Eyal Weizman

Rafi Segal

David Tartakover

Bringing together essays and photographs by leading Israeli practitioners, and complemented by maps, plans and statistical data, A Civilian Occupation explores the processes and repercussions of Israeli planning and its underlying ideology. It demonstrates how, over the last century, planning and architecture have been transformed from everyday professional practices into strategic weapons in the service of the state, which has sought to secure national and geopolitical objectives through the organization of space and in the redistribution of its population. In fact, as the book shows, Israeli architecture has consistently provided the concrete means for the pursuit of the Zionist project of building a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. As such, it is the first study to supplement the more familiar political, military and historical analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict with a detailed description of the physical environments in which it is played out. The banning of the first edition of this book by its original publisher was proof, if any were needed, that architecture in Israel, indeed architecture anywhere, can no longer be considered a politically naive activity: the politics of Israeli architecture is the politics of any architecture.

The Politics of Israeli Architecture

A Civilian Occupation

Marisa Morán Jahn

In times of crisis, mutual aid becomes paramount. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, new forms of sharing had gained momentum to redress precarity and stark economic inequality. Today, a diverse array of mutualistic organizations seek to fundamentally restructure housing, care, labor, food, and more. Yet design, art, and architecture play a key role in shaping these initiatives, fulfilling their promise of solidarity, and ensuring that these values endure. In this book, artist Marisa Morán Jahn and architect Rafi Segal converse about the transformative potential of mutualism and design with leading thinkers and practitioners: Mercedes Bidart, Arturo Escobar, Michael Hardt, Greg Lindsay, Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Ai-jen Poo, and Trebor Scholz. Together, they consider how design inspires, invigorates, and sustains contemporary forms of mutualism—including platform cooperatives, digital-first communities, emerging currencies, mutual aid, care networks, social-change movements, and more. From these dialogues emerge powerful visions of futures guided by communal self-determination and collective well-being.

Conversations on Collective Futures

Design and Solidarity

Alfred Neumann (1900-1968) was a Czech architect whose work was wrought in the context of postwar modernism and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Today, his influence and impact have been largely forgotten, but, in their time, Neumann's original designs received praise and elicited controversy in almost equal measure, offering exciting new possibilities to the modernist mainstream. Space Packed renews attention to this pioneering architect who made a vast contribution to modern architecture and had a lasting impact on Israel's broader architectural culture. Drawing on Neumann's writings and close study of both built and unbuilt projects, Rafi Segal discusses the development of Neumann's architectural theory and methodology and documents his built works from the 1950s and '60s against the backdrop of contemporary architectural discourse and the demands of the newly created State of Israel. The book also features a complete, chronological catalog of Neumann's buildings and designs, fully illustrated, including many previously unpublished photographs, drawings, and sketches. The first book to provide a detailed account of Neumann's work, Space Packed celebrates the career of this highly skilled and innovative architect, and it will be welcomed by architects and architectural historians.

Rafi Segal

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