Neue Veröffentlichung! Teil 15 online verfügbar (siehe unten)THE FABRICATION OF ISRAEL
About the Usurpation and Destruction of Palestine through Zionist Spatial Planning
A Unique Planning Issue
Viktoria Waltz - Herausgeberin - Dortmund 2010 – Eigenverlag
Die hier in loser Folge zur Veröffentlichung vorliegenden Texte geben einen detaillierten Einblick in die Vorgänge, die zum Konstrukt Israel geführt haben und lassen keinen Zweifel daran, dass es unter den bestehenden zionistischen Rahmenbedingungen um nichts geringeres als das Ganze geht, um ein jüdisches Israel ohne Palästinenser und mit keinem Impuls für zwei Staaten, die nebeneinander leben könnten und auch nicht um eine Integration Israels in den Nahen Osten, sondern um die Fortsetzung des aggressiven, zerstörerischen Kurses bis hin zu weiteren Kriegen. (wöchentlich mittwochs online, siehe vorige Texte im Archiv Dez 2010/januar 2011)
V
Killing the Cities - the Example of Jerusalem/Al Quds, Hebron/Al Khalil and Jaffa in Israel
4. The Usurpation of Ancient Jaffa – Judaised and Changed into
‘Tel Aviv's Old City‘
Conclusion from last part (V.3 Hebron/Al Khalil):
Hebron differs from all other colonies because the settlers are located in the densely-populated centre of a large Palestinian city, occupying land and houses that are side-by-side with Palestinian homes. There are more than 4,000 Israeli soldiers based in Hebron. The presence of these soldiers makes life miserable for Palestinian residents. Checkpoints, this permanent presence of soldiers, and aggressive settlers harassing the women and children in the houses brought international groups and institutions into those areas most in danger as witnesses, and also to secure the lives of the Palestinian families. They accompany students to their school and other activities. During the current Intifada, many residents of Hebron’s Old City moved, leaving just a few thousand Palestinian residents in H2, hence the danger of a full occupation of the Old City is increasing. Hebron is the most violent place in the usurpation war of Jews. Hebron is also an example on the hand-in-hand work of government and settlers; one does the occupation and destruction according to plans of the WZO for the Palestinian districts, the other supports by means of military power and confiscation orders. And also we can learn that any activity, even the smallest like a visit of some Jews in a hotel, has a meaning in the long-term planning project of usurping Palestine and changing it into a full Jewish area under Israeli control.
At next the ancient city of Jaffa is in the focus – a city that suffered from usurpation since the declaration of the state of Israel.
Viktoria Waltz
V 4. The Usurpation of Ancient Jaffa – Judaised and Changed into
‘Tel Aviv's Old City‘
Galili and Nir (2000) consider the ‚mixed cities or more precisely Jewish cities with an Arab minority‘ (like Acca, Haifa or Jaffa) a metaphor for the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict’. From planning point of view they see a governmental ‘desire to marginalize the Arab residents.’ Even more precisely: Jaffa’s case is ‘representing just the latest stage in a policy of ethnic cleansing which has been followed for decades’ (Washington Report on the Middle East Affairs, July 2008: 14-15). This stage includes neglecting the needs of the Palestinian communities, shaping their culture, history and existence to zero and finally evicting them out of their living quarters by means of planning and rogue laws. To speak about ‘mixed cites’ of what Jaffa was one of the first, is just a euphemism. A walk around Jaffa’s neighborhoods shows clearly, there is no mixing; moreover the run down character of streets and buildings of the ‘Arab’ side are ‘a stark contrast’ from those of Tel Aviv, an evident gap between north and south, Tel Aviv and Jaffa.
Jaffa today as most of the Arab cities has no Arab street signs anymore which have been replaced with Hebrew names and Zionist meaning like ‘Palmach’, ‘Haganah’, ‘Herzl’, etc., intending to erase the past, and setting the new facts with names of Zionist leaders and groups who were responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Not a single Palestinian community in these cities has a cultural center or a museum representing Palestinian life, culture and history – they are ‘visible invisibles ‘.
The NZZ (Neue Zuericher Zeitung) known for its objective comments speaks in an article on ‘Travelling’ of the Arab influence, still visible in the ‘bazaar’ area, however ‘tempi passati’. In contrast the author presents us a nice story about individual Jewish engagement to keep Old Jaffa: ‘Artists and intellectuals from Tel Aviv fell in love with Old Jaffa and reconstructed the houses on their own account. Repaying the government gave them 99 years ‘leaseholds’; what in truth belonged to Palestinians before (NZZ online 4.1.2008, Thomas Veser: Joppa, Yafo und Jonas im Fischbauch, translation form German Waltz).
