Yulia Prilik-Niv

Haifa's image as a sleepy, aging city couldn't be farther from the truth. The city has a burgeoning youthful community including students, entrepreneurs, and artists who've transformed Haifa into a fascinating city, one with a distinct international flair.

For six days in April, a Tel Aviv building will become a museum of young and contemporary street art, in the framework of the Pop-Up Museum TLV project. Works of about 90 artists depicting dreams, love, social media and life in Tel Aviv will adorn the walls of the building, which will be completely leveled when the project is over  In recent years we’ve witnessed the art establishment’s warming to – even adoption – of street art. What was once deemed underground and plain illegal, done in the dark of night on sketchy streets, unvalued, covered over and erased, has increasingly been absorbed into the cultural and artistic mainstream as municipal bodies and museums around the world gradually understood the power of street art. The about face in attitude includes an acknowledgement that it attracts tourists, provides employment for tour guides and artists, and it breathes life into the often staid art world. THALES That understanding is behind the Pop-Up Museum TLV project, providing the framework for converting 12 apartments of a Tel Aviv building into a temp exhibit of young, contemporary, and even brash street art from April 8 to 13, coinciding with public participation. After six days of artistic creativity, the building is due to be torn down to its foundation as part of an urban renewal housing project. “In the course of my foreign travels I encountered big buildings whose interior and exterior walls were converted into a giant canvas by various artists,” says Ya’ara Sac

The Baron's moshava on the edge of the Carmel offers an enjoyable day trip–interesting history, pastoral nature, wineries, plus a range of worthwhile culinary choices. The 200 Jewish pioneers who settled in the former village of Zamarin owed the turning point in their lives to the Baron, Edmond James de Rothschild. The immigrants from Romania who settled at the edge of Mount Carmel in 1882 planned to live off of farming. Members of the Hovevei Zion movement, however, knew little to nothing about agriculture and soon found themselves in serious trouble, turning for help to Baron Hirsch. The response was quick to come, stating help could be had if they relocated to Argentina. The pioneers declined, citing their Zionist motives for settling the land.   The desperately needed help came from a different source: the Rothschild family. Since that time, the village—renamed in memory of Edmond's father, James (Ya'akov) Mayer de Rothschild—and the Rothschilds have been associated with each other. The Baron built homes and communal structures in the moshava, helped the farmers plant vineyards, and established the Carmel Winery. Residents of Zichron Ya'akov and visitors to the area are quite literally still enjoying the fruits of that labor.   The downtown promenade, whose current name is Hameyasdim (Founders) Street—it's had other names in the past, including Farmers Street, Wine Way, and others—is a kind of spinal cord of the moshava that's well worth visiting. Low stone houses full of

If there’s one place in the Motherland that’ll get you into the Christmas spirit, it’s Nazareth. Christians treat the city with special reverence, and a Christmas visit is sure to be a unique one for the winter holiday season.   The month of December, which includes both Christmas and the countdown to the New Year, is the ideal time to visit Nazareth. The city puts on its holiday finery with lights and decorations glistening in the crowded streets. In the city’s two most important churches, Roman Catholics and adherents to Greek Orthodoxy station decorated trees and sponsor concerts and other events. Christians and non-Christians alike can enjoy the authentic experience by walking through the market and the city’s narrow lanes and alleyways.   © Nazareth Association for Culture and Tourism One of the newer landmarks in the old part of town is the Fauzi Azar Inn, founded a little more than a decade ago in a ruin that had not been touched for the previous 18 years (abrahamhostels.com/nazareth). It has since become a vibrant and lively hub of tourism, and the centerpiece of a host of new hostels and tourist sites. In addition to serving as a place of lodging and for personal meetings in the living room and inner courtyard, Fauzi offers its guests free tours to hidden local gems that stray from standard tourist attractions.  In addition to Fauzi Azar Inn’s tours, there’s also Yalla Basta, which offers special culinary tours as well as special Christmas-themed fare. (nazeret.