeklong Los Angeles screening of shows in May, during which 2,000 television executives from all over the world sit all day in front of studio screens to view the new fall season pilots for sale.
Hollywood exports are a big business, and U.S. studios sometimes rake in more from international licensing than domestic. Even though Israeli acquisitions account for only 2 percent of overseas television exports, Stern thinks Israel gets special attention.
"They're always interested way beyond our share in the market -- and the same goes for the talent," she said. "Because we're a very recognizable country, they're very accessible to us."
In addition, she added, most of the marketing people and executives are Jewish, and are "always interested in Israel."
Stern has mingled with Geena Davis, Teri Hatcher and Jennifer Garner, who take the time to meet with the foreign visitors at studio parties.
"The stars are really interested in hearing what works well," she said. "They always promise to come [to Israel], but they never do."
Last month, YES held its first-ever press screening at Israel's largest cinema complex, Cinema City, in Herzilya, modeling it after the Los Angeles screening, to show-off its newest acquisitions. Among them are: "Prison Break," "Grey's Anatomy," "My Name Is Earl," "Commander in Chief," "The War at Home," "Supernatural Invasion" and "How I Met Your Mother." YES directors believed that the number and quality of acquisitions justified its screening, in which dozens of Israeli reporters got to watch U.S. television for an entire day.
While the new shows will be broadcast early next year, the turnaround time between a show's U.S. premiere and its Israeli premiere is much shorter than in the past.
YES was founded about five years ago, increasing competition in the Israeli television market. Before that, only one cable company and two Israeli networks, Channel 2 and IBA, vied for U.S. and European shows. Now, YES competes with a whole slew of television outlets: a new Israeli network (Channel 10) and locally run niche channels for lifestyle, music, action, children, comedy, parenting, sports, documentaries and even Judaism.
Prior to this television growth spurt, visitors or immigrants to Israel were hard pressed to find their favorite U.S. TV show on Israeli channels, and if they did, they were stuck with shows from a season or two earlier. "Seinfeld" first aired only after the third season premiered in the United States.
"Everyone is trying to shorten the time because of piracy -- people are already downloading shows the next day, so we can't afford to wait as we usually did," Stern said
The YES executive said that the current delay of a few months still has advantages. Israel does not air reruns, and a U.S. buzz around a show has enough time to echo in Israel.
YES has been the leader in importing U.S., as well as British, TV shows, including "The West Wing," "Weeds," "Entourage," "The Sopranos," "The Comeback," "Arrested Development," "The O.C.," "Hope and Faith," "Scrubs" and more. Last year's acquisition, "Desperate Housewives," is the biggest hit. Other shows, like "Nip/Tuck," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Lost," were picked up by other Israeli networks.
Sometimes Israeli buyers view new shows via broadband, but May is the time the big sales occur, when Stern and her associates choose among 30-40 programs. She noted that shows with religious themes, like "7th Heaven" and "Joan of Arcadia," don't do well in Israel.
"I think Israelis are a little more sophisticated than the average American viewer," she said. "They tend to like things with an edge."
Friday, December 9, 2005
Life imitates art at 'Kol Nidrei' (review)
Jerusalem Post, Billboard; December 9, 2005
Oren was shaking as he left the auditorium. He had just seen Kol Nidrei, a new play by Yeshoshua Sobol about haredi Jews who lead double lives as Bnei Brak yeshiva students by day and Tel Aviv bar-hoppers by night. Oren, who requested that his real name not be used, was wearing a black kippa and a blue button-down shirt rather than the white shirt worn by most yeshiva students.
"[The play] really spoke to me," said Oren, in his mid- twenties, who lives in a haredi community with his wife and child. His wife didn't know where he was that night, and by sneaking off to see the play, which he discovered on the Internet, he too was leading a double life. Even wearing a blue shirt as opposed to the accepted white was a big step for him.
Kol Nidrei exposes the growing phenomenon of haredi Jews who explore the secular world, almost always in secret. The play blurs the boundaries between art and life, as the haredi rebels are actually played by yotzim - a term used to describe haredi Jews who "come out" of their communities.
Their real-life stories inspired Sobol, a renowned Israeli playwright who sought to bring this subject to the fore.
The play opens with the main character, Nachman (Menachem Lang), bickering with his wife, Esti (Gili Yoskovich) after Friday night dinner. He excuses himself to attend a tisch with his rebbe - a cover-up for an outing with his married chum Chaim (Nadav Segel), in which they exchange their shtreimels [festive fur hats] for T- shirts and sneak out to Tel Aviv. This clash of cultures forces all characters - secular and haredi alike - to confront their values and determine what they really want.
The heated exchanges between the couples at the Friday night table - filled with Torah references and religious idioms - give secular audiences a peek into dysfunctional haredi homes. The audience can be made to feel like intruders, especially when Nachman appears curled up with his secular lover. Yet the play, which is based on thorough research, tackles the subject with seriousness and humor, which makes it more than just a shallow critique or voyeuristic look into ultra-Orthodox communities.