Misinterpretation and neglecting history is typical for the Israeli influenced sight of the outside world on Israel’s reality especially the situation of the Palestinians inside Israel. Serious informants like e.g. the Austrian planning company SUTRA, which claims in general to look at ‘sustainable urban transformation’, informs under ‘culture and entertainment’ in exciting manner about Tel Aviv, the ‘home of the world famous Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra’, opera, theatre, museums of international art etc., however no word about Arab or Palestinian existence. Multiculturalism exist under ‘kitchen’, described as an offer thrilling to a ‘thriving and boisterous restaurant community’ and moreover: ‘Morocco, Greece, Turkey and Spain have brought Israel the Mediterranean’ - however Fallafel, Humus – origin Palestinian food since centuries - are shown as typical Israeli. (ess.co.at/SUTRA/Cities/telaviv)
Misinterpretation and neglecting history is typical for the Israeli influenced sight of the outside world on Israel’s reality especially the situation of the Palestinians inside Israel. Serious informants like e.g. the Austrian planning company SUTRA, which claims in general to look at ‘sustainable urban transformation’, informs under ‘culture and entertainment’ in exciting manner about Tel Aviv, the ‘home of the world famous Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra’, opera, theatre, museums of international art etc., however no word about Arab or Palestinian existence. Multiculturalism exist under ‘kitchen’, described as an offer thrilling to a ‘thriving and boisterous restaurant community’ and moreover: ‘Morocco, Greece, Turkey and Spain have brought Israel the Mediterranean’ - however Fallafel, Humus – origin Palestinian food since centuries - are shown as typical Israeli. (ess.co.at/SUTRA/Cities/telaviv)
Looking deeper into the Palestinian existence in the southern Palestinian parts of the city they are not provided sufficiently with schools, universities, hospitals or job opportunities. The population in general is poorer and neglected by the Israeli government in terms of provision with infrastructure, sufficient housing, job opportunities and space (see section III). As a matter of fact the existing economic, social and cultural discrimination led to protests and clashes between Palestinian youth and Jewish neighbors in recent years.
Furthermore, a decent policy of driving the Palestinian out of their areas in favoring investment in luxury new buildings of wealthy Israelis in this attractive southern part of Tel Aviv beside the sea shore, is threatening the whole community to total eviction. It was reported recently, that also extremist Israeli settler groups from West Bank colonies are involved, transferring aggressive actions from there to inside Israel and cities like Acca or Jaffa, giving the government arguments for the interpretation, that Jewish inhabitants are endangered and hence have to be protected (The Jerusalem Fund: oct.15.2008). However clashes between the citizen of Jaffa and ‘foreign authorities’ are not something new. The process from Jaffa, the historic Palestinian city and Tel Aviv, the brand new Jewish, living beside each other until this conflict situation of today is the issue of the following paragraphs (for details about the full planning process see LeVine 2005).
4.1 Jaffa and Tel Aviv – twins of conflict until 1948
Jaffa (Arab. Yaffa, Heb. Yafo, Bible Joppa), the ‘bride of the sea’ is a Palestinian Arab city, which lies in the west central of Palestine, on the Mediterranean Sea. Jaffa has an ancient history reaching back to the Bronze Age.
In modern times, until 1948 the city was probably one of the most prosperous and cosmopolitan Palestinian city, famous for its oranges, its port and a flourishing industry, (cigarettes, cotton, leather, textile, wood boxes). It had an international school system, higher education institutes and a lively cultural life; dozens of newspapers (15) and journals (4) were published in Jaffa, many famous Arab artists like the singer Oum Kulthum and others performed in its beautiful atmosphere.
(Image 1: Coast line of Jaffa in the 20th century
Source: palestineremembered.com)
Since the 19th century and because of its growing economy and cultural life Jaffa became attractive for migration of many Arabs in the surrounding countries and was also a gateway for incoming Jews.
Jaffa (Arab. Yaffa, Heb. Yafo, Bible Joppa), the ‘bride of the sea’ is a Palestinian Arab city, which lies in the west central of Palestine, on the Mediterranean Sea. Jaffa has an ancient history reaching back to the Bronze Age.
In modern times, until 1948 the city was probably one of the most prosperous and cosmopolitan Palestinian city, famous for its oranges, its port and a flourishing industry, (cigarettes, cotton, leather, textile, wood boxes). It had an international school system, higher education institutes and a lively cultural life; dozens of newspapers (15) and journals (4) were published in Jaffa, many famous Arab artists like the singer Oum Kulthum and others performed in its beautiful atmosphere.
(Image 1: Coast line of Jaffa in the 20th century
Source: palestineremembered.com)
Since the 19th century and because of its growing economy and cultural life Jaffa became attractive for migration of many Arabs in the surrounding countries and was also a gateway for incoming Jews.
After World War I and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire Jaffa came under British Mandate like all Palestine.
However, since the Zionist movement entered Palestine and built the first pure Jewish and modern city Tel Aviv as arrival point for Jewish migrants and centre of the colonisation, beautiful Jaffa and its fertile surrounding was a temptation and a thorn in the eye. Consequently the Zionist movement started purchasing land in and around the 24 Jaffa’s villages which was part of preparing the future hegemony over Jaffa (HRA 2005: 6). In 1921 Tel Aviv got its own city council thus becoming independent from Jaffa. From that time on Jaffa was limited in .its extension to the north (see map 1) and mutual planning was difficult. ....
Full text look at: http://www.palaestina-portal.eu/Waltz/15engV-5%20Jaffa_s243-255.pdf
Zu Acca schau auch auf: http://zionismus-israel-raumplanung.blogspot.com/2008/10/akka-die-gemischte-stadt-in-pltzlichem.html
