Founded in 1909 near the ancient city of Jaffo, Tel Aviv has evolved into modern Israel’s cultural capital. On Friday afternoon the festivities began with singing, dancing, and costumes in the streets. Clowns pulled in pig-tailed girls to dance a newly composed song for Tel-Aviv’s birthday as men on stilts made balloons and crowds surrounded acrobats and magicians.
Saturday night, 250,000 people gathered at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv for a huge concert with fireworks, unique dances, and videos of the first pioneers standing on sand dunes, the very land that was soon to become skyscrapers. Many (wisely) stood and watched from their balconies and rooftops at one of Israel’s pivotal moments in history as it celebrated 100 years of Tel-Aviv’s existence and what I hope to be an eternal future for the Jewish people.
