Tel Aviv is too often looked down on as a secular city empty of Jewish identity or values. I find this far from being true. Tel Aviv was founded on a Jewish spirit that is as relevant today as ever: on the dream of living a 100% Jewish life and at the same time living the best worldly life possible. The custom of showing one’s seriousness by the amount of one’s suffering is not the game here. The leaders of last summer’s social revolution felt no conflict when they ordered sushi to eat in their tents. And in these tense days — going down to the same shelter in which I sat as a child in the Six Day War, this time with my children who themselves are soldiers — I am hopeful because at night coffee houses, theater, and seminars are open. Tel Aviv is not a bubble; it is a real, low cholesterol frontier.

Ruth Calderon is head of the culture and education department at the National Library of Israel.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT