The Hamas terror attack of 7 October 2023 has had profound consequences in Israel, Gaza and beyond. This film asks how those in Tel Aviv have reacted to the subsequent war, and what they expect the future will bring.
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00:00We are in war, in the south and the north.
00:26It's a lose-lose situation, this whole war.
00:35Nothing is obvious anymore.
00:38Not even the state of Israel.
00:50That's me, Kai Steinecke, in the summer of 2023.
00:53A German guy from Berlin on his first ever visit to Israel.
00:58Just a few months before the Hamas terror attack on October 7th.
01:04My colleague Shani Daphne Goldstein is a presenter in Tel Aviv and took me on a tour of her city.
01:11In a multi-part series, we were hoping to showcase Tel Aviv's lifestyle, exploring
01:16its seemingly carefree nightlife, its fascinating food art and culture, and learning about queer
01:24life in the city.
01:27I sensed great freedom here at the time.
01:31Tel Aviv, with its lifestyle full of pleasures, was one of the best cities in the world to
01:36party, known as the capital of cool.
01:41On our trip, we got to know some fascinating people.
01:45A year later, after the Hamas attack and during the war, we went back to visit them.
01:50At the beginning, I thought it was the wind whistling.
02:14Hundreds of rockets were shot to Tel Aviv, to the south, all over the place.
02:22My friend, who is also a survivor of terrorism, called me in the morning and she basically
02:28said, wake up, we're under attack.
02:30That's what she said.
02:31And she hung up.
02:32And I was like, what the?
02:34I was just pacing around here on the carpet, back and forth, and I was saying, what's going
02:38on?
02:39How can this be?
02:40How can this be?
02:41Where is the military?
02:42Where's the military?
02:43Where's the police?
02:44What's going on?
02:45We all remember where we were on that Saturday when the sirens started.
02:54It's weird to say, but we keep saying it came out of nowhere, as if it's not a war zone
02:59all the time, as if we don't have shelters, as if we...
03:03But in a way, it came as a surprise.
03:06I woke up to, you know, a different world for me.
03:08So since then, everything changed.
03:12Everything changed?
03:14At first glance, Tel Aviv looks exactly the same as it did on my first visit.
03:19But one thing stands out.
03:21All over the city, there are posters with the words, bring them home, and photos of
03:26the hostages.
03:30I wanted to know, how has Tel Aviv changed since October 7th?
03:35And what are people's expectations of the future?
03:41To begin, I visit Shani.
03:46I'm Shani Daphne Goldstein.
03:47I'm 33 years old, from Tel Aviv, a radio anchor, a model, and a TV host.
03:55It's the first time we've seen each other since the Hamas terror attack.
03:58Long time, no see.
04:00Long time, no see.
04:01Too long.
04:02I think it's been a year?
04:03About.
04:04About.
04:05Roundabout.
04:06Since I last seen you?
04:07And you've got a kitten.
04:08A king of the grazer.
04:09Sorry, taking your spot.
04:12Boy, Anastasia, come sit with us.
04:17How have you been?
04:18It looks like Tel Aviv is fine.
04:21It's not fine.
04:22If I'm reading on the paper that people died, or soldiers died, or people lost their homes,
04:30the fact that I'm fine is still not fine.
04:36The biggest thing is that I have lost also two friends in the Nova party.
04:45Take me through October 7th for you.
04:48We were downstairs in my mom's shelter for a few hours, and the late morning, the news
05:02started to screen what's really happening in my kibbutz.
05:20And I remember, it's like the phone calls of children and people to their parents,
05:28to say I love you for the last time.
05:33And now we're being blamed for committing a genocide.
05:39It's absurd.
05:41It's absurd, and I think it's changed me as a person because I used to be more compassionate.
06:03In 2023, I met Mohamed Zouabi, a queer activist full of energy.
06:11We talked about his Arab Muslim family.
06:14Something I also learned from him is that Tel Aviv is an island of queer freedom, even within Israel.
06:24So as far as I understand, the relationship between Israelis and Arabs is not the best one.
06:30How is it being a queer person in Tel Aviv?
06:33Does that affect it in any way?
06:35I would prefer to use the term maybe Israelis and Palestinians.
