סמינר- The politics of architecture in Israel

"The most significant aspect of Israeli architecture, at once most evident yet so well concealed, is its political dimension. In Israel, just like war, architecture is a continuation of politics through other means. Every act of architecture executed by Jews in Israel is in itself an act of Zionism, whether intentional or not. The political dimension of ‘building the Land of Israel’ is a fundamental, albeit often latent, component of every building in Israel, and the political facts it creates are often more dominant and conclusive than any stylistic, aesthetic, experiential or sensual impact they may have." (Sharon Rotbard, Wall and Tower, in Eyal Weizman and Rafi Segal's censored catalogue "A Civilian Occupation: the Politics of Israeli Architecture", 2002, 2003)

"Are politics built into architecture?", wondered the New York Times' headlines in August 2002 after The Israeli Architects' Association had decided to censor an exhibition curated by Eyal Weizman and Rafi Segal, and to destroy the 5000 printed copies of the catalogue. "The association thinks the ideas in the catalog are not architecture.", said Uri Zerubavel, the then head of the Israeli architects association. The rest, as they say, is history. 

More than twenty years after that debate about "A Civilian Occupation", this seminar aims to explore the minefield of architecture in Israel through places, cases, books and texts.

*הסמינר יתקיים בשפה האנגלית