Toban Black

Lisa Goldman on private, liberal bubbles in a bubble around the city of Tel Aviv, in Israel -

“[In Tel Aviv] most people eschew political discussions these days – mostly out of accumulated weariness and cynicism.”

“Israelis have turned inward – to family and nesting at home. Many of my friends boast they have stopped reading [journalism-]papers and rarely watch television [journalism].

The West Bank and Gaza are out of sight, out of mind. Palestinians from the occupied territories do not come to Israel, and Israelis, who used to shop and eat in the West Bank and Gaza, stopped visiting when the second intifada began in 2000. I am one of the few Israelis who does visit the West Bank quite regularly, but I no longer discuss with my friends what I see there.

I stopped last year when a friend, over cappuccinos at a fashionable neighbourhood cafe, said: “I know it’s bad there, but I feel helpless. And I have to live my life. So I really don’t want to hear the details.” ”

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Those are exerpts from an article that Lisa wrote for The Guardian in February.

Lisa conveys how people in Tel Aviv often are viewed as leftists — despite complacency and disengagement which she highlights.

At the beginning of her article Lisa quotes a prominent Israeli blogger who declares:
“I consider myself a leftist and I was against the Gaza war” –
shortly before quoting that blogger saying this about herself:
“I prefer to bury my head in the sand and ignore it all.”

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A related post at this blog -
“Challenging apathy; engaging and/or changing localities“