Overview

"Practical Zionism in the Mandate era (1920-1948) is usually associated with agricultural settlements (kibbutzim), organized socialist workers, and the creation of a formal high culture. This book fills a gap in historical research by presenting a different type of practical Zionism in Jewish Palestine-urban, middle-class, and created by popular and informal daily practices. While research on Tel Aviv has so far been confined to ""positivist"" historical description or focused nostalgically on local myths, Helman's book reconstructs and analyzes the city's formative decades on various levels, juxtaposing historical reality with cultural images and ideological doctrines. Topics include the city's physical portrait, major public events, consumer culture, patterns of leisure and entertainment, and urban subcultures."

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9781584658931

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Reviews

RQ Helman concentrates in her generously illustrated book on the twenty years of the British Mandate period between World War I and World War II, which saw Tel Aviv grow from a small town of 2,000 inhabitants to a middle-sized one of 160,000. Her study is organized topically, starting with an opening chapter on the city's physical development, and continuing with 'Public Events,' 'Tel Aviv's Consumer Culture,' 'Entertainment and Leisure,' and 'Subcultures in the First Hebrew City.' . . . Helman takes pains to point out that pre-World-War-II Tel Aviv was a crucial part of the Zionist enterprise, which would have been unimaginable without it. --Jewish Ideas Daily

RQ Helman concentrates in her generously illustrated book on the twenty years of the British Mandate period between World War I and World War II, which saw Tel Aviv grow from a small town of 2,000 inhabitants to a middle-sized one of 160,000. Her study is organized topically, starting with an opening chapter on the city's physical development, and continuing with 'Public Events,' 'Tel Aviv's Consumer Culture,' 'Entertainment and Leisure,' and 'Subcultures in the First Hebrew City.' . . . Helman takes pains to point out that pre-World-War-II Tel Aviv was a crucial part of the Zionist enterprise, which would have been unimaginable without it. --Jewish Ideas Daily RQ Helman concentrates, in her generously-illustrated book, on the twenty years of the British Mandate period between World War I and World War II which saw Tel Aviv grow from a small town of 2,000 inhabitants to a middle-sized one of 160,000. Her study is organized topically, starting with an opening chapter on the city's physical development, and continuing with 'Public Events,' 'Tel Aviv's Consumer Culture,' 'Entertainment and Leisure,' and 'Subcultures in the First Hebrew City.' . . . Helman takes pains to point out that pre-World-War-II Tel Aviv was a crucial part of the Zionist enterprise, which would have been unimaginable without it. --Jewish Ideas Daily Helman concentrates, in her generously-illustrated book, on the twenty years of the British Mandate period between World War I and World War II which saw Tel Aviv grow from a small town of 2,000 inhabitants to a middle-sized one of 160,000. Her study is organized topically, starting with an opening chapter on the city's physical development, and continuing with 'Public Events, ' 'Tel Aviv's Consumer Culture, ' 'Entertainment and Leisure, ' and 'Subcultures in the First Hebrew City.' . . . Helman takes pains to point out that pre-World-War-II Tel Aviv was a crucial part of the Zionist enterprise, which would have been unimaginable without it. --Jewish Ideas Daily Young Tel Aviv is a worthy addition to the growing literature on the garden suburb that grew into a metropolis. --Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter Helman's research brings to light a fascinating panoply of the particulars of daily life--riding a bus, evading the dogcatcher, celebrating Jewish holidays in secular form--and the 23 wonderful illustrations are indispensable. Haim Watzman's English rendering is a model of clarity and directness. Young Tel Aviv brings a vanished cityscape vividly back to life. --Jewish Book World Young Tel Aviv is undoubtedly one of the most important works published in this field and has already paved the way for further studies on the manifold manifestations of urban life and culture in Tel Aviv and other cities during the British Mandate period. . . . The publication of Helman's book in English will undoubtedly serve the ever-growing interest in Israel Studies in North America, and now also in Britain, and the constant need for worthy publications in English for students and scholars alike. --Journal of Israeli History Book Reviews

Author Information

ANAT HELMAN is a senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry and in the Cultural Studies Program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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