Waves of young Israelis find a home in the former Nazi capital

[Evergrey]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...a2f_story.html

Waves of young Israelis find a home in the former Nazi capital


...

“You cannot forget the past,” said Iveniaki, 32, who opened a café/record store in the exceedingly hip Berlin neighborhood of Neukölln last month. “But I’m interested in the present and the future. Germany is now one of the most socially accepting countries in the world.”

The wave of newcomers from Israel is accelerating the rebirth of Jewish culture in the country that nearly extinguished it, bringing the long-lost scent of freshly baked rugelach and Hamantashen cookies back to the streets of Berlin. But the flow of new arrivals is also sparking an uproar in Israel, where everyone from leading politicians to Holocaust survivors is denouncing the exodus to Germany.

In Israel, critics are taking aim at one of the key reasons cited by young Israelis for moving here: The high cost of living in cities such as Tel Aviv compared to the affordability of cheap and shabby chic Berlin.

In recent weeks, the debate has found a fulcrum in the form of a now-notorious Facebook page, Olim Le Berlin — a name that plays on the Hebrew word commonly used to encourage immigration to Israel. It was initially launched anonymously by one recent arrival to Berlin — 25-year-old mobile app designer Naor Narkis, who last week revealed his identity in The Washington Post.

From his perch on the Internet, he has lorded inexpensive puddings and cheap gym memberships in the face of his countrymen — becoming a folk hero to some and an anti-Zionist villain to others.

“I was always curious about Germany because I wanted to understand a society that almost exterminated my people,” Narkis said. But, he noted, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently led a major rally against anti-Semitism. And, on the streets of Berlin these days, he said, “You find the lowest level of anti-Semitism in Europe. I think young Germans and young Israelis share a lot in common. We both grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust. And in that sense, we understand each other.”

...

Many of them are descending on Europe’s “it-city” for the same reasons as its other hipper-than-thou-art new arrivals. Berlin is now the undisputed capital of European youth culture, a hub of creativity where the once-dilapidated streets of East Berlin in particular have turned into fertile hives of international artists, organic coffee shops and IT start-ups. Yet despite unrelenting gentrification, average rents here remain less than half of those in London and Paris.

...

[pdxtex]

for years ive heard berlin in cheap, cheap relative to where? is there a n. american city of similar price we can compare it too?

[Austinlee]

I would pick Berlin over Israel any day.

[McBane]

I suppose Berlin is still expensive, simply because Europe is expensive, especially b/c of the Euro. But I think it's just a bit cheaper than its peers. An TA is very pricey, so there's that. Which is a shame b/c it's really an amazing, energetic, cosmopolitan, youthful, fun city. The beach and the females don't hurt either. No one I know can afford to actually live in the city.

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

I would pick Berlin over Israel any day.

Why?

Tel Aviv is a modern coastal Mediterranean city and relatively insulated from the violence.

[dc_denizen]

tired, tired, tired of hipsters.

You want hip? People that work in Nasa. rocket scientists. USAID workers. Postdocs in molecular biology. Concert musicians. Discoverers. Creators. Maintainers.

not dudes congregating in coffee shops listening to music, designing trivial "apps" and extolling cheap gym memberships.

[Lear]

Push for Israelis to move to Berlin causes an uproar
USA Today

The Move to Berlin initiative is not entirely new. The Israeli embassy in Germany estimated more than 15,000 Israelis have arrived in Berlin since 2011, after the "Rothschild Boulevard" protests in Tel Aviv that coincided with the Occupy Movement in the United States, along with the Arab Spring demonstrations in this region.

In Tel Aviv then, protesters occupied tony Rothschild Boulevard for three months in a demonstration initially sparked by the high price of cottage cheese in local groceries. Berlin these days is dotted with Israeli start-ups. A street in the Kreuzberg district is informally called "Little Tel Aviv" because so many Israelis live there.

Still, some young Israelis say this influx isn't just about the costs and jobs. "More and more of my friends have been spending their summers in Berlin, because we have had a war almost every summer," said Dani Issler, who moved to Berlin a year ago from Tel Aviv.

[Crawford]

I would wager there's far more European movement to Israel than Israeli movement to Europe. There's currently something of an exodus of Jewish families from Europe.

There will always be young Israelis going to cosmopolitan cities around the globe for a few years though, especially young Israeli men. This is, in part, to avoid the draft. But they almost all return to Israel.

[SHiRO]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I would wager there's far more European movement to Israel than Israeli movement to Europe. There's currently something of an exodus of Jewish families from Europe.

Source?

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

Source?

Crawford doesn't need a source... hence the 'wager'.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

Source?

Exodus: Why Europe's Jews are Fleeing Once Again

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/08/08/e...in-261854.html

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Crawford doesn't need a source... hence the 'wager'.

Translation- Everygrey doesn't like Israel, can't see why anyone would want to live in Israel, and will attack anyone associated with or advocating for Israel.

Europe isn't really a great place for Jews right now. There has been movement to Israel and, to a lesser extent, U.S. and Canada, in part due to rising anti-Semitism. France actually has record emigration to Israel this year.

[hunser]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Europe isn't really a great place for Jews right now. There has been movement to Israel and, to a lesser extent, U.S. and Canada, in part due to rising anti-Semitism.

Yes, but this time it's not the locals who don't want Jews. Young men and women of a particular, very peaceful religion, are the biggest anti-Semites in Western European cities. They grow up in a culture of hate and see Jews as a scapegoat for everything.

[Lear]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Europe isn't really a great place.

Berlin certainly is. Clubs, Delis, Record Stores, IT firms have been opened by recently emigrated Israelis.

Even more important: In the 1990ies around 100.000 Jews came from the former Soviet Union to settle in Germany.
By now some of their children have established carreers in the entertainment industry….

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

for years ive heard berlin in cheap, cheap relative to where? is there a n. american city of similar price we can compare it too?

Chicago?

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Translation- Everygrey doesn't like Israel, can't see why anyone would want to live in Israel, and will attack anyone associated with or advocating for Israel.

I was defending your post, moron.

[fflint]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

I was defending your post, moron.

That's what all the anti-semites say...