The play features three formerly haredi actors who now study acting. Lang's performance at times seems uncertain, never successfully infusing Nachman with an identity of his own. Segel's acting comes across as amateurish in some scenes, especially as he casually gulps gefilte fish while revealing shocking truths to his wife Rachel (played by professional actress Lucy Duvinchik). Yoskovich gives the most convincing performance of the three yotzim. However, knowing that the actors are dramatizing their own experiences makes up for the fact that they never studied acting.
While Lang, who plays Nachman, was never attracted to Tel Aviv nightlife, and actually disapproves of his character's extreme double life, he thinks that on some level, most haredi Jews lead double lives. "Any haredi who is not totally immersed in Torah leads a double life," he said.
This second life can range from secretly watching soccer games or television to cruising around secular communities (as Lang did) to hiring prostitutes.
Oren, who related to the character of Nachman, is intrigued by pubs and nightclubs. An 18-year-old once took him to a Tel Aviv pub, but he didn't feel comfortable. "I felt like a stranger," he recalled.
Indeed, the haredi and secular lives can seem to exist in two separate countries, with different dress, customs, language and manners. That is why the character of Nachman in Kol Nidrei goes so far as to change his name before venturing into Tel Aviv.
"The portrayal is very authentic," Oren said. He excuses Nachman's continual lies and adultery, calling him "a victim."
Oren says he considers himself secular, and doesn't believe in God or Jewish law. Yet his outward appearance sets him apart as a religious Jew. He puts off doing what he says he "needs to do" - including getting a divorce - because of social pressures and the potential heartbreak of his frail mother, a widow.
"I can't go tomorrow, shave my beard and say that's me," he said. "I don't have the inner strength."
For now, he's taking advantage of his job, which brings him into contact with secular people. "If the time ever comes to 'come out,'" he said, "it could be that this play was the trigger."
Herzliya Theater Ensemble, Herzliya Performing Arts Center, Rehov Jabotinsky 15, December 8, 9, 10. Tickets: (09) 972-9999
Oren was shaking as he left the auditorium. He had just seen Kol Nidrei, a new play by Yeshoshua Sobol about haredi Jews who lead double lives as Bnei Brak yeshiva students by day and Tel Aviv bar-hoppers by night. Oren, who requested that his real name not be used, was wearing a black kippa and a blue button-down shirt rather than the white shirt worn by most yeshiva students.
"[The play] really spoke to me," said Oren, in his mid- twenties, who lives in a haredi community with his wife and child. His wife didn't know where he was that night, and by sneaking off to see the play, which he discovered on the Internet, he too was leading a double life. Even wearing a blue shirt as opposed to the accepted white was a big step for him.
Kol Nidrei exposes the growing phenomenon of haredi Jews who explore the secular world, almost always in secret. The play blurs the boundaries between art and life, as the haredi rebels are actually played by yotzim - a term used to describe haredi Jews who "come out" of their communities.
Their real-life stories inspired Sobol, a renowned Israeli playwright who sought to bring this subject to the fore.
The play opens with the main character, Nachman (Menachem Lang), bickering with his wife, Esti (Gili Yoskovich) after Friday night dinner. He excuses himself to attend a tisch with his rebbe - a cover-up for an outing with his married chum Chaim (Nadav Segel), in which they exchange their shtreimels [festive fur hats] for T- shirts and sneak out to Tel Aviv. This clash of cultures forces all characters - secular and haredi alike - to confront their values and determine what they really want.
The heated exchanges between the couples at the Friday night table - filled with Torah references and religious idioms - give secular audiences a peek into dysfunctional haredi homes. The audience can be made to feel like intruders, especially when Nachman appears curled up with his secular lover. Yet the play, which is based on thorough research, tackles the subject with seriousness and humor, which makes it more than just a shallow critique or voyeuristic look into ultra-Orthodox communities.
The play features three formerly haredi actors who now study acting. Lang's performance at times seems uncertain, never successfully infusing Nachman with an identity of his own. Segel's acting comes across as amateurish in some scenes, especially as he casually gulps gefilte fish while revealing shocking truths to his wife Rachel (played by professional actress Lucy Duvinchik). Yoskovich gives the most convincing performance of the three yotzim. However, knowing that the actors are dramatizing their own experiences makes up for the fact that they never studied acting.
While Lang, who plays Nachman, was never attracted to Tel Aviv nightlife, and actually disapproves of his character's extreme double life, he thinks that on some level, most haredi Jews lead double lives. "Any haredi who is not totally immersed in Torah leads a double life," he said.
This second life can range from secretly watching soccer games or television to cruising around secular communities (as Lang did) to hiring prostitutes.
