Tel Aviv Research Articles

When Sammy Gronemann Met Nathan Alterman: The Story of Israel’s Most Successful Comedy

Abstract The essay delves into the intricate German-Jewish authorship and enduring legacy of the iconic Israeli musical, “King Solomon and Shalmai the Cobbler,” which premiered in Tel Aviv in 1943. Following its success, a contentious debate arose, overshadowing Sammy Gronemann’s rightful credit as the playwright, subsequently replaced by the prominence of his Hebrew translator, Nathan Alterman. This essay meticulously examines Gronemann’s pivotal contribution, illuminating his collaborative journey with Alterman from the vibrant cabaret scene of pre-state Tel Aviv to their lasting impact on contemporary Israeli culture and theater. By dissecting their creative partnership, it becomes evident that while Gronemann’s playwright prowess shone brightly and set new standards, Alterman’s adept translation skills bolstered the play’s success, thereby etching its indelible mark in Israeli theatrical history.

“You cannot really live (or die) here” – Ongoing struggles over Muslim cemeteries in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, 1957–2020

The article examines the Muslim community’s struggle to maintain their cemeteries in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and highlights a broader geo-temporal interpretation of the indigenous right-to-the-city. We analyse a succession of mobilizations against sales and demolitions of Muslim cemeteries across the city since the 1950s and investigate how activists recently gained tangible achievements by framing their protest as an urban citizenship mobilization. We show that by utilizing creative spatial performances, applying to municipal governance and stressing their right to use and produce urban space, to participate, and to have their local heritage acknowledged and commemorated, they invoked and reinterpreted right-to-the-city ideas. Their struggle also expanded this agenda, as they did not focus on their living area, but rather advanced claims related to the full city space and its history, and to the customary view of their spaces as 'terra nullius'. In analysing their struggle, we thus contribute to the right-to-the-city literature and agenda, highlight the right for commemoration as part of right to live in the city as equal citizens, and address the promise this case presents for minority ethnic politics.

Walking tours as transcultural memory activism: Referencing memories of trauma and migration to redefine urban belonging

This article maps two grids of city walking tours, conceptualizing them as expressions of transcultural memory activism. The first are walking tours in Berlin, guided by Syrian refugees, which use memorials of local traumatic history to testify to the refugees’ current traumas. The second are walking tours in an impoverished neighbourhood of south Tel Aviv, that inter-weave African asylum seekers’ travelling memories as part of the story of those streets. Analysing these tours, the article probes how references to histories of urban migration and traumatic legacies might inform contemporary political projects asserting the rights of refugees, and redefine the parameters of urban belonging. It therefore proposes a dual theoretical contribution: (1) advancing the transcultural turn in memory studies by paying greater attention to the materiality and performativity of transcultural memory and (2) enhancing research on the agency of refugees by demonstrating how they affect and expand the public memory of the contested national and urban contexts in which they travel or inhabit.

Unresolvation of the Palestine problem — the main threat to regional security

The article analyzes the situation in the Middle East in connection with a new largescale armed confl ict between Israel and radical Islamist groups. The author reminds readers of the origins and causes of the Palestinian-Israeli confl ict and gives a detailed picture of the dynamics of events in the former British mandate territory of Palestine after 1948. The main reason for the ongoing tension in Israel's relations with the Arab and Muslim world is the disregard by the Israeli authorities and the leaders of a number of Arab countries of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly on the creation of the State of Palestine. The ongoing occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanese Shebaa farms by the Israeli armed forces does not help to strengthen confi dence in Tel Aviv on the part of neighboring Arab countries. The author believes that the main goals of the attack on Israel by Hamas militants and Islamic Jihad (banned in the Russian Federation) on October 7, 2023 were, fi rstly, to attract the attention of regional and global players to the Palestinian problem, and secondly, to demonstrate the increased military capabilities of Hamas and the vulnerability of Israel, and thirdly, a slowdown or complete disruption of the process of further normalization of Israel’s relations with Arab countries. In addition, Palestinian radicals believed that a successful military operation against Israel could lead to an increase in fi nancial, economic, political and military assistance to Hamas from its supporters and sponsors. The author notes the growing involvement of a number of regional and extra-regional players in the armed confl ict in the Gaza Strip (Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, Iran, Qatar, Turkey, USA, EU countries). The article also notes the limited capabilities of UN institutions and other international organizations at this stage for a comprehensive and fair Middle East settlement.

