Modern Israeli identity and the Mediterranean cultural theme: an exploration into the visual representations of Tel Aviv and the sea∗∗

Abstract

This article is twofold: the first part discusses the emergence and manifestations of Mediterraneanism in Israel. Deploying the tools and methodology of cultural studies it argues that the perception of the Mediterranean as a cultural–political entity in Israel underwent a massive transformation: today, after years of marginalization, the sea is more and more becoming an important element in the formation of Israeliness, a specific Israeli identity. The second part turns to the evolvement of the city of Tel Aviv, which was founded some 100 years ago on the shores of the Mediterranean. A collection of images from the archives of renowned photographers like Boris Carmi, Shimon Korbman, Rudi Weissenstein, Micha Bar-Am and others, who discovered Tel Aviv through the lenses of their cameras, help to visualize the role the Mediterranean played for Israeli consciousness in the formative years. Those visual representations of Tel Aviv and the sea are evaluated within the framework of the contemporary discussion on Yam Tikhoniut (Mediterraneanism) in Israel. The scope of the city’s inner link to the sea is still subject to heated debates among architects, urban planners, historians and journalists. Drawing on extensive field research conducted in Israel it is shown that this discussion of Tel Aviv’s bond to the sea is interconnected with the evolving phenomenon of Yam Tikhoniut in present-day Israel, which centres around the longing to find a ‘natural’ place in order that Israel be accommodated in the region, both culturally and politically.