15.

Watching the Superbowl on "METV: The American Family Network" was funny. METV stands for "Middle East TV". The Giants are not a good football team, they just have a very good defensive line. While watching the game in a nice bar with lots of Giants fans, I was reminded of how much I can't stand the Giants, and for good measure, the Cowboys, Mets, Braves, Devils, Rangers and Cranston West High School hockey. They are a miserable breed, and for once in my life, I was rooting for the Patriots. Enough about that, after all, the Eagles could've done that too.

Today I continued my quest to visit every one of the notable galleries and museums in Tel Aviv. I got to four: Independence Hall, the Haganah Museum, the Rokach House, and the Gutman Museum. Independence Hall is the house where, on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the Independence of the State of Israel. I have been there before, but it was great to walk through the museum (as small as it is) with time to read the information and absorb the building's rich history. The declaration of the State of Israel seems like one of the more anomalous occurrences in the history of diplomacy and statehood. At the same time, it is perhaps one of the best examples of the potential of the UN to mobilize international support for a cause. I can't imagine what would happen if, tomorrow, the Palestinian demographic in the West Bank declared themselves citizens of an independent nation. Nonetheless, it was amazing to be in the room where the declaration took place and to see the actual document that was signed by Ben Gurion, Meir, etc.

The Haganah Museum was a terrific museum that tells the story of the Israeli Army before there was an "Israel" and before there was the IDF (Israeli Army). The Haganah began as a loosely affiliated group of settlers in the 1910s/20s that protected small towns and farm land throughout Israel. These were the fighters who seemed to be most responsible for the effectiveness and success of the IDF since 1948. It was a smart organization that thought critically about the future of the land of Palestine. A cool museum.

The Rokach house is the restored home of the man who founded the first Jewish town outside of Yafo (the city that spawned Tel Aviv). This town, Neve Tzedek, is by far my favorite area of Tel Aviv. It is undergoing a rebirth and is lined with great cafes, restaurants and stores. The narrow, one way roads give it a nice European feel. It was interesting to learn about Rokach.

The Nachum Gutman museum is a small museum that features lots of Gutman's sketches and paintings. His sketches are quite impressive. There were probably 80 of them, all of people. I'm not sure if he drew them from photos, but they were amazingly simple, yet totally recognizable. I didn't really enjoy his flat, 2-D looking paintings, but the museum was definitely worth the 10 Shekels ($2.50).

Course sign-ups are due next week. I think I'll take three politically focused courses, Hebrew, and 20th Century Israeli Art. Every single course looks awesome, so it's too bad that I can only take 5. Unfortunately, Intro to Islam is at the same time as the Middle East Conflict course I'm taking. I would've loved to learn about that.