Why step in? Shifting justifications for bystander behaviors through interventions with youth in the Middle East.

Research shows positive bystander intervention effectively mitigates bullying experiences. Yet, more evidence regarding bystander responses to bias-based social exclusion (BSE) is needed in intergroup contexts, especially in the majority world and in areas of intractable conflict. This study assessed the effectiveness of skills and skills + contact-based interventions for BSE among 148 Palestinian Citizens of Israel (Mage = 10.55) and 154 Jewish-Israeli (Mage = 10.54) early adolescents (Girls = 52.32%) in Tel Aviv-Yafo. Bystander responses were assessed by participants' reactions to hypothetical BSE scenarios over three time points. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed both interventions significantly increased positive and decreased negative bystander responses, with changes maintained at the follow-up. The opposite result pattern emerged for the control group. Findings suggest that both interventions can effectively encourage youth to publicly challenge BSE, even amidst intractable conflict.

Migrant-serving organizations and urban citizenship-making in times of crisis: Copenhagen, Berlin and Tel Aviv compared

ABSTRACT The role of civil society actors in urban citizenship had been recently examined by scholars. This article provides an investigation of how such actors interfaced with the local state during the pandemic to facilitate migrants’ urban citizenship, namely their place-based rights and resources. It focuses on migrant-serving organizations (MSOs), which are understood as key agents of migrant urban citizenship-making. Drawing on empirical research in Berlin, Copenhagen, and Tel Aviv, we argue that while the three cities were impacted by similar national responses to the pandemic, varied local governance contexts, in conjunction with national migrant regimes, resulted in different urban responses. These differences were characterized by the distinct mediation practices of MSOs: bricolaging, bridging and building. While our article brings a more nuanced understanding of how urban citizenship landscapes are (re)produced in times of crises, the act of identifying and describing the three modes of mediation practices contributes to the theorization of the ways in which civil society helps to shape urban citizenship.

The Concept of the 'Neighbourhood' in Crime and Place Theory and Its Influence on Police Strategy

The neighbourhood is a basic unit in police work in the city. Throughout the twentieth and twenty- first centuries, theories of crime and place conceptualized the neighbourhood differently; some emphasized sociological aspects, while others focused on physical aspects. Each theory offers different practices for crime reduction and police action strategies in neighbourhoods. This paper shows how the police implement different strategies in a neighbourhood in South Tel Aviv. It argues that the diversity of approaches increases the range and areas of police intervention in the neighbourhood and empowers their control and effect on place. It indicates the dominance of physical and microgeographical approaches over sociological approaches. Methodologically, this paper uses a three-pronged approach: 1. In-depth interviews with police officers and other dominant actors in space; 2. Ethnographic work with the urban police; and 3. Spatial analysis of policework in the neighbourhood. The conclusion discusses the consequences and shortcomings of the current paradigm in policing and suggests three directions as departure points for new thinking on crime and neighbourhoods: rethinking scale; reassessing the subject of concern; and readdressing the entanglement between crime and space.

Emplacement and Emplotment: Media Production in Pandemic Times

Places matter, despite the discursive hype of virtual making or remote locations, in showing the ways that production is a process nested within social worlds. In 2020, global Hollywood promoted a “COVID-friendly ideal” in order to return to work during widespread lockdowns and work stoppages. Yet by focusing comparatively on the stories that film and television workers told about production during COVID, we argue that crisis stories reveal much about the specificity of places in studying production cultures. To illustrate, we compare workers’ pandemic stories as evidence of emplacement in national hierarchies and emplotment in local power dynamics. Drawing on a corpus of seventy interviews conducted in Tel Aviv, Israel and New Orleans, USA in 2020 and 2021, we show that production cultures provide ample critique of normative tales that media industries promote about themselves and their workforces.

Parental Involvement of African Migrants in Multicultural Israeli Education Settings

This study aimed to examine the cultivation of mutual and beneficial relationships between educators and African asylum-seeker parents, focusing on the first level of Hoover-Dempsey’s parental involvement model, in Tel Aviv, Israel. This qualitative–phenomenological research allows the personal and authentic voices of fifteen educators and twenty parents to be heard. The findings indicate, on the one hand, differences between educators and parents when it comes to the meanings and roles of parental involvement. However, this involvement depends mainly on educators overcoming a feeling of racial–national superiority. Despite parents’ wishes to cooperate, their involvement is limited because involvement requires financial resources, free time, and the ability to communicate in the dominant language.