06:38I've lived my entire life in mixed places, Muslims, Jews, Christians.
06:43It sounds very cliche, but everybody lives together.
06:46Even if there are tensions and it really comes and goes, you feel it less here.
06:51I'm not going to sugarcoat the experiences of Arabs here.
06:55There is racism, there is discrimination.
07:00My name is Mohamed Zouabi. I'm 26 years old.
07:03I'm from Nazareth originally. Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel.
07:07I live in Tel Aviv. I am a freelance writer and speaker.
07:11I'm also a student. I study government and sustainability.
07:17My lifestyle, my existence is a potential crime.
07:25My words, my mouth is my weapon.
07:27Other people use rifles, use bombs, use missiles, use F-16s, use whatever.
07:33And I think this understanding is very reflective of the community that I come from.
07:39We're a community that was part of a consistent Arab majority that existed here for at least a thousand years.
07:45That's also another historical fact that needs to be recognized.
07:48And in 1948, out of the blue, like this, we were turned into a minority in our own homeland.
07:58I try to remind myself that if we're being called delusional
08:04for wanting to present a pragmatic alternative that is based on justice,
08:09on mutual recognition and reconciliation slash peace,
08:14then what do you call Mazianic visions that have been ruling Israel for the last decades
08:19and think that we can just ignore seven million Palestinians forever,
08:26we can continue to occupy them, we can continue to oppress them,
08:30and we can continue to just blame Hamas for every single thing
08:34without taking into consideration the fact that this is a shared homeland
08:39and Israeli and Palestinian interests are intertwined.
08:42And if Palestinians continue to suffer, Israelis will suffer.
08:48Today, the space in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is known as Hostages Square.
08:55It's a place to remember the more than 250 people
08:59taken hostage during the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7th in 2023.
09:11Yeah, so this is Idan. He's my friend from school.
09:17He drove to the Nova festival.
09:19Everyone in that car that he joined were found dead.
09:23They were shot and he was kidnapped injured.
09:29He was considered missing for, I think, at least 50 days.
09:32We didn't know if he was dead and still unidentified, like the body.
09:37He's just snatched out of the blue on one day.
09:44I mean, honestly, I would expect every human being with a soul,
09:47with the least amount of humanity that's left in them, to feel torn apart.
09:54Show of hands
09:56Who's the most sold piece?
09:58Yes!
09:59The most sold piece?
10:00Yes!
10:01The most sold piece?
10:02Yes!
10:03The most sold piece?
10:04Yes!
10:05Who's the most sold piece?
10:06Yes!
10:07The most sold piece?
10:08Yes!
10:14Kai, take a good look around and tell me what you can see.
10:17You can see.
10:18Okay, okay.
10:19So over here I see a couple of towers, a couple of old walls.
10:23Everything looks quite ancient.
10:24And over there you have the skyscrapers and everything.
10:27Everything looks brand new.
10:28Good morning.
10:29How are you?
10:30Hi, hello.
10:31So good to meet you.
10:32So nice to meet you.
10:33Hi.
10:34Welcome to Kiryat HaMalakha.
10:35This has been actually my life mission for the past four and a half years.
10:44Last year we met the successful curator Revital Ben Asher Peretz.
10:48We were impressed by her efforts to promote diversity and tolerance in Tel Aviv.
10:58My name is Revital Ben Asher Peretz.
11:01I'm the mayor's advisor for art and culture.
11:05I'm also in the Artists Association in charge of policies regarding rights of artists in
11:15Israel.
11:16Welcome to the markets.
11:17She decides our vacations.
11:19Thank you so much.
11:20Thank you so much.
11:21It's very good.
11:22We are a special family.
11:23The father cooks, the mother keeps her last name.
11:27I can definitely say that I'm a career woman.
11:33And I think after October 7th, first of all, I became a mother.
11:40Here are the three of you, Omer.
11:44Go this way.
11:45This is the root of the bat mitzvah.
11:48Yeah.
11:49Put on the gag, no?
11:50Yeah.
11:51The first instinct was just to hold my husband and my three children.
11:56And then my daughter was a soldier.
11:59She got a call from the military that she should come instantly on that Saturday.
12:05And I just wanted to lock her in her room.
