The Israeli city of Tel Aviv turned 100 last year accompanied by citywide celebrations and events that went on for several months. It was a momentous event well worth celebrating; Tel Aviv was the first Hebrew city establish in the past 3,000 years. Ira Riklis discovered this video clip showing some of celebrations interspersed with images of Tel Aviv’s early days. Besides being beautiful, it holds a deeper family connection for him. It’s hard to be sure since it goes by so fast, but if you look closely at the photo of an early pharmacy that appears midway through the video that may be his great grandfather, Zelig Krinkin, who opened the first pharmacy in Tel Aviv, standing in the background.
But there’s another, less festive side to Tel Aviv. Despite the city being a vibrant center of arts, education, culture, business and sports, as many as 40 percent of its citizens live in poverty in disadvantaged neighborhoods. That’s why Ira Riklis is a strong supporter of the American Friends of the Tel Aviv Foundation. The group works with donors to support neighborhood projects designed to improve the lives of their residents.