In my last email I asked you about the themes you most wanted to read about in my newsletter. Several of you wrote back saying you like variety, and declined to vote, but most of you did choose.
Here are the results and they are quite conclusive: 63% wanted to read more about Tel Aviv, 29% wanted to hear about my writing life. Not many share my love for finance: only 8% wanted to hear more financial reading.
Last week, I went to the south Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentin to watch a football game in a bar.
Like many southern neighborhoods, Florentin is undergoing a process of gentrification, although it's certainly taking its time. When I first moved to Tel Aviv, back in 1991, Florentin was touted as the next big thing - the best real estate investment ever. Young couples and families were encouraged to move there. The longstanding bustle of Levinsky Market at the eastern edge of the neighborhood, worked in its favor. But it never came to be. Empty commercial slots, dark alleys, and the occasional homeless, make it a scary place for a woman alone. I was comfortable going there because my husband and two grown boys were with me.
But now its bohemian potential is starting to emerge. That scruffiness gives it an authentic air, and part of the charm comes from tons of graffiti. It is the most painted neighborhood in Tel Aviv. I want to talk about a specific piece. I was lucky enough to meet the artist, Victoria, while she was at work, take her pictures, and speak with her.
Victoria is an Israeli/ French painter, and holds creative workshops for other French immigrants. The municipality sanctions her creations, meaning that her paintings are legal and no one washes them off.
When I saw her at work, Victoria was working on a portrait of 24-year-old Tamar Goldenberg, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova Festival on October 7.

Victoria told me that just as she was finishing another project, Tamar’s family approached her. They wanted a happy memory of her, one that would last and bring joy to people. “You were always living in the moment. You didn’t care about anything materialistic… You did what you wanted and what felt right. “ Her sister wrote of Tamar.
Ortal owns a manicure salon in Florentin, and she was a good friend of Tamar’s: she had painted her nails especially for the Nova Festival. The family involved her in their commemoration efforts.
"Why not use this wall?" Ortal suggested, pointing at an ugly empty wall across the street from her nail boutique. Victoria, who had already had dealings with City Hall, volunteered to pave the bureaucratic way.

City Hall agreed to the location, provided the materials and also organized workshops for people who wished to take part in the painting. Victoria showed me where kindergarten children helped color part of the wall.

Tamar’s family wanted a beautiful image, not a dark one. Sunny, bright colors, with flowers everywhere.
I think Victoria nailed it.
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