Just six weeks after giving birth to her first child, Noa, 31, a resident of Tel Aviv’s Montefiore neighborhood, is already afraid to take her daughter for a walk in the evening. She lives in a luxury building with security guards and pays high maintenance fees, but says even the security measures have failed to make her feel safe. In the mornings, she finds syringes in the garden below her apartment. In the evenings, she says, large numbers of homeless people roam the area.
About a month ago, a homeless woman entered Noa’s building, banged on residents’ doors and shouted. In another incident, she says, a man carrying a saw tried to break into apartments.
Homeless people overrun luxury apartment building in Tel Aviv’s Montefiore neighborhood
“We have security guards in the building, so I’m supposed to feel especially protected, but it no longer feels safe,” she says. “I now have a six-week-old baby, and there are lots of young children in the building. It’s incredibly stressful. I’m not going to take my daughter out in her stroller in the evening. It feels like Harlem here.”
Adi, who lives in Jaffa’s Noga district: “It’s a problem that keeps getting worse. I’ve lived here for five years, and over the past year it’s become an absolute catastrophe. Even just walking from my home to my car, I can see two guys holding syringes, one sitting on the ground and the other on a bench. And that’s within a distance of just six feet.”
For years, homelessness and public drug use have been associated with the area around Tel Aviv’s old central bus station and several neighborhoods in the southern part of the city, which have suffered from severe neglect and inadequate police presence.
Now, however, residents say similar conditions are spreading to other neighborhoods. From Dizengoff Square to Montefiore, Jaffa’s Noga district and the streets surrounding Rothschild Boulevard, residents describe sanitation problems and a growing sense of insecurity.
Noa has lived in Tel Aviv for a decade, but says the past year has been unlike anything she has experienced before.
“I feel things are getting worse,” she says. “Rothschild used to be pleasant, but that’s really no longer the case. I would never walk alone near my home in the evening. I’d ask my husband to accompany me or take the car.”
(Photo: Shosh Merhav)
(Photo: Shosh Merhav)
She says the scenes are not confined to the area around her building.
“On Thursday morning, I went to see a doctor in central Tel Aviv, and on the way there I saw an unbelievable number of homeless people and drug addicts,” she says. “Near the Gindi shopping mall, people are lying on the ground. It’s a plague. It feels like New York after COVID. I don’t remember ever experiencing anything like this in any apartment I’ve lived in anywhere in the city.”
She also believes the municipality’s response has been inadequate.
“I never see municipal patrol vehicles in my neighborhood, and even when we call the municipal hotline, it takes them a long time to arrive.”
Her conclusion is bleak.
“I feel like I’m getting signals that you can’t raise children in Tel Aviv, as though the city is pushing us out,” she says.
'You can’t describe the smell'
In Jaffa’s Noga district, Adi, who has lived in the area for five years, describes conditions that she says have become particularly difficult over the past year.
She believes part of the problem is linked to a homeless shelter in Jaffa that, according to her, operates only during the evening and overnight hours, leaving those who stay there without anywhere to go during the day.
“In the morning, they leave the shelter and wander around the neighborhood. That means they have to be somewhere during the day,” she says. “That somewhere ends up being our stairwells, the Salame light rail station or wherever they can find a place to sit.
“These are human beings, not rats on a construction site. They have nowhere to relieve themselves during the day, so they simply do it in the middle of the street or in the stairwells of the buildings where we live.”
Homeless people in Jaffa’s Noga district
(Photo: Shosh Merhav)
In one incident, residents had to call the municipal 106 hotline after a homeless person fell asleep at the entrance to their building, blocking access.
“People have relieved themselves at the entrance to our building. You can’t describe the smell,” she says. “It’s a problem that keeps getting worse. I’ve lived here for five years, and over the past year it’s become an absolute catastrophe. Even just walking from my home to my car, I can see two guys with syringes in their hands, one on the ground and another on a bench. And that’s within a distance of just six feet.”
Adi also describes shouting, harassment of cafe patrons and attempted car break-ins in the neighborhood.
“The streets are dirty, they stink and they’re unsafe,” she says. “I no longer leave home alone at night.”
But rather than calling for homeless people to be driven out of the neighborhood, Adi stresses that any solution must also address their needs.
She says the municipality has deployed patrol officers in the area, but their efforts do little to change the situation, merely moving people from one location to another.
“If five guys are sitting on Jerusalem Boulevard using drugs, they move to another pedestrian street. Then, 15 minutes later, they’re moved back to Jerusalem Boulevard, and it goes on like that,” she says.
