015 Rebound on the River

Jun 5

A few weeks ago, Tel Aviv celebrated yet another sports achievement, with Hapoel Tel Aviv Basketball Club winning the EuroCup championship for the first time in its history. Players of the team, nicknamed “The Red Devils” for their red outfits and fierce attitude, defeated Gran Canaria 103:94 in Spain, thus securing their first trophy in decades. For Hapoel Tel Aviv, this marks their first title after many barren years - their last championship was in 1969, and their last cup victory came in 1993. Beyond breaking the trophy drought, this victory qualifies Hapoel to the prestigious EuroLeague next season.

Amazingly, the next season will see not just Hapoel Tel Aviv, but also Maccabi Tel Aviv’s basketball club. Two teams, so great, they will both play against the most competitive teams in Europe, and… against each other. Basketball fans across Israel, and in Tel Aviv specifically, can’t wait to see this unprecedented situation where two teams from Tel Aviv will play it out on the court in Europe's biggest basketball tournament.

50-year-old businessman Ofer Yanai, who purchased HaPoel Tel Aviv less than two years ago, rebuilt the basketball team with daring moves, which now can be described as successful. After making his fortune in renewable energy, Yanai approached basketball with the same business mindset - seeing challenges as potential gains. For years, Israeli basketball was dominated by the yellow team of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and it was time to break that dominance with an ever more competitive red team of Hapoel Tel Aviv. This approach created a healthy competition in Israeli basketball, elevating the entire sport.

I was thinking about this remarkable achievement while passing by Ussishkin Street near HaYarkon River, where fans had gathered in spontaneous celebration at the site of Hapoel's old home court. Twenty years have passed since the place was demolished in a controversial move, but fans still remember where the club had struggled to sustain itself. Finally, the efforts of players - and fans, of course - materialized in the form of an amazing rebound. The area by the river was awash in red, with supporters waving flags, lighting torches and singing victory songs, while drivers passing by honked their car horns late into the night - truly celebrating sportsmanship glory.

My name is Tomer Chelouche and I've been guiding tours in Tel Aviv since 2008. I started out of fascination with my family history - the Chelouche family was one of the founding families of Tel Aviv. My ancestors built this city - and I'm telling its story.

The best way to get to know Tel Aviv better is by purchasing one of my audio tours. Here's one way to do just that -

Bachar House Hotel offers a luxurious accommodation experience in a beautifully preserved early 20th century building right in the heart of Rothschild Boulevard. This architectural gem was originally designed by Yehuda Leib Magidovitch, Tel Aviv's first city engineer, in the eclectic style prevalent in 1920’s Tel Aviv.

Each of the hotel's 25 rooms features custom furniture crafted to match the luxurious style of the Bachar family, who called this place home more than a century ago. The hotel's prime location, on 22 Rothschild Boulevard, puts you steps away from popular cultural sites, restaurants, shopping areas, and the urban atmosphere of Tel Aviv. If you stay here, perhaps after indulging in a Swedish massage at the hotel’s dimly illuminated spa, you'll take a five minute walk to the starting point of my Trail of Independence audio tour.

This historical walking tour traces the origins of modern Tel Aviv as we follow in the footsteps of founding figures like David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel, and Meir Dizengoff, first Mayor of Tel Aviv. We'll stroll along Rothschild Boulevard, exploring the Israeli Trail of Independence and uncovering the incredible story of the first Jewish city in the world, founded in 1909, which has evolved into the heart of the Startup Nation, and now - hometown of not only one, but two Euroleague basketball teams.

Walking on the Trail with my audio guidance, you'll discover the secrets behind the preserved houses, including the Hall of Independence where the State of Israel was founded, as well as the Hagana Museum, where the Israeli Defence Forces started to take shape. You'll learn fascinating details about how Tel Aviv was born out of the sea, who served as the city's first sheriff, why the first school in Tel Aviv vanished, what life was like during the city's early years, and how the narratives of Israel and Tel Aviv intertwine at critical historical junctures.

