Tel Aviv cafe
Photo: Tomriko
Cafes crowded despite PM's condition
People fill Tel Aviv's restaurants, coffee shops, pubs Friday; 'We wanted to get a breath of fresh air after being glued to television screen for past few days,' some say
Those who expected Israelis to stay glued to the television screen on Friday night were in for a surprise, at least in Tel Aviv. The city's restaurants, coffee shops and pubs were crowded with people.
"We have been following the prime minister's condition on television all day. Now we are going to sit with friends for a while and discuss the situation with a cup of coffee," explained Ernesto, while making his way to a Tel Aviv cafe.
Yaron Chen, resident of Kibbutz Gat in southern Israel, who arrived with his family for a weekend at a Tel Aviv hotel, was buying cinema tickets.
"This vacation was planned in advance. I am not sure that I would have made the reservations after what happened," he said.
"To tell you the truth, we are not in a good mood and have been following Sharon's condition all day. Even in the hotel we were glued to the television set. But we decided to go out for a while for a breath of fresh air," he explained.
"I used to be an opponent of Sharon, but in the past few years he gave us hope that he is the only one who can do what the Left wants. These are times of confusion," Chen added.
The coffee shops and restaurants near Rabin Square were crowded with people. According to Sarit, a hostess at one of the city's popular restaurants, all the tables had been reserved for lunch.
"The truth is that we thought it would be quieter because of what happened. This is really a surprise," she said.
'Less shocking than a terror attack'
Mor, a shift manager at a nearby café, was also surprised: "It would not be an exaggeration to say that there have even been more people here in the past two days."
He explained that "the Israelis have already gotten used to terror attacks. The prime minister died at the square a few meters away from here. As far as the public is concerned, this is less shocking than a terror attack."
The "Tel Aviv Café" was totally crowded. Every Friday evening, the café holds a service to welcome the Sabbath with a regular audience that comes to eat, drink and enjoy a performance by the café's singer.
Every few minutes, the plasma screen in the café Aired the inscription "The Tel Aviv Café Wishes Prime Minister Sharon a speedy recovery." The café's singer wished the prime minister a speedy recovery on behalf of all the attendees before beginning to sing.
Esther Madar, a Netanya resident, said that "there is a very difficult feeling. Every half an hour, my friend and I go outside to check our cellular phones for updates."
Tel Aviv's pub area, however, became crowded only at around midnight. Daniel, a pub manager, said that "for the public this is not a real threat like a terror attack."
"During a terror attack, people quickly ask for the bill and leave. But on Wednesday, when the prime minister was hospitalized, there was a whisper around the bar, people spoke about it for a few minutes and then went back to what they were doing. Maybe it's because people believe, like I do, that Sharon will overcome this situation as well," he explained.
'People want to continue with their lives'
Roee, manager of a nearby pub, said that on Wednesday there were less people than usual, but that things went back to normal during the weekend.
"The audience here, aged 25-30, wants to live… they want to continue with their lives. People go home, open the television and there is no change. During the day they receive updates and at night they go out to detach themselves off from the news, to have a good time," he said.
Rabin Square, however, was empty on Friday. Someone had hung a sign on one of the square's poles, reading "Sharon, have a speedy recover. Kadima – be strong."
Only one religious man, Tuvia Bar-El, was searching for help.
"Excuse me, do you happen to know about Sharon's condition? I am very worried. At 4.00 p.m., once the Sabbath began, I closed the television and since then have not been updated on the prime minister's condition," he said.
"I was so worried that I decided to go downstairs and ask someone, so that I would not desecrate the Sabbath. I fear for Sharon, fear for the State. These are difficult times," he added.