Oren, who related to the character of Nachman, is intrigued by pubs and nightclubs. An 18-year-old once took him to a Tel Aviv pub, but he didn't feel comfortable. "I felt like a stranger," he recalled.
Indeed, the haredi and secular lives can seem to exist in two separate countries, with different dress, customs, language and manners. That is why the character of Nachman in Kol Nidrei goes so far as to change his name before venturing into Tel Aviv.
"The portrayal is very authentic," Oren said. He excuses Nachman's continual lies and adultery, calling him "a victim."
Oren says he considers himself secular, and doesn't believe in God or Jewish law. Yet his outward appearance sets him apart as a religious Jew. He puts off doing what he says he "needs to do" - including getting a divorce - because of social pressures and the potential heartbreak of his frail mother, a widow.
"I can't go tomorrow, shave my beard and say that's me," he said. "I don't have the inner strength."
For now, he's taking advantage of his job, which brings him into contact with secular people. "If the time ever comes to 'come out,'" he said, "it could be that this play was the trigger."
Herzliya Theater Ensemble, Herzliya Performing Arts Center, Rehov Jabotinsky 15, December 8, 9, 10. Tickets: (09) 972-9999
Retro cool bar (review)
Jerusalem Post, Billboard; December 9, 2005
If That 70s Show was looking to film a lounge scene in Israel, Saluna Lounge Bar would be a good pick. While Saluna is only a year and a half old, on entering the place one would think that it had been a Jaffa establishment for decades. This long corridor is lined with mini living rooms made up of sofas upholstered in funky retro patterns, with each lounge area separated by brown beaded curtains. Glass cabinets house a strange variety of objects - from books to figurines.
The 'chandaloofah' prominently shining over loungers embodies the bar's distinctive combination of style. A chandelier is a fixture of the upper class, while a loofah sponge is a poor man's luxury.
Saluna's interior designers, Roth-Tevet Space Design, recently received the 2005 Ot HaItzuv award for their work on Saluna. Dubbed the 'Oscars for design,' these awards were given to a group of accomplished interior and industrial designers on Thursday at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds, where a massive exhibition, 'Design 2006' is being held through Saturday.
It's only upon carefully looking that one sees Saluna's design was delicately calibrated. While the sofas look old and battered, they are actually custom-made reproductions of 60s and 70s furniture, with each fabric hand-picked. Seeking to infuse the place with the local language of Jaffa, some furniture items, like the funky lamps, were bought at the Jaffa flea market. The Oriental patterned, multi-colored floor is the only original part of the building.
'Design isn't about furniture, colors, or certain materials. That's boring,' said Roth, who likes calling himself an 'experience designer.' 'We're interested in a story. I think contemporary design should tell a story, because stories never bore you.'
The owners of Saluna wanted to create a warm, inviting Jaffa-inspired lounge-bar that was also a cultural platform. The walls above the mini living rooms are covered with paintings, illustrations or photographs that alternate every month.
'You get to experience art in a less formal way than in a gallery,' explained Roy Roth, who designed Saluna with his partner, Ya'al Tevet. 'You come to drink and, by the way, you look at art.'
Last August, Saluna inspired a street-wide exhibition that transplanted art from galleries, studios and museums to the streets of Jaffa without permission from municipal authorities.
Saluna attracts a casual, arty, trendy crowd. Perhaps because of its design, the bar attracts an uncommonly high percentage of female patrons.
Roth attributes the female inflow to the softness of the place; it's not sleazy or masculine. 'Most bars are masculine. They are designed by men and owned by men,' he said.
With all its mini living rooms, Saluna is also a favorite for birthdays.
Rehov Tirza 17, Jaffa, (03) 518-1719; Music: Freestyle DJ nightly. Hours: From 9 p.m.
If That 70s Show was looking to film a lounge scene in Israel, Saluna Lounge Bar would be a good pick. While Saluna is only a year and a half old, on entering the place one would think that it had been a Jaffa establishment for decades. This long corridor is lined with mini living rooms made up of sofas upholstered in funky retro patterns, with each lounge area separated by brown beaded curtains. Glass cabinets house a strange variety of objects - from books to figurines.
The 'chandaloofah' prominently shining over loungers embodies the bar's distinctive combination of style. A chandelier is a fixture of the upper class, while a loofah sponge is a poor man's luxury.
Saluna's interior designers, Roth-Tevet Space Design, recently received the 2005 Ot HaItzuv award for their work on Saluna. Dubbed the 'Oscars for design,' these awards were given to a group of accomplished interior and industrial designers on Thursday at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds, where a massive exhibition, 'Design 2006' is being held through Saturday.
It's only upon carefully looking that one sees Saluna's design was delicately calibrated. While the sofas look old and battered, they are actually custom-made reproductions of 60s and 70s furniture, with each fabric hand-picked. Seeking to infuse the place with the local language of Jaffa, some furniture items, like the funky lamps, were bought at the Jaffa flea market. The Oriental patterned, multi-colored floor is the only original part of the building.
