Mediterranean Cities

This project area explored the nexus between city and society in the region. The strategic focus for 2003-2006 was Israel's divided cities – such as Jaffa – from sociopolitical and architectural points of view.

Mutual Responsibility in the Community: Jews and Arabs in Jaffa
This three-year, grassroots project, which was initiated in 2003, brought together Jewish and Arab residents of this mixed city to develop and implement projects aimed at improving coexistence. By the end of 2004 the group decided on two projects, which they tried to implement during 2005:

1) Saving the market in Jaffa. The place was bought by private entrepreneurs; the group tried to raise public opinion to support saving this special market.

2) Monitoring the activities of the police in Jaffa. The group intended to construct a hotline monitoring police behavior towards the local population, with volunteer lawyers and psychologists assisting the crew. Unfortunately they met with obstacles they could not overcome.

Coordinator: Amit Leshem
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Mixed Cities, Trapped Communities
This workshop attracted international scholars to explore the connections between national identity, urban space and gender relations in ethnically divided areas, specifically in mixed Palestinian-Israeli towns. 
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An Israeli City or A City in Israel? Questions of Identity, Meaning and Power
Launched in 2001, this research group examined Israeli urban processes in contrast to universal ones, such as the balance of power between the city and the state, the influence of urban spaces on collective identity, and the impact of globalization and localization on culturally diverse cities. A collection of articles written by the participants was published in October 2006. This was followed by a public conference in March 2007, with two professional workshops to follow: "The Planner, the Place and the Nation" (September 2007), and "Spatial Planning and the Multi Disciplinary Knowledge" (November 2007).

Directors: Dr. Tovi Fenster and Dr. Haim Yacobi
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Jewish Communities in the Mediterranean Basin from the 18th-20th Centuries
This research workshop considered social and cultural relations in mixed cities, the tension between tradition and modernity, the literary, religious, and secular artistry of the places and various other aspects of family and daily life. 
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