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In the depths of Tel Aviv’s bus station, a fragile refuge for those with nowhere else to go during war

JL;DR SUMMARY Beneath the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, a bomb shelter originally built for Cold War protection has become a refuge for over 200 residents, primarily asylum seekers and foreign workers, during recent conflicts such as the Israel-Iran war. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Tel AvivLabor RightsRefugeesBomb ShelterNeve ShaananCentral Bus StationIsrael Iran WarForeign WorkersGloria ArcaSigal Rozen

Places mentioned

Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv District, Israel
"TEL AVIV Two floors underground, past dumpsters and oil-laden puddles, through a reinforced Cold War-era door, a bomb shelter is buried underneath Tel Avivs Central Bus Station."
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
"not just taking care of my kids here, but my parents in Manila."
Colombia
"Arca, who came to Israel more than two decades ago from Colombia and is in the country legally, knew that it would take her and Noam more than 10 minutes to get to a shelter from their home  longer than Israels advanced missile warning system allows."
Philippines
"Evelyn, a Filipina caregiver sheltering with her three children beneath the Central Bus Station, declined to give her last name out of fear of deportation. In Israel, I can earn 10 times what I do in the Philippines."

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Cairo Item ID 80686
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2026-04-23 18:00:24 UTC
Curated 2026-04-23 19:00:44 UTC