'Design isn't about furniture, colors, or certain materials. That's boring,' said Roth, who likes calling himself an 'experience designer.' 'We're interested in a story. I think contemporary design should tell a story, because stories never bore you.'
The owners of Saluna wanted to create a warm, inviting Jaffa-inspired lounge-bar that was also a cultural platform. The walls above the mini living rooms are covered with paintings, illustrations or photographs that alternate every month.
'You get to experience art in a less formal way than in a gallery,' explained Roy Roth, who designed Saluna with his partner, Ya'al Tevet. 'You come to drink and, by the way, you look at art.'
Last August, Saluna inspired a street-wide exhibition that transplanted art from galleries, studios and museums to the streets of Jaffa without permission from municipal authorities.
Saluna attracts a casual, arty, trendy crowd. Perhaps because of its design, the bar attracts an uncommonly high percentage of female patrons.
Roth attributes the female inflow to the softness of the place; it's not sleazy or masculine. 'Most bars are masculine. They are designed by men and owned by men,' he said.
With all its mini living rooms, Saluna is also a favorite for birthdays.
Rehov Tirza 17, Jaffa, (03) 518-1719; Music: Freestyle DJ nightly. Hours: From 9 p.m.
Friday, December 2, 2005
A fine line
Jerusalem Post, Metro; December 2, 2005
Tel Aviv drivers struggle daily to find legal parking spaces - or pay the price.
It is a sight that every driver dreads: a parking ticket under the windshield wiper. In many cases, the meter had just run out or there was no vending machine for parking vouchers and you took the chance, or you thought that no one would give tickets at that hour. Now you're paying the price, anywhere from NIS 100 to NIS 500.
Outside Tel Aviv's traffic court on Rehov Weitzman, where alleged parking offenders make their first court appearance to contest fines, people are often angry - and sometimes downright depressed.
"The municipality is having a feast from this problem - it's good income," complains Moshe (last name withheld by request), a property manager, hurling a common accusation at the city. At his court hearing, Moshe claimed to have parked late at night near a storefront on a very large sidewalk in such a way that his vehicle obstructed neither pedestrians nor vehicular traffic.
By law, a sidewalk is considered any section of a street - whether paved or not - designated not for vehicles but for pedestrians.
"There were no signs," he argued, adding that the area could easily have been private property.
However, a sidewalk is a sidewalk. The judge gave Moshe the option of pleading not guilty and taking the ticketing officer to court, where Moshe would then have to present proof that the section of pavement where he parked was indeed private property.
Moshe paid the NIS 500 fine.
"It's so time-consuming that it's not worth it. The trial takes place midday and I would have to take time off work," he explained.
Not one of the defendants leaving the courtroom had anything nice to say about the legal process. At the hearings, which are open to the public, a judge presides while a stenographer records the session. A city prosecutor steeped in the city's parking laws, surrounded by files of paperwork except for the actual parking ticket, argues against the claim of the defendant, who states his reasoning at the podium.
"I don't think it matters what you say. The municipality has its rules, and they fix them so that you can't really fight the ticket or reduce the fine," argues Moshe.
In most cases, defendants appeal not to the law but to common sense.
Oded from Herzliya argued that his car was breaking down and, rather than continue to drive to Herzliya, he stayed at a friend's house near Rehov Sheinkin, one of the areas most hard hit by a dearth of parking spaces. He claimed to have searched in vain for a legal parking space for hours, then decided to park his car illegally on a red-and-white pavement and call a tow truck in the morning. By 7:30 a.m., a NIS 500 ticket was on his windshield. He brought receipts from the mechanic to prove that his car had problems, and his fine was lowered to NIS 300 due to "unusual circumstances."
Oded was far from pleased.
"I was sure I'd win because I thought I had a really good reason. I had no other choice - the car was broken down. This whole legal system is a joke and a big show, but it's a show from both sides - even the defendants sometimes put on a show," he said, adding that he will think twice before reentering the city with his car.
After pleading her case unsuccessfully at the podium, one woman began to weep in front of her prosecutor. She had bought a new car but had not yet received a permit allowing her to park freely near her home, and accumulated more than NIS 1,000 in tickets. She had already paid the city NIS 2,000 for previous violations. The law dictated that she owed money regardless. The only comforting suggestion the prosecutor offered her was to pay her fines in installments.
Yael, a lawyer who came to protest both her parking fine and the tow-truck tariff, had parked her car in a non-painted "gray" parking space, with one wheel protruding into a red area. She was charged NIS 150 for illegal parking and had to pay NIS 160 to release her car from a municipal pound.
