Society and Settlement: Jewish Land of Israel in the Twentieth Century

4. Incubation and Formation of a Capital City and a Core Area

Chapter 4 Incubation and Formation of a Capital City and a Core Area Jerusalem is the city of spirit and Jaffa is also the city of spirit. The spirit of the living God, the holy spirit, hangs over the ancient and sacred city, and the spirit of trade, the spirit of the love for unjust rewards hangs over the city of Jaffa. The residents of Jerusalem fly, hurry, run to every direction and comer, to the Western Wall they will go, to the Tomb of Rachel they will tum, on the Mount of Olives they will pray, on the grave ofone who was Godfearing tears will flow, they will beg, pray for themselves, for their children, for their relatives, for their redeemers abroad, those who strengthen and support them, who will pay with their monies for their prayers. And the residents of Jaffa will hurry, leave, go out, fly, go to the beach, run to the place where the camels will come, they will turn to the gardens, where they will collect the land's crops, pick the garden's fruits, make use of the new lifestyles , will become the middle-men and will not rest day and night. Who of them is more successful? Who wins, the slave or the lady? (Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, "Jaffa," Hazvi 1, no. 37 (1885): 158) Introduction The previous part was devoted to an analysis of two basic questions, one concerning the interrelationship of society and space; and the other, ideology and reality. These questions were What (should be built)? and Why (should these be built)? The "what" were the settlement ideals, the "why" the Zionist objectives. The two were shown to be interrelated as the answers changed over time. This part, as well as the next, will also be be devoted to two complementary basic questions: Where (did Zionist activity take place)? and How (were the regions shaped socially and economically )? As such, this part will concentrate on the double core of Israel, consisting of Jerusalem and metropolitan Tel Aviv; the next part will deal with the major frontiers and peripheries. A discussion of the "where" question, or the locational aspect, implies a presentation of both the areas where decisions have been made, along with the areas where development and growth were supposed to take place, and where the latter eventual117 118 SOCIETY AND SETTLEMENT ly occurred. Having portrayed the preferred sectors, the discussion now turns to the supposedly disqualified areas for growth and development; namely, the large cities. Since these cities eventually turned into the major population and decision-making centers, the "how" question, in terms of how it occurred and how these areas function, is of no less importance than the "where." The principal locations of the preferred sectors is the subject of Part 3. Comparing Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa amounts to a multifaceted comparison between the old and the new. It involves historical , functional, and cultural, as well as economic aspects. As we will see, even the Zionist ideological attitude toward these two cities has been complex; thus, the treatment of the role and significance ofTel Aviv and Jerusalem in modern Israeli society cannot focus on just a single set of concepts. On the other hand, these two cities may be viewed together as a double core to be assessed against the rest of the country, which serves as frontier and periphery. The guiding assumption here is the existence of cumulative activities of human agency in ways that were contrary to Zionist ideological expectations. Although the urban realities of the evolution of Jewish society in Palestine-Israel provide the focus, ideologies and structures will be seen to be evident here, too, and in several respects. First, Tel Aviv and, before its establishment, Jaffa have played important roles in shaping the Labor movement in both the past and present. Second, Jerusalem has constituted a crucial element in the cultural superstructure of the Jewish people, and this element has been molded into functional, geographical, and cultural structures. Third, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv provide a double core for Israel; but they also present intercity functional and cultural contradictions and conflicts. Fourth, the Israeli network of large cities also consists of a third large city, Haifa. Although Haifa served as an integral part of the cor-e area of Palestine during the first half of the twentieth century, it has gradually turned into a regional capital with a decreasing number of exclusive national functions. The city, which once possessed a unique social-political...