12:11And I was really serious about it.
12:13I said, I'm not sending her to this crazy war zone with such a chaos.
12:24At the beginning, she was on Gaza Strip and there were terrorists coming into the area
12:32she was in.
12:33A 20-year-old girl is responsible for the death of people because, you know, whenever
12:45the drone detected some live action, whether it was a dog or whether there were people,
12:54women and children, the instruction was to shoot down any live movements inside of Gaza
13:01in the beginning, in the first month that the platoons went in.
13:11When she comes home, she goes to parties.
13:13She does her nail polish, and she goes and buys clothes.
13:19And she's a young 20-year-old girl.
13:23And this is the age of all our children and soldiers protecting our whole country, children.
13:37The first time she came back from Gaza, it was really concerning how quiet she was.
13:44I remember this shirt.
13:46She was sort of in shock, I guess.
13:49Her eyes were blank.
13:53Her eyes were hollow.
13:54Yeah, sort of hollowness in her eyes.
14:01She kept it all bottled inside.
14:13Nightlife in Tel Aviv.
14:15It's like dancing on a volcano.
14:19Lovely places, really liking the vibe.
14:21But I mean, when you read the news, going out here, the missiles, isn't it dangerous?
14:27Well, unfortunately, you have violence all over the world.
14:30And yes, Israel still suffers from terror attacks.
14:34Even myself, one time, was watching from above on a terror attack on the Zinkoff Street.
14:41I saw everything from upstairs.
14:43There was a mass shooting on this night.
14:46It's very sad and heartbreaking to say it, but it's a part of our lives.
14:52I feel like my dreams and naivety has been shattered.
15:11We love everyone who loves the music.
15:13We just don't talk about this stuff here.
15:16We just enjoy it together, enjoy the music, celebrate the music.
15:19And it's all about that.
15:20When we come here, we don't care about the politics.
15:23Israeli Arabs, Muslim Arabs, Christian Arabs, Jews.
15:28It's crazy.
15:37My name is Dov Shpanel.
15:38I'm 32 years old.
15:40I own a club in Tel Aviv.
15:42And I own a company that manages hip-hop artists in Israel.
15:52Friends of mine, at the morning of October 7th, they jumped to the south to fight.
16:00And I didn't see them for a month, month and a half.
16:06And you know, when they come back, you see ghosts.
16:10You see their faces like ghosts.
16:16I don't know if they party different, but I believe what's going on inside is different.
16:32Many men in Israel now are dealing with traumas that they didn't want to deal with.
16:38It's just crystal clear.
16:41One noticeable change is that people are drinking more.
16:45Since October 7th, alcohol consumption in Israel has surged.
16:49The rate was pretty low before.
16:51I read that since the war began, one in every four Israelis have increased their use of
16:56addictive substances like alcohol and other drugs.
17:11Tel Aviv was, and still is, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
17:16Property prices are especially high.
17:21Back in 2023, architect Shira Solomon showed us one of the luxury houses she renovated.
17:28So I totally like the place.
17:30How deep would I need to dig in my pockets to actually rent it?
17:33Oh, very deep, I'm afraid.
17:35Very deep.
17:3760,000 shekels per month.
17:39It's a lot, I told you.
17:47My name is Shiraz Solomon.
17:49I'm an architect, and I live in Tel Aviv.
17:53I'm based in Tel Aviv.
17:54I was born in Tehran, Iran.
17:57I was born in Tehran, Iran.
17:59I was born in Tehran, Iran.
18:01I was born in Tehran, Iran.
18:03I was born in Tehran, Iran.
18:06We left Iran after the Islamic Revolution.
18:17People are less concerned with the design of their house and more of the safety.
18:26It's just less poetic work right now and more of a survival mode.
18:33It's just less poetic work right now and more of a survival mode.
18:41Tel Aviv also has an economic problem.
18:44Since the attack, more than 150,000 Palestinian laborers can no longer enter Israel from the West Bank or Gaza Strip,
18:53leaving a gaping hole in the construction industry in particular.
18:59For Shiraz Solomon and her building contractor Bassem Fagala,
19:03this means many construction sites are at a standstill.
19:29If I don't believe in people, I have no existence here.