She argued that her car should not have been towed, since it did not pose any obstruction that justified towing. Yael cannot help but suspect that parking officials and tow-truck companies collaborate. To receive a refund for the towing charge, she will have to sue the towing company separately. She plans to fight her ticket but thinks the process is unfair from the start.
"They give you the feeling that you're always guilty and have to prove your innocence," she says.
In the case of parking violations, presumed guilt is allowed in Israel as in other countries including the US. Parking violations are considered "strict liability offenses," which means that the local authority has only to prove that the defendant committed the crime, regardless of his or her motivations or intentions.
Tel Aviv-Jaffa is the Israeli city most beset by parking problems. An estimated 400,000 motorized commuters enter the city every day. Daily traffic through Tel Aviv reaches one million vehicles daily - a majority of them from outside the city.
Some 390,000 people live in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, on 51 square kilometers of crowded streets and sidewalks.
About 270,000 cars are registered as belonging to Tel Aviv residents, an unknown number of them fictitiously. Parking problems do not, apparently, deter Tel Avivians from buying cars. Some 45% of Tel Aviv residents own private vehicles, compared with 26% of Israelis nationally. But they think twice before entering their cars, for fear of losing the parking space.
According to the municipal spokesman's office, there are 275,000 parking spaces in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Some 32,000 are preferred parking spaces (blue/white); 46,000 free spaces (gray); 5,000 limited spaces (gray/red); 10,000 spaces in open lots; 44,000 spaces in private lots; 60,000 spaces in paid lots; and 78,500 spaces in residential lots.
Central Tel Aviv - the area enclosed by Jaffa, the Mediterranean coast, the Yarkon river and the Ayalon freeway - lacks sufficient parking spaces to accommodate all its residents and visitors. There are only about 30,000 legal (blue-and-white) parking spaces along central Tel Aviv streets, and another 60,000 spaces in private and public lots.
The result is that drivers are inevitably forced to park illegally - especially at night and in the city center - for lack of open space. Municipal parking inspectors write approximately one million parking tickets a year, and about 100,000 cars are towed to municipal lots.
"Tel Aviv-Jaffa was built 94 years ago with narrow streets and no thought about parking problems," notes Dr. Moshe Tiomkin, head of Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality's transportation, traffic and parking authority.
Although no one likes receiving parking tickets, they are necessary to preserve order in the city, explains Tiomkin. "If cars park on sidewalks, where will people walk? Parking in designated areas prevents accidents."
Money, he clearly states, is not a motivation.
Tiomkin claims that the city does not profit from parking tickets because expenses outweigh the revenue. According to his figures, the municipal treasury generates NIS 75 million per year from parking fines. (Last January, YNET reported that the city earned NIS 107 million in 2004 and intends to raise its parking revenue to NIS 157 million in 2005, a 400% increase since 1998, when Roni Milo was mayor. Tiomkin could not comment on the discrepancy.)
When asked about the city's parking policy, municipal spokesman Hillel Partok issued the following statement: "The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality would prefer not to give even one parking ticket a year, and certainly not to tow any cars, as long as law and order is preserved and sidewalks remain open to pedestrians. Contrary to popular opinion, the city does not make any money from the fines and towing fees but rather succeeds in covering expenses for the joint supervision and maintenance of the parking system in the city."
Asked about a situation in which a car is parked late at night on a sidewalk in a way that clearly poses no obstruction to pedestrian or vehicle traffic, Tiomkin replied: "If you asked me, I wouldn't write a ticket. It's an issue of common sense."
Yet he agreed that if one were to fight the ticket, the law - not common sense - prevails.
Nor does he see a solution to Tel Aviv's parking woes. "We won't solve the problem. Whoever lives in Tel Aviv has to know that it's a problem," he said.
Tiomkin suggests that to alleviate the problem, residents must use more public transportation or two-wheeled vehicles, such as bicycles or scooters. The city is currently developing 100 km of bike paths, and plans are underway for an underground railway that will travel from Petah Tikva to Bat Yam, slated for completion in 2012.
He noted that the municipality has taken measures to alleviate the parking problem in recent years. Tel Aviv residents can now park in several Tel Aviv lots for half- price and purchase an Easy Park electronic parking meter that allows them to park for up to three hours for 63 agorot per hour, down from NIS 2.40 in the past. On the other hand, fines for several parking violations were more than doubled in August 2004. Tiomkin explains that the hike was a preventive measure meant to discourage illegal parking.
While the Easy Park and permit zoning have made life easier for some residents, the parking issue continues to anger Tel Aviv drivers, and parking remains a thorn in city life, especially when one NIS 500 parking ticket constitutes almost 10% of the average Israeli's salary.
Building more legal and inexpensive parking lots in the city center does not appear to be at the top of the municipal agenda. Tiomkin pointed out that the city has proposed building underground parking lots beneath Rabin Square and the Habimah Theater in the past, but local residents' objections stymied the projects.