“They’re playing cat and mouse with them instead of finding a solution — one that is humane toward both residents and homeless people.”
She says her appeals to municipal officials have gone unanswered.
“I’ve contacted various people at city hall, and they simply ignore me. If something is inconvenient to deal with, they don’t deal with it. There’s no response. It’s insulting. At least respond.”
Adi also criticizes the municipality’s priorities.
“The municipality treats Noga (neighborhood) as an upscale neighborhood. If all of Tzahala (an affluent neighborhood in northern Tel Aviv) were full of homeless people, I’d understand the property tax rates and the way we’re treated. But this isn’t Tzahala. This is Jaffa. Jaffa simply doesn’t get resources from the municipality. Period.”
'The change came after the war'
Longtime residents of central Tel Aviv, particularly around Dizengoff Square, also describe a shift.
Yuval Ben Gal, 30, who owns a fitness studio and lives on Sirkin Street, says she encountered several unusual incidents near her home over the past week.
“On Saturday morning at 11, I was coming back from walking my dog when I saw a drug addict trying to dismantle an electric bicycle outside the building,” she says. “The next day, on my way to the bus, I saw homeless people sprawled everywhere. All my friends are talking about it.”
She says Dizengoff Square itself has also become a hotspot for public drug use.
Homeless people on Dizengoff Street
“Drug addicts inject themselves there on Friday evenings,” she says.
In another incident, she recalls seeing a woman standing in the area, shouting and displaying signs inviting passersby to pay to have sex with her and a dog. According to Ben Gal, municipal inspectors arrived and took the dog, but she does not know how the incident was ultimately resolved.
Ben Gal says homeless people also regularly sleep outside her fitness studio. She believes the situation marks a significant change from previous years.
“Something has changed over the past year. It was never like this before, and I’ve lived here for seven years,” she says.
Naama, who grew up near Dizengoff Square and still lives in the area, describes a similar feeling.
She says some of the problems have been familiar to her since childhood, including a location on Bograshov Street that she says is used for prostitution. But in recent years, she has noticed another change.
“Since the war, there’s been a real shift. I see more drug addicts at night,” she says.
Official responses
The Tel Aviv municipality said:
“Personal safety in public spaces and the enforcement of criminal laws, including drug offenses, are first and foremost the responsibility of the Israel Police.
“At the same time, the municipality works continuously to reduce public nuisances, increase its presence on the streets and provide assistance to residents and homeless people.
“In recent months, a dedicated unit for people living on the streets was established within the municipal security and enforcement division, in cooperation with the Social Services Administration. The unit conducts proactive patrols, responds to residents’ complaints and works to develop treatment and rehabilitation services.
“In 2025, the municipal homeless services unit assisted 1,263 people experiencing homelessness. At the same time, there was an increase of approximately 300% in referrals for involuntary psychiatric evaluations in cases where such assessments were deemed necessary.
“Contrary to the claim that no services are available during the day, a new daytime center for homeless people began operating at the Jaffa shelter in June, in addition to the shelter’s regular services.
“Regarding residents’ complaints, the municipality is working to improve response times, increase its presence on the ground and address specific locations where repeated complaints have been received.
“The municipality will continue working with law enforcement and welfare agencies to reduce public nuisances, strengthen residents’ sense of security and expand services for people experiencing homelessness and distress.”
According to figures provided by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality, 1,825 calls concerning homelessness were received by the municipal 106 hotline in 2026 from northern Jaffa, the Montefiore neighborhood and the southern section of the Old North.
In the Old North, 941 complaints were recorded, with the main issues involving violence by homeless people and encroachment on public property.
An additional 187 complaints concerned drug use and related disturbances, while 653 dealt with noise and disruptions in public spaces.
In the area surrounding the Noga Theater, 47 service requests have been opened since the beginning of the year, all of which were addressed and closed.
The Israel Police said: “Responsibility for dealing with homelessness lies with local authorities. Nevertheless, the Israel Police works closely with municipalities to increase its presence and strengthen residents’ sense of security.
“Regarding criminal incidents, there has been a significant increase in cases solved and indictments filed across the Tel Aviv Police District.
“Compared with the corresponding period last year, there has been an increase of approximately 36% in indictments for drug trafficking offenses and approximately 6% in indictments for property crimes.
“These figures reflect an increase in effective arrests and successful police operations targeting drug trafficking and property offenses.”