19:42He's a spiritual person. He's a Muslim. He believes in God.
19:46He's doing everything according to the Koran.
19:49And I'm the opposite. I'm doing everything to make him upset.
19:53But Bassem forgives me.
19:55If Bassem forgives me, then who is God, you know?
19:59I can deal with him.
20:01And we're just very good friends.
20:11If someone looks at Israel and tries to understand it in black and white, they will fail.
20:17There is no black and white here.
20:19It's all shades of gray. It's very complicated.
20:23And when you're asking me about my work relationships with Arabs,
20:28we need also to understand that there are Israeli Arabs who are like me, citizens of this country,
20:36but are Muslim or Christian, and there are the Palestinians.
20:41They're not citizens of Israel.
20:43They live in the occupied territories or in Gaza.
20:54My heart breaks for what happened to the Palestinians in Gaza.
21:03I know that many Israelis don't share this feeling, and I understand it.
21:08I really do. I mean...
21:13It's hard to feel for the other side when you're still trying to understand if you're alive.
21:24I see public shelters all over the city.
21:27Tel Aviv could come under attack at any time, so shelters need to be easily accessible.
21:35People only get 90 seconds' warning.
21:41We have a history with bomb shelters in Israel.
21:44The first ones, I think, were built in the 50s.
21:49But every few years there is a new regulation.
21:52It's according to the missiles that we get here.
22:01This is the only thing that can save lives here in Israel,
22:05and people take it very seriously now.
22:20So this would be your usual way, basically, when you...
22:22To the shelter?
22:23Yeah.
22:24Yes, from here?
22:25Yeah.
22:26I have a minute and a half to run to the shelter.
22:29A few times I just ran to the shelter with a towel and all of the shampoo...
22:35Oh, wow, yeah.
22:36...on my hair.
22:38But we really run like crazy, and I know the code.
22:44And that's where we go.
22:45We go inside here to a staircase.
22:48That is our shelter and our safe place.
22:51The whole neighborhood, maybe 20 or 30 people.
22:54Here?
22:55Yeah, right here.
22:56And we stand here for 10 minutes.
23:00And we hear all the bombs above.
23:05You hear them really, really strong.
23:16Tel Aviv rocks, baby!
23:23The food in Tel Aviv is totally delicious.
23:26The city is famous for its street food,
23:28flavored by culinary influences from the whole region.
23:33On the plates, hamas and shakshuka peacefully coexist.
23:39And then there was Mr. Borica.
23:42This place is absolutely insane.
23:46That looks amazing.
23:54I'm Kobi Shmuel.
23:56I'm 38 years old,
23:59and I work in Borica, in the Carmel Mafia.
24:03I'm a lawyer.
24:04I'm a lawyer.
24:05I'm a lawyer.
24:06I'm a lawyer.
24:07And I work in Borica, in the Carmel Market.
24:12I am selling happiness.
24:13I am selling happy.
24:15And I continue.
24:18And people want that happiness.
24:37Smoothie! Smoothie!
24:40I put filling.
24:42Every Jewish needs to do it every day, morning.
24:45Every day except Shabbat.
24:59You can ask from God, what do you want?
25:02So I ask what I want.
25:05All the cane dupats, all the soldiers,
25:09to keep the soldiers healthy for me, for my family, every day.
25:19The jovial Kobi Shmuel had to serve in the war for three months.
25:24He was called up for reservist duty on October 7.
25:28They send everybody,
25:31you need to come to the army.
25:34No, I'm with three children.
25:36The last time I do army,
25:40it's something like seven years ago.
25:43What do you want from me?
25:45I'm not a warrior now.
25:46Now I'm fat.
25:47What do you want from me?
25:49But the feeling inside, you cannot, don't go.
25:53So you go.
25:58How old are you?
26:0028.
26:03I was like a sergeant.
26:06I need to take care for all the soldiers, the warriors,
26:10to take care for the food, for the staff.
26:14My soldiers go inside and outside in Gaza.
26:18Burika! Burika!
26:20The sun has risen for Golan fighters.
26:24Every evening I go to do a burika for soldiers.
26:30Burika for Golan fighters.
26:32We do burika for Golan fighters.
26:34The sun has risen.