Free parking, he says, is not an automatic right.
"When you buy a car, you also pay for insurance and gas, and that's okay - so why not pay for parking?"
Outside the courthouse Moshe, still peeved by his verdict, thinks that free parking is not a privilege but a necessity like electricity and water. He suggests civil disobedience to counter what he believes is a big money-making scheme.
He acknowledges that laws should protect people but insists that tickets should not be given in circumstances where parking defined as "illegal" presents no danger or inconvenience.
"Parking should be a top priority of anyone in office because it angers everyone," says Jerusalem resident, Ami, who often drives into Tel Aviv. While he also faces parking challenges in the capital, he acknowledges that the situation is much worse in Tel Aviv.
"Everyone talks about it and everyone's angry. If someone speeds dangerously on the highway, you know they deserve to be punished. But if you park for just a few minutes longer than you're supposed to, you know they just want your money," he says.
(BOX #1) Parking tips
* Know the parking rules and read signs carefully.
* If you think the parking space is illegal, it probably is. Find a lot.
* Don't rely on the ticketing officer's compassion or common sense.
* If you appeal a ticket, base your argument on law, not common sense or emotion, unless you can cite very unusual circumstances. Bear in mind that a court hearing may take up an entire afternoon.
* Before you go to court, write a diplomatic letter to the parking and traffic department (22 Rehov Sha'arit Yisrael, Tel Aviv-Jaffa 68165)
* Don't count on the situation improving in the near future. Parking annoyances are often a matter of tough luck and are part of city life.
NIS 100 violations: Metered parking without voucher or Easy Park, in preferred parking for permit holders, double- parking, parking near/on an intersection or crosswalk, or in a way that obstructs/delays traffic.
NIS 250 violations: Parking in a bus or taxi station, "No stopping" or "No parking" areas, against specifically posted instructions or with two wheels on the sidewalk.
NIS 500 violations: Parking with four wheels on a sidewalk or two wheels on a sidewalk, leaving less than 130 cm clear for pedestrians, or in a space reserved for handicapped parking.
(BOX #2) Gross mismanagement
Municipal practices have been brought to public attention in recent months by the probe into parking lot owner Reuven Gross, nicknamed "The King of Parking," who is accused of bribing city officials.
In June, Gross was arrested for involvement in a crime organization. The police accused him of money laundering, forgery and bribery. The well-connected businessman is suspected of bribing city officials for information that would help him secure tenders issued by the municipal park lot company, Ahuzat Hof.
Ahuzat Hof CEO Yaakov Meir, city councilor Yeshayahu Drori and Gross's daughter Maya were also arrested in connection with the affair.
The case has also involved the mayors of Ramat Gan, Haifa, and Tel Aviv. The police claim to have enough evidence to indict Bar, and his file has been handed to the state prosecutor. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai were questioned under caution as to whether they received perks from Gross in exchange for political donations. Gross contributed to Huldai's 1998 election campaign.
In late November, the parking lot company Hatzlacha, which owns dozens of lots throughout the country, succeeded over Gross in winning an Ahuzat Hof tender to operate five large car parks in Tel Aviv. Gross had placed his bid for the tenders via a third party.
Tel Aviv drivers struggle daily to find legal parking spaces - or pay the price.
It is a sight that every driver dreads: a parking ticket under the windshield wiper. In many cases, the meter had just run out or there was no vending machine for parking vouchers and you took the chance, or you thought that no one would give tickets at that hour. Now you're paying the price, anywhere from NIS 100 to NIS 500.
Outside Tel Aviv's traffic court on Rehov Weitzman, where alleged parking offenders make their first court appearance to contest fines, people are often angry - and sometimes downright depressed.
"The municipality is having a feast from this problem - it's good income," complains Moshe (last name withheld by request), a property manager, hurling a common accusation at the city. At his court hearing, Moshe claimed to have parked late at night near a storefront on a very large sidewalk in such a way that his vehicle obstructed neither pedestrians nor vehicular traffic.
By law, a sidewalk is considered any section of a street - whether paved or not - designated not for vehicles but for pedestrians.
"There were no signs," he argued, adding that the area could easily have been private property.
However, a sidewalk is a sidewalk. The judge gave Moshe the option of pleading not guilty and taking the ticketing officer to court, where Moshe would then have to present proof that the section of pavement where he parked was indeed private property.
Moshe paid the NIS 500 fine.
"It's so time-consuming that it's not worth it. The trial takes place midday and I would have to take time off work," he explained.
Not one of the defendants leaving the courtroom had anything nice to say about the legal process. At the hearings, which are open to the public, a judge presides while a stenographer records the session. A city prosecutor steeped in the city's parking laws, surrounded by files of paperwork except for the actual parking ticket, argues against the claim of the defendant, who states his reasoning at the podium.
