I spent fifty years turning a cave into an elaborate underground labyrinth home on Israel's coast... now authorities say I have to leave - but they'll have to bury me here
Nissim Kahlon, 77, spent 50 years carving a home into cliffs of Herzliya beach. But Israeli authorities now say the structure is 'illegal' and are evicting him
By Alexander Butler
Daily Mail
July 12, 2023
The country's Environmental Protection Ministry served an eviction
notice to remove Nissim Kahlon (pictured), 77, from his elaborate home
built into the sandstone cliffs of Herzliya beach
An elderly squatter who spent 50 years building an underground labyrinthine cave home on Israel's coast is facing eviction, according to authorities.
The country's Environmental Protection Ministry served an eviction notice to remove Nissim Kahlon, 77, from his elaborate home built into the sandstone cliffs of Herzliya beach, north of Tel Aviv, Israel.
Filled with chiselled tunnels, detailed mosaic floors and a network of staircases and chambers, the structure is 'illegal' and threatens Israel's coastline, according to the ministry.
But Mr Kahlon has vowed never to leave and said authorities would have to 'bury' him in the cave to get rid of him.
'I am not leaving here. I am ready for them to bury me here,' said Kahlon, a gruff but amiable chatterbox with a grey beard and beret. 'I have nowhere to go, I have no other home.'
Filled with chiselled tunnels, detailed mosaic floors and a network of staircases and chambers, the structure is 'illegal' and threatens Israel's coastline, according to the ministry
Mr Kahlon was living in a tent along the Herzliya beach north of Tel Aviv in 1973 when he says he began scratching into the sandstone cliffs and moved into a cave he carved.
Over time, his simple hole in the wall turned into a real-life sandcastle on steroids, filled with recycled wood, metal, ceramic and stone.
Nearly every surface of his main quarters is covered in elaborate mosaics, made from discarded tiles of every colour that he collected from dumpsters in Tel Aviv over the years. Recycled glass bottles serve as decoration and insulation on exterior walls.
Every wall in the labyrinthine complex is curved, and stairways bend and branch through the bedrock to chambers of different design and purpose.
The complex has plumbing, a phone line and electric lighting in its many rooms, and Mr Kahlon insists his construction is sturdy.
'From the stones I quarry I make a cast and build a wall. There´s no waste here, only material, that´s the logic,' he said. 'Everything is useful, there´s no trash.'
Mr Kahlon (pictured) was living in a tent along the Herzliya beach north of Tel Aviv in 1973 when he says he began scratching into the sandstone cliffs and moved into a cave he carved
Over time, his simple hole in the wall turned into a real-life sandcastle on steroids, filled with recycled wood, metal, ceramic and stone
Every wall in the labyrinthine complex is curved, and stairways bend and branch through the bedrock to chambers of different design and purpose
'Instead of encouraging me, they´re denigrating me,' Kahlon said, sitting in his mosaic-tiled living room, rolling a cigarette.
Mr Kahlon said he received a demolition order back in 1974 that was never carried out.
Since then, he says has never heard any opposition from the authorities until last year. The eviction is on hold until later this month to give him time to appeal.
He acknowledges he never received a building permit, and city hall shut down a beachfront restaurant he opened years ago.
But his main argument is that local authorities connected his cave to the electric grid decades ago.
His cave home is on the outskirts of Herzliya, a seafront city 8 miles north of Tel Aviv. It stands in contrast to the luxury homes that dot much of the beachside town - one of the most exclusive addresses in a country with a dire housing crunch.
But his main argument is that local authorities connected his cave to the electric grid decades ago
The complex has plumbing, a phone line and electric lighting in its many rooms, and Mr Kahlon insists his construction is sturdy
A few hundred meters north of Mr Kahlon´s cave is a Crusader castle, the site of a battle between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin over 800 years ago.
It is also near an abandoned facility that once belonged to Israel Military Industries, a defunct government-owned arms maker.
The facility, where explosives were developed and tested, was abandoned nearly 30 years ago after a massive explosion in 1992 killed two workers, damaged hundreds of buildings and shattered windows as far away as Tel Aviv.
Last month, another explosion blew a massive crater in the sandy soil not far from Kahlon´s cave.
Various Israeli government authorities have accused each other of being responsible for cleaning up the patch of derelict, polluted ground over the decades.
The Environmental Protection Ministry said that it has conducted repeated surveys to assess the extent of the pollution.
The facility, where explosives were developed and tested, was abandoned nearly 30 years ago after a massive explosion in 1992 killed two workers
A 'welcome home' blessing made of stone sits at Nissim Kahlon's cave home in Israel
A full-scale cleanup, however, has not been done since the site was abandoned in the 1990s.
The ministry said the Defence Ministry and IMI, which was taken over by defence contractor Elbit Systems five years ago, are responsible for security at the site - whose main gate remains wide open and is frequently the scene of rogue raves - and that 'there weren´t supposed to be any remnants of live ammunition' inside.
The Environmental Protection Ministry also said Kahlon had caused 'significant damage to the cliff, endangered the public and reduced the beach for public passage' over the past 50 years. It says the recent explosion only increases the potential risk to the cliff.
The ministry accused the Herzliya municipality and other authorities of failing to address the situation over the years and claimed it has tried since 2016 to resolve the issue.
In the end, it said it issued the eviction order 'to remove the harm to the coastal environment' and said the Herzliya municipality has found alternative housing for Kahlon.
In the meantime, Kahlon´s friends and family have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help raise money for his legal defence while Kahlon continues to pursue his life´s work.
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