20 July 2023
For more than 50 years, Nissim Kahlon has lived in an unusual way on the Mediterranean coast in Israel.
He started by setting up a tent on the beach in Herzliya, not far from the city of Tel Aviv.
Over time, he started making a cave in the stone cliffs.
Nissim Kahlon's home, chiseled out of the sandstone cliffs, overlooks the Mediterranean sea in Herzliya, Israel, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Little by little, he made a living space. He started to make stairs and windows. He built up the stone walls with glass and colorful tiles he found while walking in the city.
Now, his home is a tourist attraction. People come to the beach just to see what he has made.
But officials in Israel want the 77-year-old to leave.
The Environmental Protection Ministry said Kahlon's cave home is illegal. The ministry says the cave home makes the traditional homes above his unsafe. They worry the cave damaged the structure of the cliff.
Officials sent Kahlon a letter telling him to leave, known as an eviction notice.
"Instead of encouraging me, they're denigrating me," Kahlon said.
He said his home is safe. It even has electricity, a telephone and a toilet.
He said his home is an example of living without waste. Everything he cuts out of the stone he uses. "There's no waste here, that's the logic," he said.
The last time the government told him to leave was in 1974. He received a document that said his home would be torn down. But it never happened. He did not hear of any government concerns for almost 50 years.
The removal order has been suspended while Kahlon appeals the decision. Kahlon plans to say the government knew about him for many years. He said the city approved his presence when it connected his home to electric power.
He said he wants to die in the home he built for himself.
"I am ready for them to bury me here," he said.
The government said Kahlon's home makes the cliff unsteady. Officials are worried about the homes at the top of the cliff. But the government is concerned about more than that.
An old weapons production center is only about 400 meters north of Kahlon's home. The production center closed 30 years ago after an accidental explosion killed two workers, damaged hundreds of buildings and broke windows far away. The government worries there are still some explosive devices nearby. In June, an explosion blew a large hole in the sand not far from Kahlon's cave.
The Ministry of Defense said there are not supposed to be any explosives in the area. However, no government or private organization has cleaned the area and checked it for explosives since the weapons center closed in the 1990s.
Some say the Israeli government is using its concerns about unexploded weapons and the cliff wall to push Kahlon out of his home. The local leaders in Herzliya said they have a new place for Kahlon to live. But Kahlon said he wants to stay. His friends are raising money for his appeal.
After speaking to the Associated Press, he picked up some tools and started working on his home.
"I'm doing something to feel something," he said. "I can't sit around all day."
I'm Dan Friedell.
Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.
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Words in This Story
beach –n. an area covered with sand that is by a body of water
cliff –n. a very steep surface of rock, earth or ice
tile –n. a flat piece of clay or stone used to cover floors or walls
tourist attraction –n. a place designed to interest visitors to an area
eviction –n. to be officially removed from a building or land
encourage –v. to cause someone to what to do something
denigrate –v. to make someone seem less important; to criticize, attack or insult
logic –n. a way of thinking; a reason