As one enters the iconic Dizengoff Center shopping mall in Tel Aviv, it is hard to imagine that deep below, on parking level minus four, a city of its own has taken root.
Three weeks into the war with Iran, Israelis in Tel Aviv have grown weary of repeatedly moving between their apartments and building shelters—or, for some, public protected spaces several streets away.
On level minus four, tents have been erected and shared spaces assembled from garden chairs, colorful blankets and children’s drawings. The background noise of children playing and dogs barking is covered by music. The area appears clean, neighbors in makeshift quarters of this improvised underground city are respectful and helpful despite the difficult circumstances.
Most of all, families can sleep through the night without having to rush for cover.
On Tuesday evening, a singles event titled “Love in the Bomb Shelter” is taking place at the heart of the parking lot, featuring drinks, costumes and activities led by Israeli comedian Jonny Hishgozim. The aim is to bring people together amid an otherwise isolating wartime atmosphere. An hour earlier, a yoga class was held in the same spot.
“Together with our partner who has since flown to Australia, we decided to start an initiative calling on all the singles in Tel Aviv to come to level -4 and create a community that pushes for real-life interactions,” Chanel Sharon, one of the organizers of “Love in the Bomb Shelter,” tells JNS.
“Our motto is to get away from the screens and applications and meet someone face to face,” she says.
Sharon explains that the initiative emerged from the current reality, in which Israelis spend many of their waking hours in protected spaces.
“Because of the war, we came to bomb shelters, and we wanted to take it upon ourselves to create a different kind of interaction in these spaces, to shake people, bring down their walls, try something new and maybe help them find the love of their life. There were already matches tonight and exchanges of phone numbers,” she said.
Yakov Frey, co-organizer of the event, tells JNS that a bomb shelter could be the perfect place to meet someone undisturbed, given the faulty cellphone reception underground.
“There is no connectivity but there is connection between people, and it could lead to finding the love of their life,” he says.
Four hundred people have now joined the Love in the Bomb Shelter community and 100 people have started following the initiative on social media in less than a week, Sharon tells JNS.
Kfir, 33, and Precious, 22, both from Tel Aviv, came as a couple to attend the event. They started dating a week before the war and are marking their first month of relationship at war.
“Every event that leads to escapism, takes us out of this routine and makes people smile in these serious times matters, never mind how absurd it may seem,” Kfir says.
Earlier this month, the couple joined Purim parties in bomb shelters. “It was the best Purim of my life. It was spontaneous, nobody knew where they were going. This is the atmosphere of Purim to enjoy and to celebrate freely,” Kfir adds.
Precious tells JNS that the war accelerated the evolution of her relationship with Kfir. “We no longer have our usual separate routines, so we’ve built a new one from nothing. We have more time for each other because of work and the lack of distractions. We meet in protected spaces, spend a lot of time together and talk a lot.”
Rachela, 72, from Tel Aviv, decided early in the war to move to level -4, where she set up a tent to sleep.
“I have a bomb shelter near my house that I walk to during the day while I’m out running errands. At night, it’s dangerous to rush to shelters half awake—I could fall. My neighbor actually fell,” she says.
Rachela sometimes brings her grandchildren to level -4 to sleep and for a camping-like experience. In her neighborhood, many buildings are old and lack protected spaces or safe rooms.
“I often come to the center to do my shopping. I heard about this place, and I have to say it is very clean and our basic needs are met. There is maintenance, clean toilets and air conditioning. The neighbors are very nice—I’ve made some connections. I met a man here with a dog named Eva. I suspect my children come to see Eva more than me,” she says.
Rachela said that in a country routinely at war, people grow accustomed to “the situation.” Still, she is optimistic. “We have Providence on our side, and we have a very strong army that has been able to accomplish things in this war that we haven’t seen before,” she says.
Sitting behind a table distributing food and drinks, Yossi, 62, from Tel Aviv, helps ensure that donations from nearby shops and the municipality reach residents of the makeshift underground community.
“Another girl started this, and I joined early on. She was sitting at this table distributing donations from the municipality when a man came and took her to the supermarket and bought 2,000 shekels’ worth of groceries to distribute. He came two or three times. We’ve been doing this since the start of the war. I was also given shawarma and chicken skewers as donations, and it was very successful,” he says.
Visiting Yossi, Einat, 62, from Tel Aviv, does not sleep on level -4, but on Tuesday, she decided to bring a mattress in case she needs to.
“I heard Iran would hit hard tonight, and I don’t have a bomb shelter or a safe room. I run back and forth all night to buildings away from my house to reach a public shelter,” she says.
Einat recounts how, the previous night at around 4:45 a.m., she was woken by a Home Front Command notification, which she initially thought was warning of incoming missiles. She got dressed and ran to a public shelter a few blocks away, only to discover the attack had already occurred while she was asleep, and the notification was informing her it was over. She is considering moving to the parking lot for safety.
“There is light all night and people are noisy. You don’t know who will set up next to you, but I brought things to try. In the last war, I stayed in my building’s shelter, but it [the door] didn’t close [and so was less safe]. This time, I decided not to take a chance.”
