MLC 110 Culture Post

[Shir Bodner]

For the free topic cultural post this week I have decided to focus on the culture of arts and creativity in modern Israel and its importance in unifying a diverse body of people in the relatively young nation. State formation required not only the obvious variables of law, governance, education, a common language, and army, but also a core culture that people could identify with and value. Israel saw immigration from over 100 nations with immigrants who had been indentured in assimilation and the culture and linguistics of their homeland. Arriving in Israel was not just a challenge economically, but also in creating a sense of identity in place which they could take ownership in and raise new generations within a specifically Israeli culture. For this reason, the arts in Israel have prospered intensively especially in the era of technology. For a nation that is ultimately westernized and adopts many aspects of American and European culture, Israel is home to unique radio shows, TV series, music artists of all genres imaginable, world renowned artists, movie and theatre productions, etc. One of the sites that I was excited to stumble upon detailed all the yearly festivals that are held in Israel. I was previously familiar with parades that are held for national and religious holidays, however, I was excited to find out about unique festivals that include story telling, children's theatre, belly dancing, and jazz, just to name a few. These can be found on popular social media websites under CultureIL. I also found in my research that Israel is home to the highest number of museums per capita in the world! I thought I had been to quite a few myself, but clearly there are dozens I've never heard of. One of my favorite experiences with Israeli arts has been the Nachalat Benyamin arts and crafts market. Every Tuesday and Friday a main street in Tel Aviv is closed off for local artists to set up booths, sell and display the work. It is a great opportunity for no-name artists to get their talent out and it is genuinely beautiful and ranges from woodwork to glasswork, jewelry, to painting and ceramics. This personal interaction with the artist is one of the great things I value about the Israeli culture of the arts.