Tel Aviv reminded me a lot of a weird mix of Miami and Los Angeles…
The second largest city in Israel, it is definitely the most modern and, as home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as well as numerous corporate offices and R&D centers, is the most economically significant.
Secular and cosmopolitan, Tel Aviv is also well known for its 24-hour culture incorporating the city’s beaches, bars, restaurants, cafes, parks and shopping.
The Shlomo Lahat Promenade separates the beaches from the city of Tel Aviv and is a nice spot to walk and do everything else that people do in such places… The great weather (more than 300 sunny days a year) doesn’t hurt its popularity either:
Along the beach:
Tel Aviv’s marina:
The conflicts in the Middle East seem a long way off when in such a setting, but the waterfront pictured above took a hit from suicide bombings during the Second Intifada. And, rest assured, during any future conflict with Hezbollah and/or Iran, Tel Aviv will be a prime target.
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Tell me this doesn’t look like South Beach in Miami? Some of the homes and hotels lining the beach:
It’s all a long way removed from the scenes in these early pictures of Jaffa, no?
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 by the Jewish Community of Jaffa on the outskirts of the ancient port city. The growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa and Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950.
Naturally, given the part of the world that it is in, Jaffa has an extensive history and was conquered by everyone from the Romans to the Crusaders to the Ottomans…
Of note to our Italian readers, Tel Aviv was a major target of the Italian Bombing of Palestine in World War II.
The Velvet Rocket 
Yeap, looks a lot like Miami although the weather is way better in Tel Aviv. I liked the photo of the guys having an interesting conversation :)
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So it’s Palestine if the Italians bombed it but it’s Israel if Jews are murdering Palestinians and taking their land.
I see.
Study your history. The area now known as Israel was called Palestine (under British control) during World War II. So, yes, the Italians bombed Palestine during World War II. Today, the same place is Israel. That is a fact of history and has nothing to do with supporting or not supporting Israel and its policy toward Palestinians in the West Bank.