Violent acts and urban space in contemporary Tel Aviv : revisioning moments

249 Pages·2010·113.117 MB·English

by  Tali Hatuka, Diane E. Davis

VIOLENT ACTS
AND URBAN SPACE
IN
CONTEMPORARY
TEL AVIV
REVISIONING MOMENTS
TALI HATUKA
FOREWORD BY DIANE DAVIS
Violent Acts And UrbAn spAce
in contemporAry tel AViV
Jewish History, Life, and Culture
Michael Neiditch, Series Editor
Violent Acts And UrbAn
Revisioning
spAce in contemporAry
Moments
tel AViV
tAli HAtUkA
Foreword by diAne e. dAVis
UniVersity oF texAs press
Austin
The Jewish History, Life, and Culture Series is supported by the late Milton T. Smith
and the Moshana Foundation, and the Tocker Foundation.
This project was also supported by Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowships
(OIF, FP6), the Commission of the European Communities.
Copyright © 2010 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2010
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
♾ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of
Ansi/niso Z39.48-1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
librAry oF congress cAtAloging-in-pUblicAtion dAtA
Hatuka, Revital.
[Rig’e tikun. English]
Violent acts and urban space in contemporary Tel Aviv : revisioning moments /
Tali Hatuka ; foreword by Diane E. Davis.
p. cm. — (Jewish history, life, and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-292-72185-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Tel Aviv (Israel)—Buildings, structures, etc. 2. Architecture—Israel—Tel Aviv.
3. Architecture and society—Israel—Tel Aviv. 4. Environmental policy—Israel—Tel
Aviv. 5. Architecture and state—Israel—Tel Aviv. 6. Violence—Political aspects—
Israel. 7. Public spaces—Social aspects—Israel—Tel Aviv. I. Title.
nA1478.t45H38 2010
720.95694′8—dc22
2009035515
Originally published in Hebrew as Revisionist Moments: Political Violence, Architecture,
and Urban Space in Tel Aviv, © Resling, 2008.
For Yoav
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Contents
Foreword by diAne e. dAVis ix
preFAce xiii
Acknowledgments xvi
introdUction: politicAl Violence And tHe city 1
Chapter 1 19
Violent Acts And reVisioning moments
Chapter 2 26
Absence, UrbAn spAce, And ciVil pArticipAtion
in rAbin sqUAre: tHe AssAssinAtion oF prime
minister rAbin, noVember 4, 1995
Ideology: Urban Space and Civil Participation 32
Memory: Everyday Life versus Traumatic Practices 56
Chapter 3 71
borders, UrbAn order, And stAte-city
relAtionsHips Along tHe sHoreline:
tHe sUicide bombing At tHe dolpHinAriUm
discotHèqUe, JUne 1, 2001
viii Violent Acts And UrbAn spAce in contemporAry tel AViV
Boundaries: The Role of Planning and
76 Architecture in Constructing Urban Borders
99 Order: State-City Relationships and Their Effect on Urban Order
123 Chapter 4
UrbAnity, immigrAtion, And eVerydAy liFe
in neVe sHAAnAn: tHe sUicide bombings At
tHe centrAl bUs stAtion, JAnUAry 5, 2003
Center and Periphery: Economic Production
125 and Urban Representation
149 Everyday: Visibility and Temporary Urban Coalitions
162 conclUsion: tHe roUtine oF Violence
173 Appendix A: key dAtes And eVents
175 Appendix b: tel AViV in nUmbers
177 notes
207 selected bibliogrApHy
219 index
Foreword
ravelogues and promotional documents portray contemporary Tel Aviv
T
as a sparkling oasis in a sand-encrusted region of the world, filled with
history, culture, and visionary promise. From its modernist architecture to
its origin as host to one of the world’s most culturally vibrant and politically
significant diasporas, Tel Aviv has much to commend. According to a city-
authorized website, it was founded by
a group of people with an extraordinary dream . . . [whose] vision trans-
formed an area made of sand dunes into the first Hebrew city. They carried
out their city plan without formalities, in an innovative style that differ-
entiated it from the past. . . . Today it is a bustling, effervescent metropo-
lis characterized by an environment encouraging openness, originality and
freedom of thought.1
UNESCO’s proclamation of Tel Aviv’s White City as a World Heritage site
adds to the city’s special character, as does its clean and white beaches, warm
sea, and hopping nightlife, leading to a similarly robust endorsement: “Put
simply, Tel Aviv is where the action is in Israel.”2
Tali Hatuka’s magnificent new book inserts itself directly into these di-
vergent sets of narratives, even as it links them to each other. Violent Acts and
Urban Space in Contemporary Tel Aviv not only raises questions about what
and whose vision persists in contemporary Tel Aviv, or whether the utopian
ideals of the city’s original founders—not to mention the tradition of plan-
ning “without formalities”—still continue to define the place. By address-
ing the city’s historical, architectural, spatial, and urban dynamics, this book
also reinforces the sense that Tel Aviv is still where the action is, going one