Open-Closed Spaces: Homeland Turned Land Resource / Unique encounters following the exhibition Dissensus: Legislation, Planning, Architecture (in Hebrew)

Almost 90% of state lands in Israel are defined as open spaces, including nature reserves, forests and national parks, training and firing grounds, agricultural lands and open urban spaces. To what extent do we conceive of these spaces as homeland or merely as a resource?

Which cultural ideas and national ethos form the bedrock of the legal system that shapes the Israeli space? Where and when does ideology give way to anxiety? How do the laws, regulations, plans and blueprints that are meant to preserve and nurture the space according to public interests cause instead the objectification of open spaces and tension in the relations between people, nature and state.

We will be taking a close look at the Carmel nature reserve, the Gezer region, firing grounds in Ramat Hanegev and the town of Rosh Haayin.

Moderators:

Professor Yael Moria – landscape architect, researcher and curator, and cofounder of the architecture office Moria Architects – Studio MA – that specializes in urban planning and strategic and regional planning. Dean of the Faculty of Design at Shenkar College, Ramat Gan
Yael Chen-Agmon – architect, researcher and lecturer of architecture and urban planning at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem and Shenkar College, Ramat Gan. Her work centers on the confluence of nature, urbanity, technology and contemporary culture, and examines the obscure dimensions of space in local and global contexts

Speakers:

On ethos and myths in the planning system and on the political complexity of land in Israel
Prof. Rachel Alterman – town planner and lawyer, specializes in international comparative analysis of legal aspects of planning and building and land policy. Professor Emerita at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa

First session: Between the Personal and the Political
Mr. Marzouk Alhalabi – Journalist and writer, poet, translator, lawyer, literature and culture critic and strategic advisor
Mr. Ofer Gridinger – state planner and consultant, former Head of the Planning Dept at the Jerusalem municipality, Central District Planner and Senior Director at the National Planning Administration
Dr. Ramez Eid – anthropologist, Lecturer at the Dept for Sociology, Political Science and Communication, The Open University

Second session: Between Essence and Benefit
Dr. Micha Drori – lawyer, Head of the Legal Dept of the Kibbutzim Movement
Mr. Ran Haklai – urban economist and strategic consultant specializing in real estate, Lecturer at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Wizo Haifa and Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem
Mr. Ben Mayost – Lawyer, Deputy CEO at the Prime Minister’s Office, Head of Kalkalit Lod in 2015-2022

Third session: Between Local to National
Mr. Eran Doron – Head of the Ramat Hanegev Local Council
Ms. Rotem Yadlin – Head of the Gezer Local Council
Dr. Nili Shchory – town planner, specializes in municipal economies
—
Spaces are limited.
Participation in the encounter includes entrance ticket to the Museum (not including the exhibition Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective)
—
Image:
Yael Moria, Yael Chen-Agmon, Studio MA, Closed Open Spaces: People, Nature, and the State of Israel, 2021