Iconic Tel Aviv Bar Shuts Down on Saturdays in Support of Protests
Rachel Fink
Haaretz
May 2, 2024 4:26 pm IDT
One of Tel Aviv's trendiest bars has announced it will not hold its Saturday night concert events as a way of encouraging would-be party goers to take part in the weekly public demonstrations instead.
In an announcement on their Instagram page, the owners of popular bar and live music venue Teder explained the reason behind their decision to close on saturday nights. "Hey, we just wanted to say that even though the Teder might sound like we have returned to normal, in actuality, everything feels far from natural right now," the post begins.
"We don't really know what to do with these feelings," it continues, "But for starters, we have decided to hold off on our events that take place during Saturday night's protests. We hope you all will also take to the streets. We cannot allow this failure of a government to get the sense that any of us are okay with the current situation."
In the aftermath of Hamas attacks on October 7, Teder's bar and music space remained closed for nearly six weeks while its upstairs pizzeria, Beit Romano, became one of several Tel Aviv restaurants that transformed itself into a community relief center, organizing clothing, meals, and supplies for those in need with volunteers arriving from all over the city to help cook, package, and transport.
Since the space reopened in mid-November, it regularly hosts a "Teder of Solidarity" concert series, farmer's markets featuring produce from displaced farmers from the northern and southern borders, as well as events that raise money for the Hostage Families forum.
But this mixing of music and activism stretches back far before October 7. Since opening in their current space in 2012, Teder has regularly collaborated with social justice organizations including Culture of Solidarity, a grassroots human rights group whose headquarters are located in the Teder complex. They also do not shy away from publicly criticizing Israel's current far-right government, and in particular last year's attempt to overhaul the justice system.
The recent announcement on Teder echoes the same sentiment. "After 200 days of war, kidnapping, abandonment, and humanitarian disaster, it must be said clearly," the post reads, "this government betrays the people who live here in the deepest sense of the word."
"[b][i]This government does not represent us[/i][/b]," it goes on to say. "[b][i]Racists do not represent us. People who are willing to sacrifice the lives of the hostages for messianic purposes do not represent us[/i][/b]. [b]The values that drive us are exactly the opposite.[/b]"
Haaretz
May 2, 2024 4:26 pm IDT
One of Tel Aviv's trendiest bars has announced it will not hold its Saturday night concert events as a way of encouraging would-be party goers to take part in the weekly public demonstrations instead.
In an announcement on their Instagram page, the owners of popular bar and live music venue Teder explained the reason behind their decision to close on saturday nights. "Hey, we just wanted to say that even though the Teder might sound like we have returned to normal, in actuality, everything feels far from natural right now," the post begins.
"We don't really know what to do with these feelings," it continues, "But for starters, we have decided to hold off on our events that take place during Saturday night's protests. We hope you all will also take to the streets. We cannot allow this failure of a government to get the sense that any of us are okay with the current situation."
In the aftermath of Hamas attacks on October 7, Teder's bar and music space remained closed for nearly six weeks while its upstairs pizzeria, Beit Romano, became one of several Tel Aviv restaurants that transformed itself into a community relief center, organizing clothing, meals, and supplies for those in need with volunteers arriving from all over the city to help cook, package, and transport.
Since the space reopened in mid-November, it regularly hosts a "Teder of Solidarity" concert series, farmer's markets featuring produce from displaced farmers from the northern and southern borders, as well as events that raise money for the Hostage Families forum.
But this mixing of music and activism stretches back far before October 7. Since opening in their current space in 2012, Teder has regularly collaborated with social justice organizations including Culture of Solidarity, a grassroots human rights group whose headquarters are located in the Teder complex. They also do not shy away from publicly criticizing Israel's current far-right government, and in particular last year's attempt to overhaul the justice system.
The recent announcement on Teder echoes the same sentiment. "After 200 days of war, kidnapping, abandonment, and humanitarian disaster, it must be said clearly," the post reads, "this government betrays the people who live here in the deepest sense of the word."
"[b][i]This government does not represent us[/i][/b]," it goes on to say. "[b][i]Racists do not represent us. People who are willing to sacrifice the lives of the hostages for messianic purposes do not represent us[/i][/b]. [b]The values that drive us are exactly the opposite.[/b]"
