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I have some major recommendations on where to go In Tel Aviv:
Old Jaffa. This 5,000-year-old city is now a part of the combined municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, and the old Arab city is visible jutting into the Mediterranean to the south. Jaffa has many artists’ shops, narrow streets, and lots of character. I’m not much of a shopper on Israel trips, but Jaffa has good shopping, so I’m told. In any event, it’s a wonderful place to explore. The view north toward Tel Aviv is gorgeous. Dizengoff Street and Dizengoff Square. This is the “main street” of Israel, a fun place to stroll and people watch. You’ll get a flavor of the mix of Israeli life. A trendier area is in the area of Sheinkin Street, Tel Aviv’s yuppie district. You can also wander down to the Carmel Market, where you’ll really see street-Israel. It’s a great place to watch people and drink in the sights, sounds, and smells. If you're up to it, a great, first day in Tel Aviv is to walk down Dizengoff from the beach hotels, through Dizengoff Square and its unique (if unusually malfunctioning) spinning sculpture, through the Ha-Carmel Market, and then back to the seafront promenade to complete the walk down to Old Jaffa. It\'s a long but gorgeous walk that gives you a flavor of the real city, with lots of great people-watching. You'll be tired and will probably want to take a cab back, but it's a great day. Visit Bet Ha-t’fusot, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Diaspora, on the campus of Tel Aviv University north of the main part of the city. If you are interested in Jewish history in the Diaspora (exile), this is a must. It is one of the most interesting museums I have ever been in. If you are interested in the history of Israel and modern Zionism, there are several interesting stops, easy to walk to from the beach hotels. The first the house of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, on Ben-Gurion Boulevard. This modest home houses many of his and his wife Paula's artifacts, including thousands of books in five languages. One can sense the depth and breadth of the brilliant mind of Israel\'s foremost founder -- as well as the comparatively modest life he led. (This is no Mount Vernon.) From there, you can proceed to Independence Hall, where Ben-Gurion proclaimed the new State of Israel in May 1948, as the armies of five Arab countries prepared to invade to crush it. The room has been preserved just as it was that day, and I found it surprisingly moving. Finally, you may wish to see the Israeli Army Museum, which follows the history of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the country's most well-known institution. The museum follows the history through the pre-State Haganah defense force through the present day, and is well worth a visit. For a look at even more recent (and painful) history, stop at Rabin Square, the site where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated following a peace rally in November 1995. About two weeks later, about a half-million Israelis, one-tenth of the country's entire population, gathered on this site for a memorial concert in honor of this warrior for peace, and this November for the tenth anniversary of this brutal killing, 200,000 gathered there to remember. It is a moving place that marks one of the most terrible events in Israeli history. By Douglas E. Duckett, Attorney-at-Law Cincinnati, Ohio, USA November 2005
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