019 Teachers’ House

Jul 3

With rent prices soaring in the last two decades or so all across Israel, and in Tel Aviv the real estate boom is even more accentuated, calls for rent control or some support for renters in the city have been answered with groundbreaking schemes by the Tel Aviv Municipality. It’s still not as elaborate a solution to help the masses, but it is considered a step in the right direction, somewhat easing the burden for a select group of residents.

The Teachers’ House was opened in 2020 as the first residential building in Tel Aviv to offer rent controlled apartments specifically for teachers. Now, five years have passed and a new group of teachers will be selected by lottery to inhabit 64 apartments for subsidized rent. Only educators working in the city's public schools are allowed to participate in this offering, a creative solution to one of Tel Aviv's most pressing challenges: attracting and retaining quality teachers in a city where the cost of living has skyrocketed beyond the reach of middle-class professionals. The lottery winners will be moving in by August 2026, right before the start of the next school year.

The program offers two bedroom apartments for about 4,000 shekels a month - a fraction of market rates in a city where similar apartments can cost double or triple that amount. When apartments in the Teacher’s House were first rented out five years ago, the area was just starting to become a more attractive part of town. What was once considered the gritty edge of southern Tel Aviv has become a vibrant, sought-after neighborhood. The building sits adjacent to the community country club, with its swimming pools and gym facilities, overlooking a public garden that has become a magnet for families. The area is also right across from the hipster Florentin neighbourhood and the hip Levinsky Market, making teachers who live in the Teachers’ House simply the coolest teachers out there.

I was thinking about the way in which the city can have a more elaborate renting market as I was taking the bus passing by the Teacher’s House and the nearby country club. The buildings’ slik-looking architecture really makes the place stand out. Can this kind of mechanism be copied to help other essential workers, such as firefighters or nurses, to live in the city? An open question for the future.

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 -

The Alberto Hotel stands at the crossroads of Tel Aviv's history and its vibrant present, perfectly positioned on Nachalat Binyamin street, a stone’s throw away from Rothschild Boulevard. This striking property, which opened three years ago, was the first boutique hotel of Israeli hotel chain Isrotel. Unlike the grand hotels of the chain on Tel Aviv’s beachfront, Alberto is rooted in the heart of Little Tel Aviv - the city’s nucleus. The hotel is made up of two buildings that stood here for over a century, originally constructed in the times when Tel Aviv was still a small neighbourhood being developed in the outskirts of the port city of Jaffa.

Every evening, the adjacent Nachalat Binyamin street transforms into a pedestrian mall where restaurants and pubs spill their tables onto the street, creating a lively atmosphere right at the hotel's doorstep. This property features 91 rooms spread across five floors, including suites and ground-floor rooms with jacuzzis. The rooftop pool is a great advantage for visitors coming to Tel Aviv in peak summer, giving you the opportunity to cool off while overlooking the city’s skyline.

After enjoying the hotel's meticulously crafted Israeli breakfast - complete with fresh salads and expertly prepared cappuccinos - you'll be ideally positioned to begin my Gan HaHashmal audio tour. Just a short walk from Alberto, this self-guided exploration reveals one of Tel Aviv's most fascinating transformations. The neighborhood that began as a luxury enclave for the financial elite of 1920’s Tel Aviv descended into urban decay before experiencing its current renaissance as the city's most electrifying district.

As you follow my route through these trendy streets, you'll discover the stories behind each stylish building, understanding how this area earned its name "Electricity Garden", or Gan HaHashmal in Hebrew. The tour unveils layers of local history while guiding you past unique designer shops and fashionable cafes that now define the neighborhood's character. You'll learn how a once-dubious area has been rediscovered and transformed into one of Tel Aviv's most sought-after quarters, where positive vibes emanate from every restored façade and creative space.

You can make sure you've downloaded my Gan HaHashmal 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 Electrifying Story of Gan HaHashmal and Its Architecture

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.

August in Tel Aviv brings the peak of summer heat, with temperatures regularly climbing above 32°C (90°F) and humidity levels that can make even a short walk feel exhausting. Recognizing this challenge, the Tel Aviv Municipality has implemented its program of seasonal shade installations across the city's public spaces. These fabric canopies have already been erected at public plazas across town. Look for these makeshift installments mitigating the urban heat island phenomenon, exacerbating with every passing year of global warming.

Railway Park, the southern edge of Rothschild Boulevard, the plaza at the entrance to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and other public squares filled with pedestrians are among the locations picked for the shading installations. These temporary solutions provide immediate relief for August 2025, but a much larger initiative is on the way to cool off Tel Aviv in 2030 onwards - the “Urban Forest" initiative aims to plant 100,000 trees by the end of the decade, focusing on native shade-giving species and fruit trees suited to the Mediterranean climate.

For those seeking a more substantial escape from the heat, Tel Aviv's museums offer perfectly climate-controlled environments along with world-class exhibitions. In the last two episodes I gave quite an exhaustive list of the best museums to visit while in Tel Aviv, but here’s another list, even more specific, for those coming to the city in August 2025.

At the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, a temporary exhibition called "The Garden", by landscape architect Yael Moria, transforms the gallery into an otherworldly environment. After years of creating real-life landscape projects, including the hallmark Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, the artist’s intent was to create a garden from pure imagination. This immersive installation invites visitors to wander illuminated paths among both natural and artificial vegetation, questioning our relationship with nature in urban settings.

Also at the museum, a deeply personal exhibition "Motherland" by artist Ruth Patir continues to draw crowds and receive highly favorable critiques. This multi-episode video installation documents the artist's journey through fertility preservation following a cancer-risk diagnosis. The viewer is drawn into the storyline which blends ancient archaeology with cutting-edge imaging technology to create a touching exploration of motherhood, medicine and mortality.

Another temporary exhibition is presented at the ANU Museum - the world’s biggest museum dedicated to telling the story of the Jewish People. It’s called "20&20: A Lens of Her Own" and it showcases pioneering women photographers from the early 20th century alongside contemporary female artists. The exhibition rectifies historical oversight, as women photographers were overshadowed in the latter half of the 20th century, as photography became male-dominated. The contemporary section features works by Israeli and international photographers continuing the theme of the female gaze on life.

These exhibitions offer more than just air conditioning, of course - they provide thoughtful engagement with art, specifically women-made art. I recommend structuring a typical August day in Tel Aviv so that right after breakfast, you start the day with a visit to a museum. This should be followed by a mid-day break, when the heat is insufferable, preferably by a swimming pool or on one of Tel Aviv’s beaches.

Exploring the city streets is best done in the late afternoon hours, when locals get back from work and head out for happy hour drinks. Look for pubs offering discounts, mostly between the hours of 5pm to 7pm, after which you can continue to explore the vibrant outdoor culture. One of the more delightful things to do when the day comes to a close is to head out to the promenade and look towards the Mediterranean Sea. Past 7pm in the month of August, a beautiful sunset will await you there.

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.