As in the song "Closed Garden" written by Jonathan Geffen from the songs on the album The Sixteenth Lamb in 1978, the same feeling also exists in today's reality, the year 2026, when bathers come to visit the Haifa coastline and Bat Galim Beach in particular and find a beach closed for bathing.
The Pearl of Haifa, Bat Galim Beach
Bat Galim Beach is a center of attraction for many visitors from Haifa and abroad who have already identified one of the most spectacular and beautiful pearls on the country's coasts, and if not the most beautiful of beaches abroad. Who wouldn't want to live near the sea in a neighborhood that kisses, breathes, and absorbs all the beauty of the turquoise-colored Mediterranean Sea and the sound and crashing of the waves? A neighborhood that was carefully designed by architect Richard Kaufman in 1921. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the only neighborhood in Haifa, and one of the few in Israel, whose houses touch the seashore.
A disturbing infection
Last Monday, the Ministry of Health announced the closure of all beaches in Haifa for swimming due to abnormal results of sea water quality sampling after complaints from bathers that there was a bad smell of sewage from the water. The phenomenon of pollution has been widely mentioned. From the investigation conducted so far, no evidence of sewage flowing into the sea has been found. It is possible that a large concentration of algae that was released onto the beach and its decomposition process is accompanied by bad smells of sewage, but marine biologists will claim that the phenomenon is known and the decomposition process is temporary and transient. In conclusion, they have not yet reached a final conclusion about the source of the pollution and Bat Galim Beach, the only one on the Haifa coast, has not yet been cleared of pollution, and by order of the Ministry of Health, people are asked not to bathe at the beach.
We will wait for good news.
In the meantime, I'm sharing a painting I made of a sunny day during a busy time with a crowd of bathers at Bat Galim Beach. One of the famous and recognizable corners of the beach. In the background, the lifeguard hut and the breakwater and the edge of the slopes of the Stella Maris ridge on Mount Carmel.
I hope there will be good news and the samples will be normal and we will return to the beloved beach that is beyond the coastal strip. It is the story and memories of good days in Haifa, the place of the state.
Your painting is an energetic charm that feels a bit naive to me in our reality. It's sad that during the hot summer days the beach is closed and let's hope that by the time I write my comment it has already opened and is found suitable for swimming. Keep painting the sea and Bat Galim, no one can stop us from your paintings, a pleasure with you Yossi :))
Pictures that feel the artist's love for their subject.
Full of atmosphere and pleasure.
Congratulations on the article and the drawings.