Normality “Lo-Normali”

Normality “Lo-Normali” (ambiguous Hebrew slang for ‘abnormal, crazy, exceptional, wonderful, insane, magnificent’) synthesizes two previously published documentaries, “The City that Never Sleeps” and “Jerusalem Journal.” It presents contrasts between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and within each of the two cities as a showcase intended to defeat misconceptions about Israel’s reality.

Normality does not produce headlines.  Stories related to terrorism, war political scandals and presidential visits do. I focused my attention on capturing normality: riding a bus, walking on the beach, witnessing some unique events.

Although Tel Aviv and Jerusalem represent only a part of Israel’s reality, the contrast between the two makes more legible the country’s complexity, usually oversimplified with reports on disputes – right versus left, religious versus secular, sacred versus profane, Palestinians versus Israelis.

Israel is a unique country in a unique situation. That is why its normality is simply “Lo-Normali.”