You can make sure you've downloaded my Trail of Independence audio tour before you head out, or you can download it on the go if you're set with a data package allowing for uninterrupted internet access. There's a link in the show notes to purchase my audio tour -

The Trail of Independence: Tracing the origins of modern Tel Aviv

If you have any questions - you’ll find all the ways to contact me on telaviv.tours (telaviv as one word, no space, no hyphen) and there’s a link in the show notes for your digital convenience.

May in Tel Aviv has truly been a cultural extravaganza that showcases the cultural vibrancy of the city. The streets have been buzzing with festival energy, from the thought-provoking documentaries screened at DocAviv film festival to the culinary delights of Tel Aviv Eat food festival. Last month Tel Aviv also hosted its annual Fresh Paint art festival, exhibiting local young talent and the Houses from Within festival of interior design, architecture and urban planning with events taking place in more than two hundred locations. The city also joined international celebrations, such as Star Wars Day on May the Fourth, Victory Day on May 9th commemorating the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, as well as International Museum Day and the annual Jane’s Walks festival of free, community-led walking tours.

The warm weather is ideal for open air events and for walking around town, so no wonder everything is squeezed into this short time slot right before summer brings in the heat. Festival season in Tel Aviv will climax on June 13th with the 2025 edition of Tel Aviv Pride. As temperatures rise and festival season comes to an end, the sea bathing season will take over. Here’s a short guide to Tel Aviv’s beach culture. But first - a bit of history…

In April 1909, the sixty founding families of Tel Aviv gathered on the sandy plot of land that they had purchased together. Kids were sent beforehand to the beach to gather seashells - white seashells and black seashells. In the white ones they wrote down the names of the families. In the black ones they wrote down the numbers of the lots of land, as they were parceled out on a map. The founders of Tel Aviv convened on a fine spring day, on the plot of land that they had purchased together, to draw a lottery - one kid drew out a white seashell and another - a black seashell. That’s how each family was allocated with its part of the lot, on top of which they built their new home. That’s how Tel Aviv was founded, born out of the sea! By the way, you’ll hear what happened next on my Trail of Independence audio tour.

Interestingly, the first Tel Avivians planned their city a bit further away from the coastline, considering the exposure to the salty winds a nuisance. Later on, city leaders saw the advantages of the sandy beachfront and already in the 1920’s it was designed as a destination for relaxation with a long promenade running along the beach, dotted with bathhouses, hotels, restaurants, cafes and clubs. A century later, Tel Aviv not only kept that vision, but took it even further, as National Geographic Magazine included the city in its list of top ten beach cities, along with Barcelona, Rio De Janeiro and Sydney, to name a few.

Tel Aviv boasts fourteen kilometers of golden sand beaches - that’s almost ten miles. With so much built up area and so little nature in this ever growing metropolis, the coastline is the city’s greatest natural resource. Nine million visitors a year are estimated to come and take in the breeze, bathe in the waters of the Mediterranean and spot birds flying overhead. And with three hundred days of sunshine a year, almost every day is as good a day to hit the beach. It’s a perfect setting for a family excursion, a romantic background for a couple’s getaway, but at its core - Tel Aviv’s coastline fits any individual just coming over to relax.

Locals laughingly say that there are really just two seasons in Tel Aviv: summer and not-summer. Characterized by its Mediterranean climate, summer is hot and humid. From June through September, temperatures regularly climb above 30°C (86°F). The heat isn’t unheard of, but the humidity is what can be challenging for those not accustomed to it. I recommend planning for indoor activities during the peak heat hours from noon to 3 pm. Spending lunchtime next to the pool or at the beach is the best course of action, so exploring the streets can be scheduled for morning hours or afternoon.

If you're visiting Tel Aviv during the summer months, lightweight clothing is all you need, along with sunscreen, sunglasses, and a refillable water bottle. To fill up your bottle, water fountains can be found in all beaches of the city, but if you have to buy water in a disposable plastic bottle, you can purchase one in all kiosks operating on the beachfront for a controlled price. That’s important because some vendors on the beach will offer you stuff for a steep price, so now you know that there’s an alternative.

