The discussion was introduced by Marieke Sanders-ten Holte, Chairperson of the CER Steering Committee, who presented two cultural emergency relief actions undertaken by CER in the old city of Nablus in the West Bank: the restoration and repair of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Demethros and of the Abu Sarrieh and al-Sadder Houses, both severely damaged as a result of Israeli military action in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
During a public interview with Yoeri Albrecht, Dr Abujidi explained how the destruction of key areas within a city is often planned intentionally in order to disrupt and paralyse the normal functioning of society, leading eventually to the annihilation of a community’s cultural identity. The end result of urbicide – the destruction of urban life - is that slowly but surely the modern Palestinian State becomes unviable. According to her, as well as targeting symbols of Palestinian return (such as refugee camps) and Palestinian power (such as ministries), Israeli military campaigns also deliberately targets Palestinian symbols of cultural identity in cities such as Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus.
Between 2002 and 2006, Dr Abujidi spent 3000 hours mapping out Israeli military action in Nablus in order to demonstrate the process of urbicide – over 2500 destructive actions were placed on the map as well as the consequences of the damage on the urban fabric. She concluded from her research that the high number of destructive actions was so immensely out of proportion that there could be no question of collateral damage as the Israelis claimed, but rather a selective and deliberate process of destruction. Furthermore, Dr Abujidi clearly differentiates between direct – the destructions – and indirect urbicide. According to her, indirect urbicide involves the measures undertaken to prevent the hinder of normality such as the prevention of mobility.
The presentation took place in the framework of the exhibition “No Man’s Land?” which can be viewed at Gemak from 6 September to 26 October 2008. In this exhibition Palestinian artists reflect on the meaning of being Palestinian. Despite the fragmentation and dispersal of Palestinian communities throughout the world, Palestinian artists try to give shape to the Palestinian identity. The results of this reflection can be seen in the exhibition.
Program and more information
Read More on Dr. Nurhan Abujidi
Further information: cer@princeclausfund.nl
an example of urbicide
This presentation was held at Gemak, the center for art, current affairs and debate in The Hague (Paviljoensgracht 20) from 16:00 to 17:30 on Thursday, 11 September 2008.
