Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine
UK architects, planners and other construction industry professionals campaigning for a just peace in Israel/Palestine.
Monday, February 26, 2007 at 09:01PM This is Rowan Moore and I am with Charles Jencks for the Venice superblog. Charles we are going to talk about the Israeli pavilion, which I think has provoked people more than many of the exhibits in this Biennale. Could you firstly explain to me why?
Thursday, November 23, 2006 at 09:18PM The figures published yesterday by Peace Now's Settlement Watch team on the ownership of land on which the settlements sit presents a scary picture of the State of Israel's behavior in the territories. Approximately 40 percent of the area of settlements is privately-owned Palestinian land, according to the Civil Administration. Put simply, for dozens of years, Israel continued to expand and entrench the settlement enterprise by dispossessing Palestinian residents of their lands, whose private ownership even the State of Israel does not dispute. All of this is in contrast to the frequently voiced argument of official government spokesmen and settlers that "the settlements sit on state lands."
Sunday, November 19, 2006 at 11:52PM Approval of Moshe Safdie's plan for expanding Jerusalem westward has been deferred once more, making it the latest - but not the last - postponement of various unimplemented expansion plans during the course of more than 15 years. From the beginning, this unnecessary plan, drawn up according to conditions and conceptions that prevailed nearly 20 years ago, was based on a statistical fiction wrapped in counterfeit patriotism. It is nothing more than a cynical attempt to exploit the lofty name of the holy city to create construction lots for the nonexistent housing needs of imaginary Jews, to "balance" the "demographic threat" of the Arabs, on paper at least.
Sunday, November 19, 2006 at 11:46PM "I have no interest in the plan in and of itself, but in the welfare of Jerusalem. If there is a decision not to build west of the city at all, I would consider that a brave political decision and would come to terms with it and accept it. But it seems this is not about to happen. That is why I haven't come out to defend and advocate for the plan." Moshe Safdie said this to Haaretz in a rare telephone interview on the subject.
Sunday, November 19, 2006 at 11:30PM This article highlights the racist basis of planning in Jerusalem, sadly being carried through by Moshe Safdie, the renowned Israeli/Canadian architect, who is also designing the 'Peace Centre' in Washington D.C. Safdie's office is also pushing through the master plan for Silwan, on the slopes of the Old City, which will displace 88 Palestinian houses to create an "archaeological park' and housing for the extremist settler group El'Ad, who want to re-create the "City of David" - where? Exactly where established Palestinian residents live, and who can simply be pushed off their land and houses.