WHITE CITY, BLACK CITY. ARCHITECTURE AND WAR IN TEL AVIV AND JAFFA

In a fascinating story about architecture and history, Sharon Rotbard takes us on a journey to Tel Aviv and Jaffa, two cities whose fates are inextricably linked. The book "White City, Black City" is an insightful investigation that reveals the political mechanisms and social contexts that shaped these places. It is a story of dreams, visions, and the brutal reality that lies behind the facade of a modernist utopia.

• Discover the history of the creation of Tel Aviv and the destruction of Jaffa.
• Learn the perspective of the victims and the political mechanisms that created the myth of the White City.
• Immerse yourself in the story of architecture that is a witness to history.
• Understand how cities and stories are created in a similar way.
• Discover how Tel Aviv displaced and destroyed Arab Jaffa.
• Analyze how the whiteness of the Israeli city influenced its identity.
• Find out why Tel Aviv was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Sharon Rotbard, an Israeli architect, publisher, and writer, deconstructs in his book the myth of Tel Aviv, a white, modernist city that grew on the dunes. He shows how behind the veil of dreams and visions, the destruction of old Jaffa took place, an Arab city that we know today as part of the Israeli metropolis. Tel Aviv not only displaced Jaffa, but also constantly reflected in it, thus constructing its historical and architectural identity.

The whiteness of the Israeli city, which secured it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004, has two sources. One is the modernist traditions, especially those derived from the Bauhaus, the other is the history and material substance of the old Arab city on the dunes. Rotbard tells the story of the construction of Jewish Tel Aviv and the destruction of Arab Jaffa from the perspective of the victims, revealing the political mechanisms that created the myth of the White City.

The book "White City, Black City" is an insightful investigation and a passionate debate with the fairy tale of a modernist utopia. It is a story about how cities are created, how they change, and how they affect people's lives. It is a must-read for anyone interested in architecture, history, and politics. The book has 336 pages, a format of 214x149 mm, and a hardcover binding. It was published in 2022 by Filtry Publishing.