All the beaches of Tel Aviv are splendid, but they’re not all the same. Among the thirteen declared beaches, there's a beach for surfers and other sea sports enthusiasts. There's a beach for the LGBTQ+ community. There's a beach for dogs, actually more than one, and their humans, of course. And there's also a beach for ultra-orthodox Jews with different bathing times for men and women, for religious reasons. So, there's room for everyone.

Gordon Beach, located at the end of Gordon Street, is one of the most popular and well-equipped, with volleyball courts that attract both serious players and amateurs looking for fun. It’s also right next to the Gordon pool, which locals are really crazy about. For families with children, I always recommend Metzitzim Beach in the northern part of the city. Its sheltered bay creates calmer waters that are safer for young swimmers. The Jerusalem Beach is favored by locals who come here to either bathe in the waters or surf the waves. The Manta Ray Beach, right beside Old Jaffa, has electronic music busting from speakers in the afternoon, so that’s the one for clubbers.

All official beaches have lifeguard stations - you’ll notice these wooden structures on the seafront. A white flag on top of the lifeguard station means that the sea is calm and swimming is safe. A red flag means you should be more cautious than usual due to rough seas. A black flag - swimming is prohibited due to dangerous water currents. For your safety, it is best to always swim when there are lifeguard services.

The city’s official announcement for the commencement of sea bathing season 2025 mentions that lifeguard services during June will run from 7:15am through 5:45pm seven days a week, while July and August will see one additional hour, with lifeguard services finishing at 6:45pm. This means you’ll be able to bathe in the waters of the Mediterranean almost until sunset, roughly 8pm in the beginning of July and around 7pm in the last days of August.

The official announcement also mentioned the city’s continued commitment to the environment, with another push for a sustainability program to ban single-use plastics on the beach, and earning the prestigious Blue Flag environmental certification. To make sure all are welcome at Tel Aviv’s beaches, now all official bathing areas were adapted to offer full accessibility for people with disabilities and designated beaches are now equipped with a navigation system for visually impaired beach-goers. Moreover, the "Safe Beach" initiative launches this summer to provide lifeguards with gender equality training.

Beaches are also equipped with outdoor showers and changing facilities, in which you can also find storage lockers (some are still operated with a 5 Shekel coin, but some are now electronically operated). You can also rent a sunlounger, a beach chair and parasol for the entire day. Paying for the beach furniture is now completely electronic - done through an automated machine or with a dedicated app, called Tel Aviv Beaches (I put a link in the show notes to download the app). The price for beach furniture is controlled and service is provided by the municipality, making sure it’s affordable to all (a sunlounger for 20 Shekels, a beach chair for 10 Shekels and a parasol for 10 Shekels). By the way - Tel Aviv residents pay even less (enjoying a 60% discount) and Israel Defense Forces personnel are offered ten beach furniture rentals free of charge as gratitude for their service. Beach attendants are wearing orange shirts with Tel Aviv’s distinct circular logo and they’ll be the ones to help you out, if you require any assistance, with installing a parasol, for example.

In each beach you’ll find a restaurant or a kiosk or both. You can sit down for a whole meal or grab a quick bite and cold drink, but prices tend to be high. The city got you covered for necessities, such as a bottle of water, a popsicle and a light meal - the prices of which are controlled by the city, to make sure that at least some basic items sold on the beach are affordable.

You’ll also notice the beach libraries scattered in several locations, allowing you to borrow books and read while sunbathing. Just pick up a book and bring it back when you’re finished. Just in case the selection isn’t what you favour, I recommend bringing your own reading material. It's a uniquely Tel Avivian pleasure to lie on the sand with a good book, occasionally looking up to watch the endless parade of paddleball players (known locally as 'matkot') along the shoreline.

The beaches are also popular during night time hours with some pubs and restaurants operating after sunset. Volleyball and footvolley courts also operate with artificial lighting with players opting for the evening hours when it's not terribly hot to play an outdoors game. The promenade along the beach is filled with joggers and bicycle riders all hours of the day, some for fun and some as part of their professional training program, so anyone can fit right in.

Thanks for listening and you’ll hear from me again when the next episode comes out next week.Until then - I am Tel Aviv tour guide Tomer Chelouche, signing off and hoping to see you soon in Tel Aviv.