I moved from Canada to Tel Aviv with my wife and children in 2018, to escape the cold weather. This isn't my first time living in Israel: During the 1990s I explored the religious lifestyle in Jerusalem, then abandoned religion, returned to Toronto and found work as a comedy writer, creating jokes for rising standup comedians in the USA and Canada. I also write comic books (for adults and kids). I decided to create a tour of local terror attack sites in Tel Aviv after being a witness to some of these attacks and personally knowing people who were wounded...and because I currently live right next to the locations where they happened - the tour is simply part of my life. I approach even the darkest subjects with a bit of humour, so you can expect a unique perspective when you walk this tragic path with me.
Tragic Tel Aviv: A walking tour through tragedy, terror - and resilience - on Tel Aviv's most famous street.
During this tour we:
The entire tour takes approximately 55 minutes.
Tour starts at Mikhoels Square (corner of King George / Ben Tsiyon Blvd). In front of the big "MiniMax" dollar store. I will stand there with my green folder and probably a T-shirt with a silly slogan on it. *If you don't see me, or you're arriving a little bit late, my Whatsapp is: +972 52 954 2742 and my name is Jeffrey
Ground zero (with memorial) of the WWII Italian airforce bombing that utterly devastated downtown Tel Aviv and resulted in huge civilian casualties.
Dizengoff Center, the location of a 1996 Purim holiday suicide bombing that targeted children. There's a memorial here, still frequently covered in flowers.
This movie theatre suffered a grenade attack upon the audience during a film screening in 1974, followed by a riot. No memorial here, but I show photos and tell the story.
Just a block from Dizengoff Square, we visit the location of the first-ever major suicide bombing, in 1994, which happened on a bus. There is a memorial here.
The Egyptian airforce bombed a mini-market that stood here in 1948 during one of their many air raids that followed Israel's declaration of independence.
This bar was the site of a New Years day 2016 shooting attack...it's our final stop...but for those interested, the next block further down has another bar that was attacked in a similar manner, and a block after that is a corner where three pedestrians were shot in the head...the tour, sadly, never really ends...
Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).