"I don't think it matters what you say. The municipality has its rules, and they fix them so that you can't really fight the ticket or reduce the fine," argues Moshe.
In most cases, defendants appeal not to the law but to common sense.
Oded from Herzliya argued that his car was breaking down and, rather than continue to drive to Herzliya, he stayed at a friend's house near Rehov Sheinkin, one of the areas most hard hit by a dearth of parking spaces. He claimed to have searched in vain for a legal parking space for hours, then decided to park his car illegally on a red-and-white pavement and call a tow truck in the morning. By 7:30 a.m., a NIS 500 ticket was on his windshield. He brought receipts from the mechanic to prove that his car had problems, and his fine was lowered to NIS 300 due to "unusual circumstances."
Oded was far from pleased.
"I was sure I'd win because I thought I had a really good reason. I had no other choice - the car was broken down. This whole legal system is a joke and a big show, but it's a show from both sides - even the defendants sometimes put on a show," he said, adding that he will think twice before reentering the city with his car.
After pleading her case unsuccessfully at the podium, one woman began to weep in front of her prosecutor. She had bought a new car but had not yet received a permit allowing her to park freely near her home, and accumulated more than NIS 1,000 in tickets. She had already paid the city NIS 2,000 for previous violations. The law dictated that she owed money regardless. The only comforting suggestion the prosecutor offered her was to pay her fines in installments.
Yael, a lawyer who came to protest both her parking fine and the tow-truck tariff, had parked her car in a non-painted "gray" parking space, with one wheel protruding into a red area. She was charged NIS 150 for illegal parking and had to pay NIS 160 to release her car from a municipal pound.
She argued that her car should not have been towed, since it did not pose any obstruction that justified towing. Yael cannot help but suspect that parking officials and tow-truck companies collaborate. To receive a refund for the towing charge, she will have to sue the towing company separately. She plans to fight her ticket but thinks the process is unfair from the start.
"They give you the feeling that you're always guilty and have to prove your innocence," she says.
In the case of parking violations, presumed guilt is allowed in Israel as in other countries including the US. Parking violations are considered "strict liability offenses," which means that the local authority has only to prove that the defendant committed the crime, regardless of his or her motivations or intentions.
Tel Aviv-Jaffa is the Israeli city most beset by parking problems. An estimated 400,000 motorized commuters enter the city every day. Daily traffic through Tel Aviv reaches one million vehicles daily - a majority of them from outside the city.
Some 390,000 people live in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, on 51 square kilometers of crowded streets and sidewalks.
About 270,000 cars are registered as belonging to Tel Aviv residents, an unknown number of them fictitiously. Parking problems do not, apparently, deter Tel Avivians from buying cars. Some 45% of Tel Aviv residents own private vehicles, compared with 26% of Israelis nationally. But they think twice before entering their cars, for fear of losing the parking space.
According to the municipal spokesman's office, there are 275,000 parking spaces in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Some 32,000 are preferred parking spaces (blue/white); 46,000 free spaces (gray); 5,000 limited spaces (gray/red); 10,000 spaces in open lots; 44,000 spaces in private lots; 60,000 spaces in paid lots; and 78,500 spaces in residential lots.
Central Tel Aviv - the area enclosed by Jaffa, the Mediterranean coast, the Yarkon river and the Ayalon freeway - lacks sufficient parking spaces to accommodate all its residents and visitors. There are only about 30,000 legal (blue-and-white) parking spaces along central Tel Aviv streets, and another 60,000 spaces in private and public lots.
The result is that drivers are inevitably forced to park illegally - especially at night and in the city center - for lack of open space. Municipal parking inspectors write approximately one million parking tickets a year, and about 100,000 cars are towed to municipal lots.
"Tel Aviv-Jaffa was built 94 years ago with narrow streets and no thought about parking problems," notes Dr. Moshe Tiomkin, head of Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality's transportation, traffic and parking authority.
Although no one likes receiving parking tickets, they are necessary to preserve order in the city, explains Tiomkin. "If cars park on sidewalks, where will people walk? Parking in designated areas prevents accidents."
Money, he clearly states, is not a motivation.
Tiomkin claims that the city does not profit from parking tickets because expenses outweigh the revenue. According to his figures, the municipal treasury generates NIS 75 million per year from parking fines. (Last January, YNET reported that the city earned NIS 107 million in 2004 and intends to raise its parking revenue to NIS 157 million in 2005, a 400% increase since 1998, when Roni Milo was mayor. Tiomkin could not comment on the discrepancy.)
When asked about the city's parking policy, municipal spokesman Hillel Partok issued the following statement: "The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality would prefer not to give even one parking ticket a year, and certainly not to tow any cars, as long as law and order is preserved and sidewalks remain open to pedestrians. Contrary to popular opinion, the city does not make any money from the fines and towing fees but rather succeeds in covering expenses for the joint supervision and maintenance of the parking system in the city."