26:36Burika with a sword.
26:39The sun has risen.
26:41Burika with a sword.
26:45The sun has risen.
26:47Burika with a sword.
26:56I remember one week I do something like
27:01six times burika in different places.
27:06I make between 15,000 to 20,000 burikas.
27:12That's what we do.
27:17Burika with a sword.
27:22I told you I take care for all the soldiers need.
27:26And after three weeks, my commander tell me
27:31we start to send the soldiers to home
27:35to see families and mothers and wife.
27:39And I want every soldier come with some present
27:45for the family.
27:47I go and I get the roses, but not one.
27:53There, 100 pieces.
27:57And I get it this morning
28:03and the roses go to the cemetery,
28:12not for the families.
28:42Burika with a sword.
29:13Gaga dance is a movement language
29:15that was developed here in Tel Aviv
29:17at the Batsheva Dance Company.
29:19Among other things, Gaga aims to stimulate
29:22and strengthen the body with all the senses.
29:26The young dancers here were also doing their military service.
29:31Rean Reiser continued to rehearse and train
29:35while serving as a soldier.
29:38Back then, she showed me a few Gaga moves.
29:49My name is Rean Reiser.
29:51I'm 20, I'm from Telmond
29:53and I'm a dancer with Ensemble Batsheva.
29:59Almost there.
30:01This is Ensemble Batsheva.
30:07All my friends from school that have been in class with me
30:11are now in the army.
30:12Those are the ages.
30:13So I'm constantly worrying.
30:16My boyfriend, everyone, like,
30:20everyone is part of it.
30:22I feel no one here has no connection at all.
30:31I feel doing art is helping.
30:36Helping me specifically,
30:38helping also people in my company
30:41and helping the audience a bit.
30:45Some kind of distraction,
30:47but also not.
30:51Also putting it like this.
30:54So it really makes you question
30:58what is the meaning of what you are doing.
31:04What is the meaning of dancing now?
31:07What is the meaning of performing now?
31:09And the way we perform
31:11and the way we serve art to an audience now.
31:16Good art makes you question.
31:24I think art is a means of communication.
31:28It's an excuse.
31:30It's an excuse to question.
31:33It's an excuse to question.
31:36And it's an excuse to question.
31:39It's an excuse to question.
31:42It's an excuse.
31:44It's an excuse to bring people together,
31:48to express yourself.
31:51I live art.
31:52I live and breathe art.
31:54Art also, I think, means life.
31:58It's a means of life, of vitality.
32:02Being creative is being alive.
32:13This is eggplants and tomatoes.
32:15Plant-based, 3D-printed meat.
32:18So I want you guys to try it.
32:20Oh my God.
32:22I'm going to make you vegan.
32:24An eggplant-loving vegan.
32:26No, but it tastes really meaty.
32:28I'm actually surprised.
32:33I met Michael Levitt, a creative food expert.
32:38Shortly after the start of the war against Hamas,
32:41many people donated food for the victims.
32:45Michael was dismayed when she saw
32:47how poorly organized the distribution was,
32:50and that donated food was being wasted.
32:55My name is Michael Levitt.
32:58I am a gastronome.
33:01I work with food, culture,
33:04sustainability, people,
33:07and that's it.
33:14Here in Israel, there was a big problem
33:16because, A, a lot of food just went to waste
33:19because there was no one to organize everything,
33:25and B, people were really scared
33:28because what's going to happen with the fact
33:30that there are no farmers anymore,
33:32not in the south and not in the north?
33:35What's going to happen with our food security in Israel?
33:39There's no thinking ahead in the state of Israel.
33:47I met the Palestinian group of Slow Food,
33:51and we really, really, like, I really tried.
33:53I was just like, I was there all day,
33:56like, let's talk, let's talk.
33:58It's hard for them, and I really understand this.
34:00It's a big challenge to communicate
34:03with the Palestinians as an Israeli,
34:06and the more the gap is getting stronger,
34:11like, the conflict is getting stronger,
34:13the more the gap is getting deeper,
34:16and it's difficult.
34:23I still believe that, you know,
34:26I still believe that food is a way
34:31of getting people together.
34:35If we can share heritage,
34:38if we can share this space, this place,
34:42then it would be really nice to have hummus together, you know?
