Tel Aviv Mon Amour

A glimpse of the precarious nature of life in Tel Aviv. Introductory text by Doron Rosenblum
From 1993 to 1995, I spent much time walking the streets of Tel Aviv photographing hundreds of rolls of film while on the go. I did not seek contact with those I photographed. I had a hand-held Canon swinging at the end of my arm with the focus set at around 1.5 meters and the aperture set to allow for the quickest shutter speed possible. In time I became very proficient at “getting the image” I wanted without having to look through the viewfinder. Of course there were loads of “failures” as well. I prepared tiny books from the contact prints, filled with what seemed like interesting topics and images that I wanted to review.
At the time there were tedious ongoing negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders attempting to reach a political agreement. Dissenting extremists on both sides had their way. Bombs exploded on buses in the streets and coffee houses in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere. There were threats to the life of the Israeli PM that were successfully realized by a radical Jew. Talk of war with neighboring Arab countries was ever present. I sensed that my photographs of Tel Aviv had the feel of a shtetl and the theme that coalesced the series of photographs was the existential threat to the Israeli State.
Twenty-five years later I asked an Israeli expert on foreign affairs whether my evaluation of the State at that time was so wrong. After all, today Tel Aviv is filled with expensive high rise buildings as proof of our “permanence.” He assured me that we were still living in denial and that the threat of missiles destroying the State was just as real today.
-- Joel Kantor