July 26 Tel Aviv
— Tel Aviv experience
— A crowded city lit all hours of the night
— New municipal swimming pools all over|
— Only $1.80 for a full course meat meal
Bob meets and chats with a visiting UN soldier in Tel Aviv
July 26, 1957 Friday, (just before Shabbos)
Dear Mom, Dad and Alan,
Spent yesterday in Tel Aviv. Visited Gutkin’s relatives and Georges cousin. They were real nice, as everyone has been so far. The food is very very good and there is plenty of it. Tel Aviv is beautiful and crowded, lit all hours of the night. New municipal pools are all over and I made use of a nice one near the sea.
Last night. I ate a full course meat meal for the cost of $1.80 American money including tip soda etc. There are so many things to say that all I will say is I pray to G-D we could all be here together this summer. All of you are with me in spirit anyhow. I just got Daddy’s letter written last week. (the day I left ) What happened to the car? I feel terrible if it was my fault on Bay Parkway on July 19 .
Missing all of you
Your Loving son & Alans Pal,
Bob
ירחמיאל Yerachmiel (written in Hebrew)
P.S . I never felt prouder that I can speak Hebrew than now
Comments:
July 26, 1957 Friday (just before Shabbos)
“Spent yesterday in Tel Aviv. Visited Gutkin’s relatives”
My mother, Elaine Jacobs recalls: “While in Tel Aviv, we visited with friends of Bob’s parents, the Gutkin’s. It was around 8:30 PM and they told us we had already missed the last bus to Jerusalem. They invited us to sleep over, and gave us a room thinking that we were brother and sister. I said “oh no” – and Bob wound up sleeping on the mirpeset (porch).”
“Tel Aviv is beautiful and crowded and lit all hours of the night. “
My parents didn’t understand why the bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem did not run all hours of the night if the city was so crowded and bustling. I later found out that buses stopped traveling after 8:30 PM because of security considerations. In August 1956, Arab terrorists ambushed an Israeli Egged bus from Tel Aviv to Eilat murdering eleven Israelis. Because of such attacks, Israel escorted certain bus routes with jeep patrols, and public transportation was shut down early.
Today, buses from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem run until 2 AM in the morning.
“New municipal pools are all over and I made use of a nice one near the sea.”
My father is probably referring to the Gordon Pool, which is an Olympic sized, salt-water swimming pool built in Tel Aviv in 1956 alongside the beach.
Public swimming pools in the 1950’s were modest and blended in the surrounding scenery. Admission was free. In those days, Israel had a huge water shortage and many pools were salt water.
Today, it is still a salt water pool but gets its water by drilling 150 meters below the land surface. Currently, it is part of commercial complex and admission in 2012 is 65 shekels for an adult.
