At the age of 32, Laizy Shapira is still single. It wouldn’t be so crucial if he were a professional Tel Avivian, but Shapira is a religious man who lives in Jerusalem and leads his sentimental life there, passionately claiming that the capital is the perfect place for a religious pick-up, just like Tel Aviv is the capital of secular pick-up.
"Jerusalem for the religious is like Tel Aviv for the seculars," he explained. "A religious person over the age of 20 who has yet to marry will find himself there. Shavuot, for example, is one of the greatest bachelorhood holidays, when everyone goes on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to the synagogues and our entertainment centers.
"In Jerusalem, by the way, you can find a larger number of girls wearing pants, you will find much more pluralism. It’s really different from the image you have of it. It’s just like Tel Aviv, with coffee shops, kosher bars and synagogues which are the center of our scene.
"On Fridays you can see large gatherings of people outside the fashionable synagogues, talking and flirting with each other, and a lot of sparkles in the air."
"In Tel Aviv it’s much more difficult. Jerusalem is a lot of fun for us. We have our cultural institutions which are sufficient from a cultural point of view, we have our kosher pubs and all options exist. I lived in Tel Aviv for a short while, and when I wanted to go out at night, it wasn’t a simple thing finding places. Finding a non-kosher place in Jerusalem is a challenge, and therefore it’s very convenient."
Shapira experienced life in Tel Aviv while filming his new TV series "Srugim" ("Knitted"), originally titled "Sex and the Holy City." Despite the more pious name, the intentions are still clear: There is a thriving love life in the religious sector, rules are changing as we speak, and this can be turned into a primetime series.