Asked about a situation in which a car is parked late at night on a sidewalk in a way that clearly poses no obstruction to pedestrian or vehicle traffic, Tiomkin replied: "If you asked me, I wouldn't write a ticket. It's an issue of common sense."
Yet he agreed that if one were to fight the ticket, the law - not common sense - prevails.
Nor does he see a solution to Tel Aviv's parking woes. "We won't solve the problem. Whoever lives in Tel Aviv has to know that it's a problem," he said.
Tiomkin suggests that to alleviate the problem, residents must use more public transportation or two-wheeled vehicles, such as bicycles or scooters. The city is currently developing 100 km of bike paths, and plans are underway for an underground railway that will travel from Petah Tikva to Bat Yam, slated for completion in 2012.
He noted that the municipality has taken measures to alleviate the parking problem in recent years. Tel Aviv residents can now park in several Tel Aviv lots for half- price and purchase an Easy Park electronic parking meter that allows them to park for up to three hours for 63 agorot per hour, down from NIS 2.40 in the past. On the other hand, fines for several parking violations were more than doubled in August 2004. Tiomkin explains that the hike was a preventive measure meant to discourage illegal parking.
While the Easy Park and permit zoning have made life easier for some residents, the parking issue continues to anger Tel Aviv drivers, and parking remains a thorn in city life, especially when one NIS 500 parking ticket constitutes almost 10% of the average Israeli's salary.
Building more legal and inexpensive parking lots in the city center does not appear to be at the top of the municipal agenda. Tiomkin pointed out that the city has proposed building underground parking lots beneath Rabin Square and the Habimah Theater in the past, but local residents' objections stymied the projects.
Free parking, he says, is not an automatic right.
"When you buy a car, you also pay for insurance and gas, and that's okay - so why not pay for parking?"
Outside the courthouse Moshe, still peeved by his verdict, thinks that free parking is not a privilege but a necessity like electricity and water. He suggests civil disobedience to counter what he believes is a big money-making scheme.
He acknowledges that laws should protect people but insists that tickets should not be given in circumstances where parking defined as "illegal" presents no danger or inconvenience.
"Parking should be a top priority of anyone in office because it angers everyone," says Jerusalem resident, Ami, who often drives into Tel Aviv. While he also faces parking challenges in the capital, he acknowledges that the situation is much worse in Tel Aviv.
"Everyone talks about it and everyone's angry. If someone speeds dangerously on the highway, you know they deserve to be punished. But if you park for just a few minutes longer than you're supposed to, you know they just want your money," he says.
(BOX #1) Parking tips
* Know the parking rules and read signs carefully.
* If you think the parking space is illegal, it probably is. Find a lot.
* Don't rely on the ticketing officer's compassion or common sense.
* If you appeal a ticket, base your argument on law, not common sense or emotion, unless you can cite very unusual circumstances. Bear in mind that a court hearing may take up an entire afternoon.
* Before you go to court, write a diplomatic letter to the parking and traffic department (22 Rehov Sha'arit Yisrael, Tel Aviv-Jaffa 68165)
* Don't count on the situation improving in the near future. Parking annoyances are often a matter of tough luck and are part of city life.
NIS 100 violations: Metered parking without voucher or Easy Park, in preferred parking for permit holders, double- parking, parking near/on an intersection or crosswalk, or in a way that obstructs/delays traffic.
NIS 250 violations: Parking in a bus or taxi station, "No stopping" or "No parking" areas, against specifically posted instructions or with two wheels on the sidewalk.
NIS 500 violations: Parking with four wheels on a sidewalk or two wheels on a sidewalk, leaving less than 130 cm clear for pedestrians, or in a space reserved for handicapped parking.
(BOX #2) Gross mismanagement
Municipal practices have been brought to public attention in recent months by the probe into parking lot owner Reuven Gross, nicknamed "The King of Parking," who is accused of bribing city officials.
In June, Gross was arrested for involvement in a crime organization. The police accused him of money laundering, forgery and bribery. The well-connected businessman is suspected of bribing city officials for information that would help him secure tenders issued by the municipal park lot company, Ahuzat Hof.
Ahuzat Hof CEO Yaakov Meir, city councilor Yeshayahu Drori and Gross's daughter Maya were also arrested in connection with the affair.
The case has also involved the mayors of Ramat Gan, Haifa, and Tel Aviv. The police claim to have enough evidence to indict Bar, and his file has been handed to the state prosecutor. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai were questioned under caution as to whether they received perks from Gross in exchange for political donations. Gross contributed to Huldai's 1998 election campaign.
In late November, the parking lot company Hatzlacha, which owns dozens of lots throughout the country, succeeded over Gross in winning an Ahuzat Hof tender to operate five large car parks in Tel Aviv. Gross had placed his bid for the tenders via a third party.
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