“All we do has humans at its heart”: Linguistic Landscape’s Value in Scholarship and Pedagogy

Four prominent Linguistic Landscape (LL) scholars reflect on the value of LL research and its utility in education. Elana Shohamy is a Professor Emerita in the Multilingual Education program at Tel Aviv University. She has carried out extensive research on language policy, language testing, and LL, with a recent focus on injustices in the public space. David Malinowski is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Language Development at San José State University. His recent work focuses on education, language pedagogy and learning, and intersections between these areas and LL. Amiena Peck is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Linguistics at the University of the Western Cape. She has led innovative research in skinscapes, with a recent focus on autoethnography. Robert Blackwood is a Professor of French Sociolinguistics at the University of Liverpool. His recent work examines processes of memorialization in postcolonial Africa.

“Etudes About Tel Aviv”: The Image of Tel Aviv from the Perspective of Russian-Speaking Repatriates

The article offers an analysis of the collection Ėtiudy o Telʹ-Avive [Etudes about Tel Aviv], which was published in Russian in 2004 and edited by Sonia Chesnina and Leonid Finkelʹ. The study attempts to show the image of the city of Tel Aviv from the perspective of Russian-speaking repatriates. The author treats the analysed texts as non-fiction prose, expressing authentic migration experiences and problems. In those texts, Tel Aviv exists as a city-myth, a city of culture, and a place where a new identity is born and shaped. The analysis allows us to conclude that Etudes about Tel Aviv is not only a text about urban space. It is primarily a cultural text, a place of literary search for knowledge about its inhabitants’ culture, history, and identity. If we look at the relationship between geography and literature, the text (Etudes about Tel Aviv) and the city (Tel Aviv) constitute a “common territory”.

Assessment of intraocular pressure changes following intravitreal injections of three anti-VEGF agents

PurposeIntravitreal injection (IVI) of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents has emerged as the primary treatment for prevalent retinal diseases. Despite its efficacy, IVI may induce intraocular pressure elevation due to vitreous fluid shifts. This study aims to compare the effects of three distinct anti-VEGF agents on intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation within a single clinic setting. DesignA prospective study, conducted at a single retinal clinic in a tertiary medical center (Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Tel-Aviv, Israel). MethodsPatients receiving 3 different anti VEGF medications; bevacizumab, aflibercept, and ranibizumab, were examined. IOP was measured pre- and post-injection using an iCare Pro-tonometer. Demographic parameters and ocular characteristics were collected. ResultsThe study included 195 patients (average age 76.13 years; 100 males, 95 females). The medications administered were aflibercept (N = 70, 35 %), bevacizumab (N = 73, 37.4 %), and ranibizumab (N = 52, 26.7 %). In patients with a normal baseline intraocular pressure, no significant variance was observed in the post-injection versus pre-injection pressure change (delta) across medications. Conversely, in patients with higher pressure (>20 mmHg), aflibercept incited a more substantial increase than bevacizumab or ranibizumab. No correlation emerged between the pressure rise and age or lens status. ConclusionsNo significant difference was found in the increase of intraocular pressure following injection among different medications in patients with low-normal intraocular pressure. However, for patients prone to higher baseline pressure, caution is recommended with aflibercept due to a more pronounced increase. Further research is essential to comprehend the factors influencing pressure increase and their associated clinical implications.

Conflict, gender and ontological security-seeking between Eritrea and Tel Aviv

ABSTRACT The proliferating research in ontological security (OS) studies explores how irregular situations of ‘radical disjuncture’ remove the protective cocoon of routinised trust relations that enables the actors to ‘bracket out’ daily threats and dangers. Following this loss of trust, the actors perform a variety of OS-seeking strategies in their attempts to re-establish their lost trust in themselves and their surroundings. But how do disempowered actors in global politics, who suffer multiple marginalities and flee states that turn against their own citizens, seek ontological security (OS)? Focusing on Eritrean asylum-seeking women in southern Tel-Aviv, we rely on ‘thick’ ethnographic data to demonstrate how even when statist violence is the norm, the quest for OS persists in unexpected ways. Adding new insight to the growing research on trust and OS in international relations (IR) and security studies, the article exposes the multiple emerging OS-seeking strategies that thrive in the developing spaces of global politics, while shedding new light on the gendered politics of migration.