34:47I mean, we have hummus here made by Palestinians from Jaffa.
34:57Can food really be a way to promote understanding?
35:02And if so, how do we get everyone back to the table?
35:18The conflict surrounds us,
35:22it's in everything that we do.
35:25It's in our swimming pool, and it's in our food,
35:29and it's in our institutions,
35:31and the conflict is everywhere.
35:34If I'm thinking of it or not, it's there.
35:45I usually come here between 3 and 4 a.m.
35:49I usually come here between 3 and 5 times a week.
35:54It's a way to keep sanity in this really insane place.
36:01One of the most annoying frontiers
36:04is the left-wing, the world left-wing people,
36:08who are, like, leaving us alone
36:11and calling me an occupier
36:13and shouting and chanting from the river to the sea
36:17as if my parents didn't come here to find a safe place
36:21because the world didn't let any other place to the Jewish people.
36:27What they're saying is, like,
36:29yeah, you don't have any right to be there,
36:32so you cannot say anything.
36:36And that makes me feel very, very bad.
36:39Very bad and scared and alone and isolated.
36:48Come now.
36:51Video.
36:59We do see a lot of Jews from all over the world.
37:04It sounds weird, I know,
37:06but there is a movement of people in the diaspora,
37:10Jews that are looking to find their new house in Israel.
37:15They feel unsafe anywhere else.
37:18Not that they feel very safe here,
37:20but it's complicated, it is.
37:28Tel Aviv and the people I revisited here
37:31have changed dramatically since October 7, 2023.
37:36But what's next?
37:38Is there a solution to the conflict
37:40or any vision for the future?
37:46This is a conflict that much more smarter people
37:52and educated people than me have been trying to solve
37:56for at least a century, and they failed so far.
37:59Can I show you something that I drew?
38:06This is actually funny, but I'm a geography freak.
38:14On the very first days after October 7, I drew this map.
38:19And this is basically a map of the region
38:21from the river to the sea,
38:22like what is known as Israel-Palestine.
38:24And this is kind of my proposal to a two-state solution.
38:28If we go by my plan, Gaza would get more coast area.
38:34And this area here in the Mediterranean
38:36is very, very rich with gas, natural gas.
38:39This area of Gaza, which is today like an apocalypse,
38:42could in less than 10 years
38:44become the Singapore of the region.
38:56I am protesting for pre-Palestine
38:59for the last 15 years, even more.
39:03I am protesting to end the occupation
39:07and for a Palestinian state.
39:10Two-state solutions, we call it.
39:18We need to bring the freedom
39:21and we need to bring the mixed culture
39:25and the peace together.
39:29Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the wind
39:33is traveling to a very nice place for Jews outside of Israel.
39:39So it's not like I'm going to find myself in New York,
39:46living la vida loca,
39:48because I don't know what's going to happen
39:50and who's going to save me then.
39:55It's not that I have any other passport
39:59or any other country that would have me
40:01or that I would feel at home.
40:04This is my home.
40:10I think no one wants war.
40:13No one wants conflict.
40:15I hope, at least.
40:18I have hope in humanity.
40:22I cling to hope.
40:24Right now, if I'm honest, hope is a bit elusive.
40:28It's a vague concept.
40:32Listen, there's not much that I can do
40:36except of clinging to hope.
40:40Not in my lifetime.
40:42You know, talking about peace?
40:47No. Wow.
40:49Yeah, I've lost hope for peace.
40:54I don't think Jews and Arabs can coexist.
40:58I've lost hope.
41:00I have hope, because I'm a believer,
41:03and I believe that in the end,
41:05it will really be good.
41:07I believe that it will take a long time,
41:10but yes, I have hope.
41:12My voice is a voice of hope,
41:14and I don't want to say reconciliation,
41:17because I don't think we are there.
41:20Not us, and of course also not the Palestinians.
41:24But our voice is a voice that says
41:28we must end this war.
41:32We must end this conflict.
41:35We are here because we want to live here,
41:39and no one from both sides is not going anywhere.
41:44So we're going to make this place a paradise.
41:48This is what we're going to do.
41:51This is what we're going to do.
42:21This is what we're going to do.