Examining Crime-Specific and Crime-General Theories of Crime Causation at Place: The Case of Property and Violent Crime on Street Segments in Tel Aviv-Yafo

AbstractWe use data on street segments in Tel Aviv-Yafo to examine whether general or specific crime factors are key to understanding crime rates on street segments. We pose two questions. (1) What causal factors explain the property and violent crimes at the same locations? (2) What are the differences and similarities between the risk factors of the two crime types? Our study capitalizes on data drawn from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) to identify social and opportunity data at the street segment level. The dependent variable is the average counts of violent and property crimes in Tel Aviv-Yafo between 2010 and 2014. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression explains violent and property crime variations. While many of the significant factors that explain crime are similar between the two crime types, there are also distinct criminogenic factors predicting violent and property crime. Overall, our results support the position of common or general crime causes at places, but at the same time, they suggest the importance of understanding specific causes for specific crime types.

Conference on Research and Innovations in Science and Technology of Material (CRISTMAS 2023)

École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris, ParisTech, France13-15 December 2023This collection focuses on the recent innovations in Materials Science and advanced characterisations methods presented at the Conference on research and Innovations in Science and Technology CRISTMAS 2023. It covers topics ranging from advances in the most critical aspects in chemistry and material fabrication of nanomaterials, to the engineering of prototype devices and systems. Editorial Board: • Anna Baldycheva, University of Exeter, UK • Pavel Ginzburg, Tel Aviv University, Israel • Alexander Gumennik, Indiana University, USA • Andrei Gorodetsky, University of Birmingham, UK Scientific and Organising Committee: Anna Baldycheva, University of Exeter, UK Andrei Gorodetsky, University of Birmingham, UK Jèrome Tignon, Sorbonne University & Ècole Normale Superieure, France Pavel Ginzburg, Tel Aviv University, Israel Alexander Gumennik, Indiana University, USA Ben Hogan, Queen’s University, Canada Iveta Steblevska, Queen’s University, Canada Hani Bahrum, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Therapeutic drug monitoring in pregnancy: Levetiracetam.

Levetiracetam (LEV) is an antiseizure medication that is mainly excreted by the kidneys. Due to its low teratogenic risk, LEV is frequently prescribed for women with epilepsy (WWE). Physiological changes during gestation affect the pharmacokinetic characteristics of LEV. The goal of our study was to characterize the changes in LEV clearance during pregnancy and the postpartum period, to better plan an LEV dosing paradigm for pregnant women. This retrospective observational study incorporated a cohort of women who were followed up at the epilepsy in pregnancy clinic at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center during the years 2020-2023. Individualized target concentrations of LEV and an empirical postpartum taper were used for seizure control and to reduce toxicity likelihood. Patient visits took place every 1-2 months and included a review of medication dosage, trough LEV blood levels, week of gestation and LEV dose at the time of level measurement, and seizure diaries. Total LEV concentration/dose was calculated based on LEV levels and dose as an estimation of LEV clearance. A total of 263 samples were collected from 38 pregnant patients. We observed a decrease in LEV concentration/dose (C/D) as the pregnancy progressed, followed by an abrupt postpartum increase. Compared to the 3rd trimester, the most significant C/D decrease was observed at the 1st trimester (slope = .85), with no significant change in the 2nd trimester (slope = .11). A significant increase in C/D occurred postpartum (slope = 5.23). LEV dose was gradually increased by 75% during pregnancy compared to preconception. Average serum levels (μg/mL) decreased during pregnancy. During the postpartum period, serum levels increased, whereas the LEV dose was decreased by 24%, compared to the 3rd trimester. LEV serum level monitoring is essential for WWE prior to and during pregnancy as well as postpartum. Our data contribute to determining a rational treatment and dosing paradigm for LEV use during both pregnancy and the postpartum period.

BlastAssist: a deep learning pipeline to measure interpretable features of human embryos.

BlastAssist: a deep learning pipeline to measure interpretable features of human embryos.

The ability of a handheld near-infrared spectrometer to do a rapid quality assessment of bovine colostrum, including the immunoglobulin G concentration

Portable infrared-based instruments have made significant contributions in different research fields. Within the dairy supply chain, for example, most of portable devices are based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and are nowadays an important support for farmers and operators of the dairy sector, allowing fast decision-making, particularly for feed and milk quality evaluation and animal health and welfare monitoring. The affordability, portability, and ease of use of these innovative devices have been pivotal factors for the implementation in dairy farms. In fact, pocket-sized devices enable non-expert users to perform quick, low cost and non-destructive analysis on various samples without complex preparation. As bovine colostrum (BC) quality is mostly given by the Ig G (IgG) level, evaluating the ability of portable NIRS tools to measure antibodies concentration is advisable. In this study we used the wireless device SCiO manufactured by Consumer Physics Inc. (Tel Aviv, Israel) to collect BC spectra and then attempt to predict IgG concentration and gross and fine composition in individual samples collected as soon as possible after calving (<6 h) in primiparous and pluriparous Holstein cows farmed in 9 Italian farms. Chemometric analyses revealed that SCiO has promising predictive performance for colostral IgG concentration, total Ig concentration, fat, and AA (R2CV ≥ 0.75). Excellent accuracy was observed for dry matter, protein, and S prediction in cross-validation and good prediction ability in external validation (R2CV ≥ 0.93; R2V ≥ 0.82). Nonetheless, SCiO's ability to discriminate between good- and low-quality samples was satisfactory. The affordable cost, the accurate predictions, and the user-friendly design coupled with the increased interest in colostrum quality within the dairy sector may boost the collection of extensive BC data for management and genetic purposes in the near future.

Trends in contact sensitization, results, and implications from a contact dermatitis clinic in Israel.

The baseline series includes common allergens, evolves over time, and differs by location. Our study aims to characterize allergen sensitization trends among the Israeli population during the last two decades, compare our results to American and European registries, as well as to highlight significant allergens in additional series outside the European baseline series (OEBS). We analysed patch test results of 2086 patients from a designated contact dermatitis clinic in Tel Aviv between 2019 and 2022, compared them to European and North American registries and to 2156 patch test results conducted in Israel two decades ago. 38.6% of patients had at least one positive reaction to an allergen in the European baseline series (EBS), nickel sulphate (14.6%), fragrance mix I (4.6%), and Methylchloroisothiazolinone methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI; 3.7%) were the most common among them. N-Isopropyl N-Phenyl-4-Phenylenediamine (NIPPD; 0%), Propolis (0.1%), Sesquiterpene lactone mix (0.1%), and Budesonide (0.1%) elicited a sensitization frequency significantly lower than the proposed threshold for baseline inclusion. Chi-square test revealed a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05) in the sensitization frequency of fragrance mix I, Formaldehyde, Potassium dichromate, Neomycin sulphate, Myroxylon pereirae, Sesquiterpene lactone, and NIPPD during the last two decades. The overall sensitization frequency to the majority of allergens was lower in our cohort in comparison to the North American and European registries. MCI/MI and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-2 (HEMA) are common, relevant allergens, with high SPIN (significance and prevalence index number) and should be better regulated by the authorities. While among the EBS, NIPPD, Propolis, Sesquiterpene lactone, and Budesonide usually do not elicit a positive reaction and therefore should be reconsidered in baseline series, among the OEBS, Chloramphenicol, Quaternium 15, Propyl gallate, and Amerchol L101 have elicited high SPIN values and should be vigilantly examined in the suitable clinical scenario. Significantly lower sensitization frequency to propolis raises the possibility of a protective effect due to early oral exposure among the Israeli population.

Place-oriented digital agency: Residents’ use of digital means to enhance neighbourhood change

The smart city literature mostly focusses on digital initiatives from above. However, digitalisation also reshapes the city from below. Residents use digital means and platforms to empower their agency in the city. This paper aims to explore how residents utilise digital tools to activate their agency and influence local politics. The paper focusses on one neighbourhood in the city of Tel Aviv where different groups of residents struggle to promote their desired political-spatial vision. The main question is whether digitalisation produces new forms of agency on the neighbourhood scale. The paper argues that: (1) digitalisation provides residents with new forms of connective action, creating digital networks at different scales, using representational practices and forming new spaces for political negotiation; (2) through these practices, they manage to influence the symbolic and political status of the neighbourhood and reframe the struggle over its character and future; (3) groups with higher digital agency gain wider visibility of their claims and needs with politicians, the media and public officials. Importantly, this does not only serve middle-class groups. (4) Ultimately, residents become predominant political actors through digital agency. Methodologically, this paper includes two methods: (i) interviews with residents and municipal workers and (ii) social media analysis and online ethnography. The conclusion elaborates the concept of place-oriented digital agency as a particular type of agency aimed at determining change in a specific locale.